I got up around 6:30 this morning and headed over to Mather Regional Park. It was 47° and very foggy there when I first arrived, but the fog burned off as soon as the sun came up a little bit more.

There was also frost on the ground in the shadier places, and I got some photos of ice crystals on the leaf litter. The glassy-smooth water made for some pretty reflection shots, there were examples of “fall color” all around.

I had gone there because someone in a birding group had said they saw a Tundra Swan in with the resident Mute Swans in the lake. At first, my photo-taking efforts were thwarted by having the rising sun in my eyes, and the birds not being at all cooperative. I was getting frustrated.  Then I started getting photos of the swans, the small flocks of Coots, and the Pie-Billed Grebes. I noticed there were a LOT of cormorants around the lake, more than I’d ever seen there. So, I walked over to where I could get a better view of the little island there the cormorants usually hangout in the dead tree there, or sun themselves on the shore.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

While I was there, looking at the cormorants I could hear some odd vocalizations that I couldn’t quite place coming from the island. Then I saw them… a cadre of River Otters! 

There were four of them, and I got the impression that one was the mom, two were the nearly-adult kids, and one was the dad. Dad had something big that he was eating.  It was difficult to see what it was because he kept it close to the ground in the overgrowth, but I think it was a catfish. He wouldn’t share it with anyone and kept dragging it off whenever the other came near. Mom nuzzled and groomed the younger ones and climbed around the snags and plants on the bank of the island. 

The presence of the otters didn’t seem to bother the birds in the water near them.  At one point, three swans floated right next to where the feeding otter was. They each pretty much ignored the other.

Eventually, all of the otters left the island… with Dad still chewing on a chunk of meat. He had to stop twice, to chew it down before he could swallow it and catch up to the others in the water. They disappeared down the side of the lake, moving so fast that I couldn’t keep up with them.

On that same side of the lake, though, I came across a cottonwood tree that looked like beavers had gotten to it. I haven’t seen any beavers at the lake, but they’re reputed to be there.  Some of the trees are girdled with chicken wire to keep the beavers from eating them. I didn’t think to look for beaver scat among the shavings around the base of the tree, dang it.

I did finally get to see the Tundra Swan, who was moving along quietly, singularly, while some of the Mute Swans sought to harass her. There was one immature grey-morph Mute Swan that tried “busking” at the other swans, until it was put in its place by another adult Mute Swan.

When approached or “busked” at, the Tundra swan didn’t give up any ground and just floated away from the aggressors. It’s odd to see single Tundra Swans; they’re social birds and usually travel in large flocks. They also mate for life, and so they travel with their mates once they’ve established a pair bond. I inferred, then, that this lone swan was an unattached younger or less-healthy swan that couldn’t keep up with its flock, and sought out the lake as a place of respite.

I also saw quite a few White-Crowned and Golden-Crowned Sparrows, a few House Sparrows, Great-Tailed Grackles, and Killdeer, some Starlings, doves and Scrub Jays. I also got some photos of a Lincoln Sparrow, a Kite in the distance, and a small covey of California Quail among other birds.  So, overall it was a good nature walk.

I was out for about 3 hours and headed back home.

Report Your Otter Sightings!

Don’t forget to report your otter sightings to the River Otter Ecology Project. Be an “Otter Spotter”!

Species List:

