"Birds were created to record everything.
They were not designed to be beautiful jewels in the sky,
but to serve as the eyes of heaven."
~Daphne du Maurier
The Birds And Other Short Stories
My love affair with discovering new birds continues. My latest set of photos, from my two favorite bird watching spots, Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, in Lodi, and the Cosumnes River Reserve, in Galt, have each provided me some exciting moments lately, in the pursuit of my newest hobby. Sandhill Cranes, which I never get tired of photographing, seem to be thinning out in numbers, but there is always a new opportunity to photograph a new bird I haven't seen before, as the cranes make their way south on their migratory path. My latest joy is in photographing the Snow Goose. A large flock of them finally stopped at the river in Galt. I had spotted them for the first time on January 10th, when Alan and I decided to explore birding possibilities in Rio Vista. I saw a large gathering on the side of the highway, but there was nowhere to stop and do a photo. The photos I did manage, out of a moving car no less, where okay, but they were definitely not up to my usual posting standards. You can imagine my delight when I found them in Galt, less than ten days later.
January 16th was a very good day for finding birds at the Cosumnes River Reserve. There were some of my favorites, like the Cinnamon Teal, and the Sanhill Crane, but the number of Snow Geese made it nearly impossible to not get some good photos. I got to see them up close and I was able to give the camera one hell of a workout doing some action photos as they landed. But as amazing as that opportunity was, I was ecstatic to see some, American White Pelicans, sunning themselves on a sandbar, in the middle of the Snow Geese that were swimming in the river. It was an amazing find. I had no idea that pelicans came that far inland. I was under the impression that if I wanted to see one, it would require a trip to Bodega Bay, or perhaps Point Reyes. After doing a little research, it turns out they visit the delta every year, so I can now look forward to photographing them in the future.
My mood is getting better. My depression is lifting. And dare I say it? I am happy! We are basically at the end of January, and I have counted 18 different birds species so far. I need to do some more editing and I need to do some yard photography, but I will be ending this month with a decent count of birds. I can't wait to see what birds I will discover in February. I need to check out some new places, and do some research into cities that have festivals in honor of birds, like Lodi does, around the Sandhill Crane, and the Snow Goose in Chico. I am pretty sure that, due to Covid-19, most festivals will be cancelled this year, just as they were in 2020, but visiting the web pages for festivals in prior years is a big help in planning for next year. The Snow Goose Festival of the Pacific Flyby, is giving me something to look forward to in January of 2022!
January 16th 2021
Cosumnes River Reserve
Galt, California
Cosumnes River Reserve
January 16th 2021
Galt, California
~Carly
