Winter Wildlife Photos - Part 3

The third day of my winter wildlife shoot was predicted to start clear and then later turn to rain, so I headed out before dawn hoping to get my shooting in during the morning.

It was bitterly cold, and already mostly cloudy by the time I got into the rice fields, so I opted to try to capture the sunrise and then see what happened after that.

I found a good rice field, set up my tripod, and was rewarded with a beautiful, still sunrise.

Sunrise west of Richvale

Unfortunately, that was it for the day. The clouds closed in, and I headed home.

The next day dawned sunny and clear, so I decided to head to the Colusa National Wildlife Refuge, where I've gotten wonderful images in previous years.

This time, the wildlife were much shier than before, and I was only able to get a couple of good images.

White-fronted Goose, Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

Pintail Duck, Colusa National Wildlife Refuge

But I still had plenty of daylight, so I headed back up the road to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, where I met with greater success.

There are a lot of pheasants at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge, but they are typically very skittish and rarely let you get close enough to photograph them. Today, I was very lucky, as several pheasants pecked near the side of the road and let me creep close enough for some nice portraits.

Ring-necked Pheasant

Of course, there are plenty of Snow Geese here.

Snow Geese

One of the best parts of the shoot was watching a Great Egret hunt patiently for its dinner. I watched this bird for about 10 minutes before it suddenly skewered a small mouse or a vole on its beak and swallowed it whole for its dinner.

A Great Egret on the hunt

The egret catches a vole or mouse for it's dinner

The Great Egret after it swallowed its dinner

The setting sun is reflected on the water and silhouettes a Snow Goose

All in all, this year's winter wildlife shoot was a great success!

Winter Wildlife Photos - Part 2

One the second day of my winter wildlife shoot with the 800mm super telephoto (see previous post), I headed out to Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, a state-managed wildlife refuge just north of the Sutter Buttes.

While there are many of the same birds here, there were a few, like the Black-necked Stilt, that I rarely see at other refuges. Click on the images to view larger.

Red-tail Hawk up close and personal

One of the best images I was able to capture was a close up of a Red-tail Hawk. It was so intent on hunting a small vole (as it turned out when it later pounced on it) that it allowed me to get very close without flying away.

Black-necked Stilt

Great Egret taking a stroll

Another Great Egret

A Great Blue Heron resting as sunset approaches

On the way out of the refuge, we passed by flooded rice fields reflecting a stunning sunset. I had to stop and at least capture a few frames.

Winter Wildlife Photos - Part 1

Every year for my birthday, I rent a super telephoto lens from borrowlenses.com (a great company BTW) for a few days and head out to the various wildlife refuges around the Sacramento Valley to shoot the millions of ducks, geese, and other birds that winter here in the refuges and rice fields.

This year I rented a Canon 800mm telephoto. This is a fantastic lens! When hooked up to my Canon 7D, it gives an effective focal length of 1280mm - a truly awesome reach that allows me to get amazingly close to the wildlife.

The weather was beautiful this year - clear and cold.

The first day out, I decided to visit my favorite place to shoot wildlife, the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, south of Willows and was able to capture some wonderful images (click on the images to view larger).

Great Blue Heron

Snow Geese in flight, with the snow-covered Coast Range in the background.

A Red-winged Blackbird calls out as sunset approaches.

White-fronted Goose

The sunset is reflected in the water as a Snow Goose swims by.

Hallmarks of the Sacramento Valley: Winter Waterfowl

The Sacramento Valley is one of the premiere wintering sites for birds on the Pacific Flyway. According to Ducks Unlimited, between 1 and 3 million ducks, geese and swans winter in the Sacramento Valley. But more than just ducks and geese winter in the Sacramento Valley. Everything from egrets and herons to ibises, stilts, and pheasants winter in the valley. There are times when the sky is literally dark with birds.

Starting in October, and continuing through March, the flocks of birds that inhabit the refuges and rice fields are a hallmark of the Sacramento Valley - and can be used to great effect in publications and Websites to communicate the unspoiled natural environment of the Sacramento Valley.

I made a recent trip to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge to record some of the wildlife. It wasn't my most successful trip, but here are a few of the more interesting images:

Female green heron

Ducks at Sunset

Snow geese in Flight

See my full selection of wildlife photos on my main Website. Here are some images from other visits to the refuge:

Snow Geese in Flight

White-faced Ibis

Snowy Egret

Great Blue Heron

Snow Geese at Sunrise

Though the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge near Willows is one of my favorite places to go, there are many other refuges, both federal  and state, in the valley to visit.