10,000 Birds

MARCH 11, 2015

Fishing is not one of the recreational activities allowed at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge but apparently no one has passed that information on to the local bird population. Birds egrets Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Snowy Egret wading birds Click on photos for full sized images. This Snowy Egret ( Egretta thula ) is often found on the six mile auto tour route at the bottom of a dam where water flows into the adjacent irrigation canal.

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Sacramento 2015 Fish Wildlife 56

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 6, 2013

This bird was visiting Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge when I photographed it from the photo blind there two years ago. I shot this video this last Thanksgiving weekend from the Sacramento NWR on my way back from visiting the family. Birding American Pipit pipits Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge The American Pipit ( Anthus rubescens ) is described as a slim-billed, sparrow-like bird of open country.

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Sacramento 2013 Wildlife California 56

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 11, 2015

That being said, I found this juvenile recently at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. The complex headquarters at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge , Colusa NWR , and Delevan NWR all have photo blinds that are available to reserve. This adult was also seen at Sacramento NWR years earlier. Birds hawks National Wildlife Refuges raptors Red-shouldered Hawk Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

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Sacramento 2015 Wildlife Florida 59

10,000 Birds

MARCH 25, 2015

The Blue-winged Teal ( Anas discors ) is not that common in California except along the coast, so I was pretty excited to discover several pair and a few non-paired individuals of the species at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge on the day I had reserved photo blind #2. Birds Destinations Blue-winged Teal ducks National Wildlife Refuges Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge waterfowl

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10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 21, 2012

According to their website , the “Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex consists of five national wildlife refuges (NWR) and three wildlife management areas (WMA) that comprise over 35,000 acres of wetlands and uplands in the Sacramento Valley of California. More than three million ducks and one million geese migrate to the Sacramento Valley every fall.

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Sacramento 2012 Wildlife United States 56

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 5, 2012

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex offers four photo blinds on three of their refuges which can be reserved, two on the Sacramento Refuge, one at Colusa NWR and one at Delevan NWR. This is what blind #2 at the Sacramento NWR looks like.

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Sacramento 2012 Wildlife Jordan 40

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 14, 2015

I photographed these blue morph Snow Geese at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge where I saw quite a few, including this juvenile (below). Birds geese Ross''s Goose Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Snow Goose waterfowl The “ Blue Goose ” is the dark morph of the Snow Goos e ( Chen caerulescens ). Click on photos for full sized images. Color morphs are controlled by a single gene locus where the dark allele is incompletely dominant to the light.

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2015 North America Sacramento America 65

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 25, 2018

The featured image above was taken from photo blind #1 at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (SNWR). There are many raptors found at the refuges in the Sacramento Valley of California. Recently there has been a Northern Shrike ( Lanius borealis ) hanging out on the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge auto tour route. I think most of you know how important our National Wildlife Refuge system is to me.

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2018 Wildlife Bald Eagle Falcons 40

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 23, 2015

Not living on the coast is the most obvious reason that I don’t see many gulls or shorebirds but it helps having the Sacramento River, the largest river in California, running through the central valley. Birds Destinations California California Gull gulls Kutras Lake Ring-billed Gull Sacramento RiverGulls have always been a challenge to me. Maybe it’s because I don’t see them often, or seek them out, or even try to better my gull ID skills.

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California 2015 Turtles Breeding 56

10,000 Birds

MARCH 2, 2011

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2011 Wildlife Jordan Sacramento 54

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 27, 2013

The male shown in the video above, filmed at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, was in the process of gathering nesting material for what usually adds up to a dozen to two dozen nests! It is obvious to me that the male Marsh Wrens at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge are getting ready for the females to visit their breeding territories. Birds Marsh Wren Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

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2013 Wildlife Rehabilitation North America Defenders Of Wildlife 56

Critter News

MAY 31, 2009

From the Sacramento Bee: When the animal cruelty investigator attempted to grab the bandoleras, he was put in a chokehold by Darren Nunes, 24, and almost lost consciousness, according to a Sheriff's Department news release. An animal cruelty investigator from Animal Cruelty Investigations and sheriff deputy were injured at a bullfight in Thornton CA. Though the bulls were supposed to be hit with velcro darts, these ones were allegedly stabbed with nails.

