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.

Spring is Coming!

Despite all the rain and gray weather we are having, spring is coming. I promise. And with it will come green hills and wildflowers. I'll be doing more posts in the next month or so on spring photography, but here's a taste of what you can expect to see as the weather warms and the skies clear.

You can view all of my photos tagged with 'spring' on my main website.

California Poppies north of Chico

Wildflowers and Mount Lassen, from the Vina Plains, north of Chico.

Oak tree along Leesville Road, west of Williams

Owls Clover on Table Mountain

Sutter Buttes in Spring

February - Almond Blossom Month

Mid-February is special and particularly beautiful time in the Sacramento Valley; the time when the hundreds of thousands of acres of almond trees bloom.

California produces 80% of the world's almonds, and winter wouldn't be complete without the endless sea of white flowers that appear for two weeks every year.

Here is a sample of what the orchards look like during the bloom (you can see my full set of almond orchard images on my main website):

Hallmarks of the Sacramento Valley: The Sacramento River

Nothing communicates the character of the Sacramento Valley's natural environment like the Sacramento River.

The river begins way up near the Oregon border in the northeast corner of the state as the Pit River. A shorter tributary, the Sacramento River proper, begins on the slopes of Mt. Shasta. Along with the McCloud River, they meet at Shasta Lake and flow from there through the valley, past downtown Sacramento, into the Sacramento Delta, and then on to the San Francisco Bay.

You can learn a lot more about the river on these sites:

• sacramentoriver.org
• Sacramento River Watershed Program
• Sacramento River Presentation Trust

As one of the defining natural and recreational features of the Sacramento Valley, photographs of the river can do a lot to communicate the character and lifestyle in our region.

Here are a few of my images of the Sacramento River at its tributaries:

The Pit River at Fall River Mills, in far northeastern California

Boaters on the Sacramento River near Anderson

The Sacramento River at Sacramento

The Sacramento skyline reflected in the Sacramento River

Clouds reflected in the Sacramento River near Knights Landing

The Sacramento River at Rio Vista in the Sacramento Delta

Walnut Orchards in the Fall

The autumn leaf colors in the Sacramento Valley this year have lasted longer than most years. I've gotten several sets of great images of fall color from Chico's Bidwell Park. In addition, this has been a great year for color in the walnut orchards around the valley.

In many years, the leaves on the walnut trees just turn splotchy brown, but this year we've seen a lot of great color - mixes of greens and yellows - and even some golds - in the tree leaves. And the color is lasting longer than in most years. As a result, I've made several shooting trips this season just to photograph the walnut orchards as they change color.

Here are a few images from walnut orchards near Corning and Chico taken in the past week or so. I think you'll agree that walnut orchards can be amazingly beautiful at this time of year. (you can view the full set of recent orchard photos on my main Website).

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.