Guh! I didn’t sleep very well last night, and woke up twice with a lot of pain in my left hip. When it gets growly like that, I can’t find a comfortable position in which to lay or sit up, and I just have to wait until the meds kick in. I got myself up around 7:00 am, and headed over to the Cosumnes River Preserve to see how things are developing there. It was slow-going because of the pain, but I really feel the movement is good for me.
There’s more water on the ground now, not only in the preserve itself but in the ag fields surrounding it. There’s also water in the slough that runs along Franklin Road. I drove around Desmond and Bruceville Roads, and then went up and down the boardwalk area at the preserve. There were only a few large flocks of Snow Geese – and even a flock of American White Pelicans(!) – in the distant fields. Otherwise, I was seeing solitary birds are small groups of waterfowl in a variety of species; almost 40 different kinds. Onesies and twosies.
CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.
I see Black Phoebes almost everywhere I go, which is why it’s kind of my soul-bird spirit guide. But it seems like lately I’ve been seeing almost as many Say’s Phoebes in the area. I don’t know if they’re really more populous now, or if I’m just learning to recognizing them more readily. There were also a lot of Audubon’s Warblers flitting around along the fence lines.
At one spot, I found a Song Sparrow singing away in the tules. I got some photos and a video snippet of him.
As I was heading out of the preserve, a couple of small flocks of Sandhill Cranes came flying in overhead and landed in a distant field. They should actually be on their way out of the area, so I was a little surprised to see them at all.
I walked for about 2½ hours before heading home. This was hike #13 in my #52HikeChallenge.
Species List:
- American Coot, Fulica americana
- American Pipit, Anthus rubescens
- American White Pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos
- American Wigeon, Anas americana
- Audubon’s Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Setophaga coronata auduboni
- Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
- Black-Necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus
- Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
- Broadleaf Cattail, Bullrush, Typha latifolia
- Bufflehead Duck, Bucephala albeola
- Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
- Cinnamon Teal, Anas cyanoptera
- Clustered Dock, Rumex conglomeratus
- Common Goldeneye, Bucephala clangula
- European Water-Plantain, Alisma plantago-aquatica
- Filamentous Green Algae, Spirogyra sp.
- Gadwall Duck, Mareca Strepera
- Golden-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla
- Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
- Great Egret, Ardea alba
- Greater White-Fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
- Greater Yellowlegs, Tringa melanoleuca
- Green-Winged Teal, Anas carolinensis
- House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus
- Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
- Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris
- Northern Pintail, Anas acuta
- Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
- Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
- Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
- Rough Cocklebur, Xanthium strumarium
- Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula
- Ruddy Duck, Oxyura jamaicensis
- Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis
- Say’s Phoebe, Sayornis saya
- Slender Clubrush, Isolepis cernua
- Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
- Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
- Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
- Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
- Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
- White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