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2009 Animal Cruelty Investigation Cruelty 100

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 18, 2012

Colusa National Wildlife Refuge is part of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex in California’s Central Valley. There are also two photography blinds on Sacramento NWR, one blind on Colusa NWR, and one blind on Delevan NWR. Approximately 44% of the Pacific Flyway’s waterfowl population winters in the Sacramento Valley 2. References: 1 Birds of North America Online , 2 Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex a.

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Geese Sacramento 2012 Wildlife 58

Critter News

OCTOBER 23, 2008

Department of Agriculture investigator determined the use of the bull hook “precipitated in the physical harm and ultimate death” of Benjamin, said Tracy Silverman, general counsel for the Animal Welfare Institute.The suit, also filed by The Fund for Animals, of Maryland; the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of Washington; The Animal Protection Institute of Sacramento; and Tom Rider, a former Ringling Bros.

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2008 Ringling Bros Ringling Brothers Circus Elephant 100

10,000 Birds

NOVEMBER 4, 2015

As I always do on the way home, following a short visit to the San Francisco Bay Area, I take in at least one of the National Wildlife Refuges (NWR) found in the Sacramento Valley. I usually stop at the two refuges that have easily accessed auto tour routes, the Sacramento NWR and Colusa NWR. California is blessed with 51 NWRs and Wildlife Management Areas (WMA), second only to North Dakota with 77. You can check your state’s refuges here , listed by state.

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2015 Wildlife San Francisco Sacramento 55

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 29, 2014

The video above showing the pair bonding and precopulatory behavior of the Northern Shoveler ( Anas clypeata ) was shot from the photography bind at Colusa National Wildlife Refuge , one of the refuges of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex in Northern California. The other main foraging technique employed by the Northern Shoveler using that rather large spatulate bill is filtering the open water surface as they swim, seen in this video filmed at Sacramento NWR.

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2014 Sacramento Wildlife Rehabilitation Defenders Of Wildlife 58

10,000 Birds

DECEMBER 21, 2011

Every autumn, tens of thousands of Snow Geese arrive in California’s Sacramento Valley following their long journey from the Canadian Arctic (click on photos for full sized images). Waterfowl numbers at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex may exceed two million by December, after the wetland areas of the Klamath Basin and other areas to the north become frozen.

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2011 Sacramento Arkansas South Dakota 53

10,000 Birds

JULY 15, 2015

One of the best things about our annual Audubon chapter’s Lassen Park campout is that we get to see several species of mountain birds that we don’t normally see in the Sacramento Valley. I know for a certainty that I will be able to see one of my favorites, the American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus), whenever I visit Lassen Volcanic National Park. I call this bird the Water Ouzel because I like saying it – Water Ouzel. Click on photos for full sized images.

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2015 Sacramento North America Fish 56

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 9, 2018

This past March I helped a Girl Scout troupe build and install 15 Bluebird nest boxes on the Sacramento River Trail. The Carr Fire jumped the Sacramento River within a few days after it began, at the very location we had installed the nestboxes. The photo above shows the beginning of the Carr Fire east of Redding with the Sundial Bridge in the foreground. This is about 35 miles West of my home.

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4 The Love Of Animals

MAY 8, 2011

School children in Sacramento and conference attendees in San Diego who met the dog quickly got the message, and the excitement, that no one needs to be defined by their circumstances when Tink raced toward them. Half a decade ago, in a little mountain town about 60 miles northeast of San Diego, a feral kitten dragged his front left leg uselessly.

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2011 San Diego Kittens Emotional 158

10,000 Birds

APRIL 13, 2011

I found this beauty hiking a not well known area next to the Sacramento River called Reading Island. The California Thrasher ( Toxostoma redivivum ) is endemic to coastal and foothill areas of California, extending into adjacent areas of northwest Baja California. Yup, another California native and a sweet songster to boot! You can hear one of their varied songs here (Courtesy of Xeno-canto, recorded by Steve Hampton, file XC70739 ).

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California 2011 Sacramento Birds 55

10,000 Birds

JANUARY 30, 2013

That is where I found this group of nearly 100 Tundra Swans northeast of the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge as they flew in to the flooded agricultural fields. Now you know why the most numerous and widespread of the two swan species in North America used to be known as the Whistling Swan.

