Visiting Modoc National Wildlife Refuge - California Travel Photos

I don't usually visit National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) in the Spring or Summer because I like to go when the migration is happening.  But I got word that Sandhill Cranes nest at Modoc and wanted to see if I could get some baby chick pictures.  

Spoiler Alert:  I couldn't.

But it was a beautiful experience anyway and I did, in fact, get some baby pictures...just not of chicks.  lol  I got there later than I intended and that may have figured in to my lack of Crane chicks.  When I arrived mid-morning, it was already starting to get hot and there were a LOT of people on the Refuge.

Apparently Modoc is one of the refuges that allows people to walk and bike ride on the auto trail during the summer months.  I even saw a couple walking their dogs along the trail which, as you can imagine, probably doesn't bode well for wildlife to be out and about.

So I got a lot of cool "landscape" photos.  :-)

To my happiness, there were birds and mammals around even though it conditions weren't exactly the best. 

Various Ducks, Egrets, Gulls galore!  And even Pelicans and Terns!

Even though Spring had passed, there were beautiful flowers blooming as well.  

So many Gulls!  But if you look closely, you will see a few black-headed Terns in the mix along with some Black-Necked Stilts.

And turtles!!!  

 Deer oh deer!  I saw LOTS of deer!

Technically, this isn't on the Refuge, but it is on the road just before getting to Highway 395.  I couldn't believe these two guys with their fuzzy antlers were just standing there looking at me.  They didn't move even while I turned around to get a better position.  Thanks mon bebes!

Next post will have the closeups and more birds and animals that I encountered.  Some very adorable and unexpected!!  Stay tuned!

xoxo

Nikon D600
Tamron Nikon Mount 150-600 F5-6.3 DiVC (handheld)

Rounding Out Yolo County - Davis Arboretum & Dixon Sunflowers 7/2/16

Continuing on my quest to see as much of Yolo County as I could in one weekend, my daughter and I headed West on I-80 for a walk in the University of California - Davis Arboretum and then a quick shopping jaunt at the Vacaville Outlets.

On the previous day, I put many miles on my car and body to check out beautiful Sunflowers, busy bees, and cool-looking farms.  I also stopped for to talk to a turkey vulture and see some graffiti before visiting safflower fields and hiking along Cache Creek.

So it was nice (for me...not so much for her) to have my daughter drive me and spare my poor, old car.  Plus, she has air-conditioning.  And it was hot. But we knew that there would be at least some shade and hopefully some cool critters to see.  

First spotted was a gorgeous Green Heron who was hoping to catch some lunch in the algae-covered water. 

  

There were some interesting spectators who didn't want to be that lunch...

But Mr. Heron kept trying anyway.

There are lovely plants and flowers at the Arboretum of course.  Such as these gorgeous white an purple blooms. 

I made a cute, scaly friend who was just hanging out on a tree trunk. 

There were a profusion of these lovely pink and yellow spotted flowers.  I tried a couple different edits...

I was fascinated by these gorgeous yellow balls growing on this tree!  They were amazing!

We crossed the Love Lock Bridge to head back to the car.  It was almost like being in Paris!  Except Paris took all their locks down.  

We made a brief stop to visit the matched-pair of black beauties in the horse paddock.  These sweet boys didn't want to move from under the shade on this hot day. 

We headed for the Outlets, but had to stop for gas.  When we did, we saw another incredible sunflower field behind the gas station on Pedrick Road.  It was perfect with the foothills in the background!

Like the other sunflower fields, there were hundreds of busy bees buzzing around.  I took advantage of this to try to take a "trendy" photo with some good success!

There were almost as many photographers and selfie-artists in the field as there were bees.  And I got photobombed by one.  haha

A lot of the flowers in this field were deformed, which was interesting.  I wonder why?

One last shot with the furrows filled with precious water.  

And then we were on our way.  

There were some spots I missed on my weekend which will have to be visited at another time, such as the lavender farm.  Which will just give me reason for another roadie!

xoxo

Nikon D3300 18-55 lens