The Sora was the Stand-Out today, 11-10-20

I got up around 5:30 this morning and was out the door before 6:00 with the dog to head over to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. It was 34° and slightly overcast when I left the house. It only got up to a high of 61° by the late afternoon.

Wetland area, looking west toward the foothills and Snow Mountain.

On the way to the refuge I counted 21 hawks along the highway, all Red-Tails as far as I could tell. I also saw a huge flock of crows and a Raven.

When I got to the refuge, I wasn’t really surprised to see frost on the ground near the restroom facility. The big Red-Shouldered Hawk in a nearby tree was a nice treat, though. I saw quite a few hawks along the auto-tour route today. The first thing I saw, though, was a White-Tailed Kite. It seems to have taken up residence there.

There were a lot of sparrows all along the route, mostly Savannahs, as well as the usual ducks and geese.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

Something was really riling up the Snow Geese; they took off en masse several times while I was there. One gentleman said he’d seen an eagle, but I didn’t see any.

I did watch a Peregrine Falcon trying to eat his breakfast on one of the little islands. It was being accosted by a small flock of Turkey Vultures, including a dark-headed juvenile who was a bit more assertive than the adults.

In one section, there was a flock of Lesser Goldfinches eating the dried blossoms and seeds of the teasel and Starthistle around the tules.

And in the slough by the extension loop gate, there were a couple of young Pied-Billed Grebes and a fussy little Sora.

I actually drove the route TWICE and was still out of there before noon. There were too many cars on the auto-tour route today, which causes the wildlife to move further away and hide, but I still got to see quite a lot… even though it was much of the same. Looking forward to better, more varied fare as the season moves forward.