On the last, beautiful day of 2016, I was determined to get out of house and see some of this beautiful world! So off I set for the magnificent Redwoods National and State Parks.
On my way, I passed the Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge and, since I told myself I wanted to visit all the National Wildlife Refuges I can before they're gone, I had to stop.
It is a very pretty refuge, although it is one that does not have an auto tour and the viewing seemed to me to be more at a distance than other refuges I've been at. In all fairness, there was a pond with a cool viewing gazebo that was very close but there were no waterfowl in it while I was there. The views were fabulous, though, and I had a wonderful walk to stretch my legs after being in the car for so long. It's also a good Pokemon Go area with several Poke Stops and a lot of Pokemon around.
So let's take a walk!
The sun was shining on the little canal at the perfect angle to create some very beautiful bokeh when I zoomed in on the cattails.
Such gorgeous, natural bokeh shining like ropes of diamonds and pearls adorning the creek.
I couldn't help taking another photo.
There were a lot of trees with the California version of Spanish Moss; I tried, but don't think I captured it very well.
And fields and fields of cattails! I've never seen so many in one place.
I was a little surprised to not see a lot of raptors flying about, but then I realized they were all already on the ground eating! Here's three in one shot.
I love the look of these next two photos. The pastel colors with the dark waterfowl just look so beautiful.
Female Bufflehead Duck
Greater Yellowlegs
American Coot running takeoff
These next two photos were taken from the viewing platform in the middle of the refuge. The ponds were quite a ways from the platform, even with all the recent rain so I pulled out the 500mm lens and took these sans tripod. Not horrible, but I was having trouble seeing the focus with the wrong contacts in. In case you can't identify them, there are a bunch of Long-billed Curlews and American Avocets with a few gulls mixed in.
From the hike, one can view some areas of the bay and there is some information on how it was dredged for deep sea ships to be able to enter the harbor.
We'll leave off with a Ruddy Duck in black and white.
Sightings:
Ruddy Ducks
American Coots
Canada and Cackling Geese
Hawks
Bufflehead ducks
American Avocets
Long-billed Curlews
Kestral
Greater Yellowlegs
Mallard Ducks
Northern Shoveler Ducks
Great Egret
xoxo