1. American Bugleweed, Water Horehound, Lycopus americanus
2. American Coot, Fulica americana
3. American Kestrel, Falco sparverius
4. American Pipit, Anthus rubescens
5. Anna’s Hummingbird, Calypte anna
6. Armenian Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus [pink flowers]
7. Audubon’s Warbler, Yellow-Rumped Warbler, Setophaga coronata auduboni
8. Beaver, American, Beaver, Castor canadensis [sign on tree]
9. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
10. Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
11. Bull Thistle, Cirsium vulgare
12. California Black Oak, Quercus kelloggii
13. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
14. California Quail, Callipepla californica
15. California Scrub Jay, Aphelocoma californica
16. California Towhee, Melozone crissalis [heard]
17. California Wild Rose, Rosa californica
18. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
19. Cedar Waxwing, Bombycilla cedrorum
20. Chinese Pistache, Pistacia chinensis
21. Chinese Tallow tree, Triadica sebifera
22. Chinese Willow, Curly Willow, Salix matsudana
23. Cork Oak, Quercus suber
24. Coyote Brush, Baccharis pilularis
25. Double-Crested Cormorant, Phalacrocorax auratus
26. Doveweed, Turkey Mullein, Croton setiger
27. Eurasian Collared Dove, Streptopelia decaocto
28. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
29. Fremont’s Cottonwood, Populus fremontii
30. Golden Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla
31. Goodding’s Black Willow, Salix gooddingii
32. Great-Tailed Grackle, Quiscalus mexicanus
33. House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus
34. House Sparrow, Passer domesticus
35. Interior Sandbar Willow, Salix interior
36. Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
37. Lincoln’s Sparrow, Melospiza lincolnii
38. Liquid Ambar, American Sweetgum, Liquidambar styraciflua
39. Mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos
40. Mourning Dove, Zenaida macroura
41. Mute Swan, Cygnus olor
42. Narrowleaf Cattail, Cattail, Typha angustifolia
43. Narrowleaf Willow, Salix exigua
44. Northern Flicker, Colaptes auratus
45. Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
46. Nuttall’s Woodpecker, Picoides nuttallii [heard]
47. Pied-Billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps
48. Poison Oak, Pacific Poison Oak, Western Poison Oak, Toxicodendron diversilobum
49. Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
50. River Otter, North American River Otter, Lontra canadensis
51. Ruby-Crowned Kinglet, Regulus calendula
52. Soft Rush, Juncus effusus
53. Spotted Towhee, Pipilo maculatus [heard]
54. Swamp Smartweed, False Water-Pepper, Persicara hydropiperoides [pink]
55. Tall Flatsedge, Cyperus eragrostis
56. Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
57. Tundra Swan, Cygnus columbianus
58. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
59. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
60. Water Primrose, Ludwigia hexapetala
61. Western Gull, Larus occidentalis [spot on bill, pink legs, orange circle around eye]
62. White Tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus
63. White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys

I got up around 6:00 this morning and was out the door by 6:30 to head over to the Cosumnes River Preserve.  I wanted to get out and about before the rain, which was predicted to arrive around noon. The cloud cover wasn’t complete yet, but it was enough to keep the long morning shadows at bay, and colored up nicely as the sun rose.

I went around Bruceville and Desmond Roads before going to the preserve itself, and was happy to see Cattle Egrets among the cattle in some of the fields. The cattle were mostly mamas with their calves, and I got to see a few of the calves nursing.  So sweet.

There were also lots of sparrows: White-Crowned and Golden-Crowned. And, of course, there Brewer’s and Red-Winged Blackbirds everywhere.

There were several hawks out including a Red-Shouldered one and a Red-Tailed Hawk that sat near the top of a telephone pole and seemed to be sort of leaning on it. As I got closer, I was surprised that it didn’t startle and fly away, and I worried that maybe it was sick. When I got closer enough to get a good look at it, though, I realized it was blind on one side. There was swelling and crusty exudate covering the eye.  When the bird turned its head so it was facing me, its bright good eye caught sight of me, and it kept watching me until I moved away.

Elsewhere, in another tree was another Red-Tailed Hawk being harassed by a Kestrel. As fate would have it, my camera battery died before I could get photos of the tiny bird trying to defend its tree. By the time I’d changed out the old battery for a new one and brought my camera up to take photos, the hawk was still there, but the kestrel was gone. Dang it! Such is the naturalist’s lot…

There was more water in some of the fields than I’d previously seen there, but not too many birds yet. Lots of Pintails and geese an a few gulls, but not much variety otherwise. I was hoping to see a Wilson’s Snipe, but no luck yet.

I did find one spot along the road where I saw a bird sitting in the middle of a field by itself. I thought that was odd, so I parked the car and got out to see if I could get a closer view and photo of it. I realized it was a Northern Harrier. I thought maybe it had brought its breakfast to ground, but no, it was just sitting there, like it was resting up. It shifted in the grass when it realized I was looking at it and then flew off.