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California 2013 South Dakota Sacramento 41

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 12, 2011

I found these beauties at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, one of the many locations the Black-necked Stilt breeds in the California Central Valley (map courtesy of Terry Sohl at South Dakota Birds ). Black-necked Stilt ( Himantopus mexicanus ) photos by Larry Jordan Click on photos for full sized images. This female Black-necked Stilt ( Himantopus mexicanus ) is distinguished from the male by her paler brownish back and scapulars.

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2011 South Dakota Sacramento Jordan 60

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 26, 2018

Their 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon is made from grapes from the Lodi American Viticultural Area (AVA), an appellation reserved for the northern San Joaquin Valley of California (Sand Point also makes a Cabernet Sauvignon with grapes from the Clarksburg AVA, which is further north in Sacramento, Solano, and Yolo Counties). At last count, there are 25 species of birds named for U.S. states, with varying degrees of geographical relevance (sorry, Tennessee Warbler ).

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2018 San Diego California Condor Family 43

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 9, 2017

I spent a few hours in the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge blind #1 last weekend and filmed the following video of Gadwalls ( Anus strepera ) engaged in courtship displays. According to Birds of North America Online , 97% of female Gadwall are paired by November. These pairs of ducks are obviously strengthening their pair bonds at this point. Here is the list of “Courtship Displays” from BNA Online: Introductory Shake.

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2017 Sacramento Raised North America 40

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2013

Peregrine Falcon from Sacramento NWR auto loop. This may be the method this Peregrine had used before I spotted it from the Sacramento NWR auto loop. Just recently I spotted two Peregrine Falcons at Sacramento NWR while traveling the six mile auto loop. Peregrine Falcon ( Falco peregrinus ) at Delevan NWR (click on photos for full sized images).

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Falcons 2013 Wildlife Sacramento 48

10,000 Birds

OCTOBER 23, 2013

Although not unusual to see these species in this location, considering the Sacramento River borders the East side of the plant, it seemed rather early to see the Snow Goose. Wastewater Treatment Plants are known to birders all over the country as great birding spots. If constructed properly, these facilities can be not only a boon to birders and other wildlife enthusiasts but an obvious benefit to their local communities.

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2013 Sacramento Sparrows Sanctuary 57

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2012

Living near the Sacramento River and its many lakes and tributaries makes it even more likely to see the incredible fish hawk or sea eagle we call the Osprey ( Pandion haliaetus ). Living in Northern California offers nature lovers many opportunities to view wildlife in there native habitat. Click on photos for full sized images.

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California 2012 Sacramento Breeders 64

10,000 Birds

APRIL 11, 2012

Not to disappoint, Patriot flies in a fresh fish from the Sacramento River. Since 2006 a pair of Bald Eagles ( Haliaeetus leucocephalus ) nesting at Turtle Bay in Redding California have successfully raised a dozen eaglets! The past three years the eagle pair dubbed Patriot (the male) and Liberty (the female) have been watched by thousands on an EagleCam installed by the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans).

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Bald Eagle Turtles Eagles 2012 61

10,000 Birds

AUGUST 13, 2014

” The report continues: “Following the breeding season, most tricolors are found in the Sacramento Valley where they aggregate with red-winged and other blackbird species and feed, often in large flocks, on ripening rice. More than 99% of the population of Tricolored Blackbirds ( Agelaius tricolor ) live within the state of California and form the largest colonies of any North American passerine bird 1. Click on photos for full sized images.

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Blackbirds 2014 California 2013 62

10,000 Birds

MARCH 31, 2017

He lives in Sacramento with his wife and daughter, and enjoys county birding throughout the state. Good Birders Still Don’t Wear White is the kind of book that every birder should–and likely will –own. Luckily, not everyone will need to pay for their copy. Our friends at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt gave us three copies to share with readers through a triple-tiered giveaway.

