As I write this, millions of cranes, ducks, geese, swans and little brown birds of all types are flying into their winter digs here in the great Central Valley. Dozens of federal, state, and private wildlife refuges, sanctuaries and parks are filling with birds from Bakersfield in the south to Anderson at the northern end. Any wetland will do including rivers, small streams, farmers’ ponds and fields, wastewater treatment plants, golf course water features, etc.
It’s a glorious time for birding. You look up in the sky and see a flying wedge of snow geese honking as they pass overhead. You drive by a flooded rice field and see a couple of hundred tundra swans feeding. I have driven down I-5 and seen a couple of dozen sandhill cranes foraging next to a herd of black Angus cattle.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
I read with interest as my fellow bucketeers have written of seeing warblers, raptors and other birds pass through their area on their way to their winter homes. But they are only there for a few days or maybe a week, not to be seen again until the spring.
Here in NorCal we are blessed to see these birds for months from late September until late January/early February. I can pick any direction and be in birding heaven at a reserve/refuge within an hour.
I had a spare couple of hours last week (late afternoon last minute decision) so I cruised over to check out the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve. Yes, the Sandhills are back:
Here’s a few other winter migrants:
I also saw some year-round residents:
Finally, I was totally surprised by these guys:
The Aleutian Cackling Goose is a much rarer species than its larger and more common cousin the Canada Goose. I had only seen these birds once before at the San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge at a great distance.
We are unseasonably warm — high 80s and lows 90s temps for the next week and very dry. Hopefully we will soon get a storm that will dampen future wildfire threats.
What's up in your neck of the woods?