In the downed tules and grass along that part of the road, though, I found the remains of several crayfish, heads and claws mostly. Considering their number, all in the same area, I wondered if they’d been eaten by the birds or by people.

In the preserve itself, they’re still filling the wetland areas with water. The front pond is still empty by the boardwalk, but the back fields are filling up. Again, there weren’t many birds yet, just the occasional Northern Shoveler or Cinnamon Teal. By Thanksgiving we should be seeing more variety out there. Where the water is just starting to come in, everything smells awful (like rotting grass and sour bird droppings) and there’s a kind of “oil slick” on the top of the water.  Once the water reaches a certain level, all of this goes away, but right now the place stinks.

At the preserve I saw Killdeer, Stilts and Pipits, but not in large numbers.  As along the roads, there were blackbirds among the tules in the preserve, and sparrows, including some Song Sparrows.

CLICK HERE for the full album of photos.

Somewhat disappointed by what I was seeing at the preserve, I decided to drive up to Staten Island Road to see if there was anything interesting there. Several of the agricultural fields have been plowed up, and others were just starting to get plowed, so there was a lot of dust and smell of manure everywhere.  Other fields, though, were nearly completely flooded, and other were left with the remnants of corn plants so the cranes and other birds could forage through them for roots, leaves and discarded corn kernels. There were also cattle in a couple of the fields but they didn’t seem to bother the birds.

There were also lots and lots of handsome Sandhill Cranes, and many of them were close enough to the road to get good photographs of them. In one spot, I was taking pictures of a small flock of them in a field when, to my surprise, two of cranes that were apparently foraging in the ditch along the side of the road, suddenly stood up right in front of me. I was able to get quite a few shots of them before they scuttled away.

I also got to see some of the cranes dancing. According to Bird Note:

“…The stately cranes are courting, renewing an annual dance they perform in earnest as the days lengthen into spring. The dance begins with a downward bow, the cranes’ long, slender bills nearly touching the ground. Then, like enormous marionettes pulled deftly upward, the cranes leap several feet off the ground, wings outstretched. Bowing and leaping, raising and lowering their wings, the cranes dance on… Sandhill Crane pairs remain together for life, and their spirited dance plays an essential role in reaffirming this bond…They might also throw a stick or some plants into the air.”

I saw a couple of the cranes tossing vegetation and picking up sticks, but not always while they were dancing. I also caught some photos of one who was jumping so high in the dance, that he jumped up right out of the frame.  Beautiful!

Along with the cranes there were lots of Greater White-Fronted Geese and Cackling Geese, Killdeer, blackbirds, Pipits and House Finches, and a few Meadowlarks. 

In one of the flooded fields there were Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets foraging together. Along the edges of that field were more Kildeer and Pipits, but sadly no Snipes. I didn’t see a single one all day.

In the adjacent field, however, I did get to see some Canvasback ducks. I so seldom see those, that this was a real treat.

Oddly, too, in two of the fields, I saw Northern Harriers sitting on the ground. I wasn’t able to get any photos of one of them, but I got a few blurry pix as the other took off from the ground and flew away.  Odd to see of the birds just sitting in different fields, in different places, at different times.

Along the fence lines were dozens of House Finches showing off to one another. In some places there were so many of them, I didn’t know where to point the camera first – but I opted to try to focus on the rosy-colored boys.            

I was out for about 6½ hours, and was hungry and hurting by the time I got back to Sacramento

Species List:

1. American Bugleweed, Water Horehound, Lycopus americanus
2. American Coot, Fulica americana
3. American Pipit, Anthus rubescens
4. Armenian Blackberry, Rubus armeniacus
5. Black Angus Cattle, Bos Taurus var. Black Angus
6. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
7. Black-Necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus
8. Brewer’s Blackbird, Euphagus cyanocephalus
9. Cackling Goose, Branta hutchinsii
10. Canada Goose, Branta canadensis
11. Canvasback Duck, Aythya valisineria
12. Cattle Egret, Bubulcus ibis
13. Charolais Cattle, Bos Taurus var. Charolais
14. Cinnamon Teal, Anas cyanoptera
15. Corn, Zea mays ssp. mays
16. European Starling, Sturnus vulgaris
17. Floating Water Primrose, Ludwigia peploides ssp. Peploides
18. Goodding’s Black Willow, Salix gooddingii
19. Golden Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia atricapilla
20. Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
21. Great Egret, Ardea alba
22. Greater White-Fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
23. House Finch, Haemorhous mexicanus
24. Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
25. Least Sandpiper, Calidris minutilla
26. Narrowleaf Cattail, Cattail, Typha angustifolia
27. Narrowleaf Willow, Salix exigua
28. Northern Harrier, Marsh Hawk, Circus hudsonius
29. Northern Mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos
30. Northern Pintail, Anas acuta
31. Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
32. Oak Apple Gall Wasp, Andricus quercuscalifornicus
33. Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
34. Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
35. Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
36. Red Swamp Crayfish, Crawfish, Crawdad, Procambarus clarkia
37. Rice, Oryza sativa
38. Ring-Billed Gull, Larus delawarensis
39. Rough Cocklebur, Xanthium strumarium
40. Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis
41. Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
42. Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
43. Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
44. Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
45. Turkey Oak, Quercus cerris
46. Valley Oak, Quercus lobata
47. Western Meadowlark, Sturnella neglecta
48. White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
49. White-Faced Ibis, Plegadis chihi [flying overhead]

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.

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.

Species List:

1. American Coot, Fulica americana
2. American Kestrel, Falco sparverius
3. American Pipit, Anthus rubescens
4. Black Phoebe, Sayornis nigricans
5. Black-Necked Stilt, Himantopus mexicanus
6. Blessed Milk Thistle, Silybum marianum
7. Bristly Oxtongue, Helminthotheca echioides
8. California Ground Squirrel, Otospermophilus beecheyi
9. Columbian Black-Tailed Deer, Odocoileus hemionus columbianus
10. Common Crow, American Crow, Corvus brachyrhynchos
11. Common Raven, Corvus corax
12. Common Teasel, Dipsacus fullonum
13. Eared Grebe, Podiceps nigricollis
14. Floating Water Primrose, Ludwigia peploides ssp. Peploides
15. Gadwall duck, Mareca Strepera
16. Goodding’s Black Willow, Salix gooddingii
17. Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias
18. Great Egret, Ardea alba
19. Greater White-Fronted Goose, Anser albifrons
20. Interior Sandbar Willow, Salix interior
21. Killdeer, Charadrius vociferous
22. Lesser Goldfinch, Spinus psaltria
23. Mallard duck, Anas platyrhynchos
24. Marsh Wren, Cistothorus palustris [heard]
25. Narrowleaf Willow, Salix exigua
26. Northern Pintail, Anas acuta
27. Northern Shoveler, Anas clypeata
28. Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus
29. Pied-Billed Grebe, Podilymbus podiceps
30. Poison Hemlock, Conium maculatum
31. Red Gum Eucalyptus, River Redgum, Eucalyptus camaldulensis
32. Red-Shouldered Hawk, Buteo lineatus
33. Red-Tailed Hawk, Buteo jamaicensis
34. Red-Winged Blackbird, Agelaius phoeniceus
35. Ring-Necked Pheasant, Phasianus colchicus
36. Rio Grande Wild Turkey, Meleagris gallopavo intermedia
37. Ross’s Goose, Chen rossii
38. Ruddy Duck, Oxyura jamaicensis
39. Salt Grass, Distichlis spicata
40. Savannah Sparrow, Passerculus sandwichensis
41. Snow Goose, Chen caerulescens
42. Snowy Egret, Egretta thula
43. Song Sparrow, Melospiza melodia
44. Sora, Porzana carolina
45. Tule, Common Tule, Schoenoplectus acutus
46. Turkey Vulture, Cathartes aura
47. White Tailed Kite, Elanus leucurus
48. White-Crowned Sparrow, Zonotrichia leucophrys
49. Yellow Starthistle, Centaurea solstitialis