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2017 Alabama Sacramento Florida 41

10,000 Birds

JULY 20, 2011

I was lucky enough to catch this photo of an adult in flight at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge back in February showing the horn and their distinctive black and white plumage. The American White Pelican ( Pelecanus erythrorhynchos ) is a huge bird! With an 8 to 9 1/2 foot wingspan and weighing in at up to 30 pounds, it rivals the California Condor for size and weight.

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Pelicans Fish 2011 California Condor 57

10,000 Birds

JULY 13, 2017

One of the best things about our annual Lassen Park campout is that we get to see several species of birds that are rarely, if ever, seen in the Sacramento Valley. Many of those species also nest in the park. According to their website , Lassen Volcanic National Park provides habitat for approximately 216 species of birds in which 96 have been known to actually breed in the park.

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2017 Sacramento Squirrels Bears 40

10,000 Birds

JUNE 17, 2015

Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge : Expand big game hunting. The Sacramento River NWR was established 1989 by the authority provided under the Endangered Species Act, Emergency Wetlands Resources Act, and the Fish and Wildlife Act. The riparian habitat along the Sacramento River is critically important for fish, migratory birds, plants, and river system health. References: 1 Tualatin River NWR , 2 Sacramento River NWR , 3 Prime Hook NWR , 4 St.

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2015 Fish Wildlife Game 51

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 14, 2018

The 10 th of February, After a nearly 300 mile run, we pushed on thru some extremely heavy winds, 20-30 MPH crosswinds which made out drive a bit difficult, but I really wanted to get to the Sacramento area, and check out the reported waterfowl to found here. We have crossed back into the US for the first time, in over seven years, at least for a little while anyways.

2018 40

2018 Oregon Sacramento Geese 40

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2019

Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. eBird have applied their new taxonomy as of July/August 2019. What a boon for listers.

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2019 Ghana Arizona Tucson 44

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 1, 2020

Sacramento River Trail North. Sacramento River Trail North. Sacramento River Trail North. Sacramento River Trail North. A new year, a new list. Does anyone have any special plans for the new decade?

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2020 Wildlife Reserve Tigers Sacramento 58

10,000 Birds

MARCH 26, 2013

This stoked Great Egret was at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA. A Dusky Grouse scurries across the road in Grand Teton National Park, WY. I was reading Carrie’s post last month and got to thinking about car birding in general. Personally, I am a big fan of car birding, despite the necessary fossil fuel burning that is involved. That not-insignificant-caveat aside, I think it has a lot to offer.

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2013 LACS Costa Rica Idaho 49

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 13, 2018

For example, not much can beat the experience of seeing a Bald Eagle scare up thousands of Snow Geese at Sacramento NWR. In a recent post, Corey listed five things to do when it is too cold to go birding and one of those things is planning birding travel. Here in Portland, Oregon, it is more frequently too rainy rather than too cold to go birding, at least comfortably. Regardless, planning trips is one way to do something birding-related without getting cold or wet.

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2018 San Francisco Portland Puerto Rico 40

10,000 Birds

MARCH 14, 2011

I have had similar experiences at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and you are so right on when you say “am I ever glad that I am a birder!&#

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Ducks 2011 Taiwan Kentucky 58

10,000 Birds

MARCH 16, 2011

home about advertise archives birds conservation contact galleries links reviews subscribe Browse: Home / Birds / Tree Swallows Return, It Must Be Spring Tree Swallows Return, It Must Be Spring By Larry • March 16, 2011 • 8 comments Tweet Share Whenever I see Tree Swallows ( Tachycineta bicolor ) I know that Spring is upon us.

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2011 Jordan Arkansas Groups 63

10,000 Birds

MARCH 3, 2018

Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. February birding can be tough. “They will still be there next week” can no longer be used as an excuse to avoid some heavy weather. This month is when the hard work to fill the winter quota is put in. So bravo to the beats who have wrapped up, knuckled down and got out there. 149 lists were submitted from 6 countries by 10 beats.

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2018 Australia Los Angeles Albatross 40

10,000 Birds

FEBRUARY 3, 2018

Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Sacramento NWR–Auto Tour Route. Oh, the thrill of a new list! Just 3 days into a new year and already the beats had contributed more than 20% of last year’s total. Within the week they had achieved the same measure against the life list. At this rate……… , but that’s the thing about lists.

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2018 Australia Los Angeles Sacramento 40