Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge Trip Number Two!!

A bird came down the walk:

He did not know I saw

He bit an angle worm in halves

And ate the follow raw.

~~Emily Dickinson

It is in the hopes of seeing birds and more of God's creatures that I often feel strongly drawn to get outdoors and go.  Preferably somewhere I can drive and see different sights and sounds than I see every day in Sacramento.  

I feel so blessed to have the National Wildlife Refuges to soothe my soul, fulfill my passions for nature, wildlife, and birds, educate my mind, and provide me with countless opportunities to take photos.

And the Klamath Basin complex is just absolutely one of the best.  

In the last post, I saw coyotes, bald and golden eagles, and hawks galore!  And the last time I was there, I had close up encounters with eagles, ducks, and even a bobcat eating breakfast!

Next I was headed to Tule Lake, just down the road.  The last time I was there, it was a little later towards Spring and I saw some amazing grebes, ducks, and geese galore!   This time, I wasn't sure what to expect since it was still technically winter.  

The sky was still amazing!

The first bird I saw was a Great Blue Heron on a telephone pole. 

And another one on this farmer thingie.  

I was a little disappointed that the lake wasn't covered with birds as it had been in my last visit.  But the lake itself was even more beautiful. And I do love the opportunity to get some good landscape shots!

Practically mid-shot, one of the heron's flew alongside the lake.  I'm so glad I got a half-decent shot!

And Oh. My. Goodness.  I love weird things.  Beautiful, weird things like these Hooded Mergansers which I had never seen before!

Then on my way back home, I had to literally stop in the road to let an entire herd of deer cross in front of me!

They were bound and determined to get to these pine trees in someone's yard.  Their butts peaking out were so cute!

I wasn't the only one stopped for a few minutes.  But I don't think either of us were complaining since we had such a nice, fun view. 

Some were obviously youngsters and they were especially cute.  

They all looked so velvety and gorgeous.  

It was funny, but the stream of deer seemed neverending! About 15 had crossed the road and there were more in the field on the other side.  They didn't seem in a hurry though, so I moved along myself. 

I stopped by the Visitor Center where I had seen the bobcat the year before.  No bobcats this year, but I did see this cute ground squirrel.  

And then, just as I was pulling out of the parking lot, I had the feeling of being watched.  I looked around and then up.  And saw that I was indeed the target of a pair of baleful eyes!

Did I say baleful?  I meant to say beautiful! A big and beautiful Great-horned Owl!

I thought I couldn't possibly be more blessed on this trip.  But I couldn't be more wrong.  I stopped at the vista point beside Lower Klamath to take one more photo of Mt. Shasta. 

And in the farmer's field on the other side of the road, I saw many, many birds apparently full from their morning meals and enjoying the sunlight!

Four Bald Eagles and countless Ravens and Hawks. 

And then they started swirling like an avian tornado!

In this next shot I count at least five Bald Eagles, a Golden Eagle, and at least seven Ravens. 

Here's another Golden.  Or they could be juvenile Baldies.  

So incredible!!  These birds are so huge and so powerful.  To see them in nature, up close and personal, is such a dream. I need to start planning another trip up there.  And I still need to get to the Upper Klamath!  Each time I've gone, the Upper Klamath had too much snow on the ground for my little car to navigate.  Maybe next year.  :)

xoxo

Nikon D3300

True Love for Tule Lake!

After seeing so many eagles and that amazing bobcat experience down the road at Lower Klamath, I wasn't sure if the sister refuge at Tule Lake would live up to the hype.  But almost immediately, I was transported back into the magical world of discovering nature and critters that I never thought I would see. 

I saw a little boat launch with a lot of birds around it, so I pulled in to see if I could get any decent shots.  I couldn't.  But just as I parked my car beside the water and opened my door, I heard a loud SPLASH and saw this little critter swimming away from where I had disturbed it's sunbathing on the bank.

I think it's a muskrat because of the way the tail looks in the water and because he was smaller than the only beavers I've seen. 

I tried to remain as still as a statue hoping he would swim back towards me, but he didn't.  So I, too moved along. I turned onto the auto tour road and immediately saw some cool birds floating on the brilliant, blue lake. 

A Western Grebe

And a beautifully weird looking female Common Merganser.

I was told by the rangers at the visitor center and also by some other travelers I had been speaking with that there was a large flock of Snow Geese.  Now, I was blessed to see a huge flock of Snow and Ross Geese at the very first National Wildlife Refuge I ever happened upon in Merced.  It's one of the things that got me hooked on bird watching. So I was very happy to hear that I would be seeing some at Tule Lake and this flock did not disappoint.    

Clark's Grebe - notice that the black cap does not come down over the eyes like it does on the Western Grebe photo above. 

Oh! I've always tried to get a good shot of a beautiful Ruddy Duck with their distinctive blue bills but the blue has never really stood out in any of my other photos.  But this guy's bill was so vibrant that even I couldn't mess it up! And it looks like he has blue guyliner on too.  How emo. 

I was told by the Rangers that the Grebes were beginning to partner up and that I might be fortunate enough to see a mating dance.  They said it was a little early for it, but that someone had reported seeing one a couple days before.  

So imagine my delight when I spotted a couple doing the preliminary preening moves of the mating dance. 

I waited for quite a while, but they never did the running along the water bit.  They were taking it slow and I guess that's a good thing for true love. haha Since I didn't see it, here's a gif of a BBC production so you know what I'm talking about. 

via GIPHY

On to the next treat!!  I turned my attention skyward when I saw the splendor of a large Bald Eagle sitting on a telephone pole surveying his kingdom (and probably looking for his next snack).  

As I usually do, I snapped photos every few feet or so as I inched my car forward while praying that he wouldn't fly away. 

Closer!!

I really think he's trying to decide if he should eat me.  I'm very heavy Mister Eagle!

As I inched underneath and past him, he hopped from the middle to the ends and back to the middle again.  Of course I didn't get any photos of that. haha

And now he's in the middle!

I pulled a little way passed him and then leaned out the window to get a few last shots, just in time to see him spread his wings and hop to the end again! And of course I didn't get the camera up in time. 

I love this shot.  Wish it was a little clearer but it looks like the perfect American Bald Eagle you see on posters with Uncle Sam. 

Here is a completely zoomed out shot so you can see what he looked like to the naked eye!  Pretty impressive specimen!

Just after that, another very large white and black bird few over me! 

I followed him to his pod of fellow pelicans and watched them for a bit as they fished in the American White Pelican's coordinated fishing dance. 

I saw a couple of Canvasbacks - the first I've ever seen I think. 

And a purple-headed Northern Shoveler!

And then the auto-tour suddenly spit me out into the high desert on the far side of the lake! But it wasn't over...not yet.  

There were lots of cool landscape shots to be had.  Including this one with a meadowlark and a prairie dog sitting on rocks!

And this landscape of two prairie dogs with Mt. Shasta in the background. 

And this landscape with a Northern Harrier flying through. 

There were still birds to be seen, for sure. 

But the beautiful landscape was just as much the star of the show now. 

After figuring out where the hell I was, I headed for Lava Beds National Monument to explore some history.  

xoxo

Nikon D3300