Autumn's Pacific Flyway

 

"Autumn is a place where words fall short. It is a magic that must be felt breathed, experienced, and treasured."
~Laura Jaworski

Pintails. Shovelers, and my favorite of all, the Greater White-fronted goose! That's him in the background, photobombing his friends, but of course, he'd call it watching over his pals. Northern Pintail, with their elegant lines, blue bills, and gorgeous tails are a pleasure to photograph. As is my favorite goose. A lot of different birds are starting to come into the valley, from the Pacific Flyway. Pretty soon the Snow geese and the Ross's geese will arrive. I am betting it will be next week, or maybe the first week of December. I can't wait for their return! The more the merrier!

Birds In Autumn

 

"A bird in autumn

sits outside

and quietly enjoys the rain

Dear bird

you and I

 are the same"

~Laura Jaworski

All the birds have their gorgeous winter plumage on right now. I look forward to that. I love how fluffy they become. Even the ones that don't really migrate, and who aren't so fluffy, adds to that autumn feeling of inner joy for me. The clear warm light in the middle of the day make them look bright and brings out all their colors, but by the late afternoon, the sunset turns their feathers a muted tone. I never realized how beautiful birds were, until I took up birding!

An Osprey A Kestrel And A Cormorant

 

“His eyes reflected the open grey of the autumnal sky.” 

~Juliet Marillier,

  Daughter of the Forest

 

 I visited the Clifton Court Forebay yesterday, and unfortunately there is still very few birds to be found. During most years the forebay would be filled with all kinds of ducks, coots and gulls, in addition to many other birds, but yesterday there existed a few coot, a couple cormorants, and some raptors, but in single digits like the Osprey and the American Kestrel. I am going to check in on my friends at Cosumnes and Desmond road on Saturday, hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised and a beautiful noise a million birds will waiting for me. Cross your fingers. I need to see more beauty, and I only need 9 more birds to reach 170 birds for 2023!