Hello!
On the morning of December 9th, I made my way north up CA State Route 99 until I passed Chowchilla and then turned west on Sandy Mush Road. This rough country lane passes through largely undeveloped ranches full of old windmills and gopher and squirrel holes, and many Red-Tailed Hawks and American Kestrels that enjoy sitting on fence posts at eye level. Cutting across route 59 between Kerman and Merced, it was only a few more miles until I reached my destination - Merced National Wildlife Refuge.
Arriving almost precisely at noon with an expected high in the afternoon of around 60°F, I was struck by the number of other visitors at the refuge. There were several cars visible on the auto tour route and perhaps a dozen people on the main observation platform overlooking the nearest flooded area. There I could dimly see the white silhouettes of hundreds of geese, and clearly hear their unmistakable squabbling. I parked my car and went away from the crowd, towards the Meadowlark Trail loop.
At first there were only some sparrows and kinglets in sight, until I came across this Red-Tailed Hawk perched almost directly overhead. I admired him/her until it flew away then continued down the trail. The dreariness of the late autumn afternoon was almost overwhelming, and I only stopped for a moment to watch the tiny Kinglets, yet failed to photograph them. The creek that ran beside the trail was empty and was the focal feature in a scene dominated by Black Willows.
Around the corner one emerges onto a path leading towards open ground, which was full of dry weeds and grasses. There was a couple walking further up the trail and I suspected that there would be few birds left in the wake of their laughter, so I decided to cut my route short. As I walked between the trees situated to the south and the open ground on the north, I saw a mature female harrier hunt briefly before flying out of sight. A couple of Black Phoebes, Savannah Sparrows and Mockingbirds made up the rest of my company, and I also confirmed my first California Towhee! The photo is rough but here it is anyway...
I made up for that one when a Red-Tailed Hawk flew out from among the trees and began circling right overhead. It was probably the same one that I watched earlier.
Stopping to take photos of a Northern Mockingbird that was perched on some dry sunflowers notwithstanding, I decided to make my way back towards the parking area as promptly as I might. This I ended up accomplishing without much fuss, as it seemed all of the birds had indeed scattered as the couple made their way back before me.
On my way back to the car I was astonished to see that the number of people up on the observation platform had almost doubled, and there were maybe a dozen cars parked where there had only been three or four just twenty minutes prior. I have visited wildlife refuges and nature preserves around the San Joaquin valley dozens of times over the past three years, and I was almost taken aback by the idea that so many people could be in such a place at once. Usually I could rely upon blissful solitude, and instead I began to worry about things like competing for photo opportunities!
Not letting it get the best of me, I set my things up in the passenger seat and opened the sun roof and both windows before starting on the auto tour route. It wends around the perimeter of the central ponds in a roughly square shape, and offers numerous chances to slow down and enjoy the scenery and whatever wildlife might be around. As I have already suggested, the main reason there were so many visitors at the time was to see the flocks of migrating geese, which were present in the thousands!
While I attempted to poorly photograph some of the Snow Geese as they came down to land in the pond, I happened to look across the way and noticed a coyote! It was creeping slowly across a dry field towards the ditch that ran along the road, and I stopped the car just ten yards away and slipped outside. As it came closer it became wary and only my car and a bunch of weeds separated us. I was surprised when it began to eat a dead bird that seemed to appear out of nowhere!
After the coyote finished its meal and slunk off to the north, I crept back into the car and continued down the tour route. Many of the ponding basins in the wildlife refuge were flooded for the sake of migrating waterfowl, and without exception the most prevalent regular guests were American Coots. These little birds of the rail family seem to be at home in all of the same situations as dabbling ducks, and I feel that they are underappreciated due to their common appearance in most freshwater areas. So I still stop to admire them when the chance is given - which is frequently!
Not feeling pressed in any way to hurry along, despite a little white Honda Civic appearing in my rearview mirror, I stopped to watch and photograph most of the birds that did not move away as my car approached. On the east side there was a muddy spot where I saw two Black-Necked Stilts standing beside the water, cleaning themselves with their dainty beaks as they each balanced on one leg. They did not heed my appearance just a few feet above their position, and I discerned the advantages of being in a car at that moment.
The ducks most frequently mingling with the coots near the shores of the flooded basins were Northern Shovelers. I find shovelers to be beautiful ducks and feel fortunate that there is a large resident population in the valley. As I drove along the embankment there were many couples floating around and feeding nearby, which gave me time to take photos at various angles. I noticed them frequently up-ending to dabble for food beneath the surface of the water, while their Audubon profile states that this method seldom occurs. I suppose the conditions were right!
Driving along I did disturb many of the ducks and small birds that were situated along the waterside, but one little American Pipit seemed particularly curious about the appearance of my vehicle in its path. As I cruised along at a cautious speed, it continued to jump off the road and settle beside my car before it flew ahead. This was repeated a few times until I finally turned a corner. Here is an uncropped photo of it at 300mm!
I am simply terrible with gulls and could not see them up close, but on an island not far from the shore I spotted quite a few having a siesta. During the rest of the afternoon I would spot them randomly among the geese that were flying around the refuge, but did not get an opportunity to scrutinize them. Nor do I think I would have if given the chance... I'll post the only photo I took for the sake of those who might be interested!
As I went along the southern end of the tour route I passed by a couple of American Kestrels and Red-Tailed Hawks, but they were all more wary than the smaller birds and kept their distance. Keeping my eyes towards the water seemed like my best bet, and soon I found myself looking at a couple of Blackbirds that I did not immediately recognize. After some thought it seemed reasonable to assume that they were Red-Winged Blackbirds, but it was not until I did some research that I reckoned they were immature males. Their torsos had rather diverse patterns that reminded me of starlings and their wing patches were not fully developed.
With the geese mostly staying in the central parts of the pond, tens or hundreds of yards from my position along the shore, I continued to pay attention to the various waterfowl that were within range. Besides the numerous coots and shovelers, there were a few very distinctive ducks that I had not seen before in the wild, but recognized from my studies. These were Cinnamon Teals, which are uniquely situated on the west coast while their cousins range further abroad. The reason for their name was utterly apparent!
At the southeast corner of the auto route there is a parking lot that leads to an observation platform and also to the Bittern Marsh trail. I knew that I wanted to indulge in both of these experiences, and parked the car without further ado. It was two o'clock and I had already been at the refuge for a while, but what I did not expect was to stay for nearly three more hours until dusk! That leg of the journey will be recorded in my next blog post. Cheers!
Comments
Post a Comment