It didn't take me long to recover from my amazing weekend in the Southern California deserts and Salton Sea and soon I was back on the road. It won't take YOU long to catch up if you need to! Just click on the link(s) below!
2) The hot yet cool Mud Volcanoes and still more adorable Owls and Birds.
3) The wacky and yet inspiring artistry of Salvation Mountain and Slab City.
4) Death and Beauty at the Bombay Beach Ruins.
6) See the gorgeous flowers, lizards, and beetle (yes, singular) that I found as I #TrackedTheBloom.
A couple of weekends later, I decided to take a trip that I'd been wanting to do all Winter, but the copious amounts of rain, snow, and ice throughout Northern California had prevented it. I'd been dying to take the road to the Lower Klamath Basin to see the National Wildlife Refuges there.
I'd heard that bald eagles abound up there in the Winter, but earlier this year I had called and spoke with a ranger who said that, due to the drought, it was not as common to see them clustered together. He said they are still there, but just spaced out more due to lack of snow and ice. This winter they had a LOT of snow and ice but he recommended that I not make the drive until mid-March because I'm a flat-lander who isn't used to driving on snow/ice.
I took his advice and, when I had a day off of work that most people don't get (not to mention my daughter was working from my home and preferred that I not be there to stress her out!) I decided to get up early in the morning and make the drive.
I left around 2:00 a.m. which was perfect because I reached beautiful, snow-covered Mount Shasta just as the sun started rising in the East. It was fu%&ing freezing! But I stopped for a few photos because how could I not?
After getting some amazing shots, I hopped back on Highway 97 and headed North towards the Oregon border.
In the opposite direction, the sunrise was extremely vivid and when I reached the Grass Lake rest stop, I couldn't resist pulling over for another couple photos. Luckily there was a beautiful goose or swan on the lake in just the perfect, photogenic spot.
I didn't stop again until I reached the Lower Klamath NWR on Highway 161. I stopped at the vista point to get my first look at the refuge.
As I stood there, taking photos of Shasta, a large bird overflew me. In an EXTREMELY good sign, the first bird I saw was a Golden Eagle!
I snapped away as it flew over the refuge...
And then turned to see from whence it came. To my excitement, I could see two more large eagles sitting in the farmer's field across the street!! Another golden and my first bald eagle of the day.
I got back in my car and turned onto the refuge. I stopped at the information kiosk and took a little walk to a viewing platform to stretch my legs after the 6 hour drive. There were tons of blackbirds around, puffed up to stay warm.
I headed out on the 10-mile auto-tour to see what I could see. Fun fact: Lower Klamath is our Nation's first established waterfowl refuge established by Teddy Roosevelt in 1908. There were quite a few waterfowl floating and flitting around. Including two of my favorites, Cinnamon Teal...
...and Northern Shoveler.
The birds here seemed a bit more skittish than at other refuges I've visited. Maybe because it's more remote up here. I found quite a few Lesser Scaup which I hadn't spotted at other places this year.
And then I saw eagle numba 4! Now, I will say that I think this may have been the same Golden as the first eagle I saw. But since I can't be sure, I'm going to count this as number 4.
From huge to little, the next birds I saw were those beautiful bandits, Tree Swallows.
And then I saw Bald Eagle number two (total eagle number 5!)! Woot! This guy was in a tree where the light was pretty tricky. He looked like he was just head deep in a good meal! Or took a header into the mud...one of the two.
The tree he was in made for some cool photos.
And then I guess he got tired of the paparazzo and flew away! Which I actually caught!
Now this next guy was very hard to see and determine what, exactly, he is. I know it's a raptor of some sort, and maybe a bald eagle. But it definitely was smaller (even though it was at a distance, it didn't look as big as the eagles sitting in the field for instance) and the coloring seems different around the beak.
I dunno. Back to waterfowl. There were large populations of Buffleheads.
And Ruddy Ducks.
More Northern Shovelers.
I was pretty obsessed with trying to capture a decent flight picture. lol
And then I found another bald eagle! Number 2 again? Or is this now BE #3? I don't know. He was pretty far away and in the general direction that BE2 had flown.
I finished the auto-tour and turned back onto Hwy 161 to head to Tule Lake NWR and the visitor center. Along the way, I saw this behemoth sitting on the side of the road. We'll call this BE4 just in case (and Eagle #6 including the raptor that may have been a juvenile).
#SorryNotSorry I stopped my damn car in the middle of the road (there was no shoulder really), grabbed the Nikon, and squeezed off a few quick shots. Mr. America did NOT approve.
I reached the visitor center - there is one for the entire complex - and went inside to talk to the rangers and ask a ton of questions. lol But had to snap this shot of the marsh trail across the street first.
Inside the visitor center, the back wall is made of glass and they have a beautiful little area outside with feeders and a little waterway. There were so many birds out there! Including a covey of California Quails, which I unfortunately didn't get a photo of because I was talking so much! When I turned back to the window, they had already scurried off.
Spotted Towhee!
They also have a couple of resident squirrels.
I left the visitor center to head to Tule Lake but first I felt prompted to pull into the parking lot across the street. I had seen some ground critters - prairie dogs? I have no idea but they were cute!
And then. THE most amazing thing happened. Yes, I would even say more amazing then seeing all the eagles (just by a smidge). I saw a bobcat!!! OMG!
He had apparently just caught his breakfast and wasn't sure if I was coming to take it away. These photos looked SOOO clear in my little camera window so I was a bit bummed that they are all slightly blurry.
But not really because it was sooooo COOL! I've never seen a wild cat before! So excited!
He soon decided he would be safer up the tree.
"Ha ha human! What ya going to do now?"
Okay, kitty kitty. Enjoy your meal in peace.
And with that, I was off to visit Tule Lake and see what else was out there. I can't wait to share what I saw!
xoxo
