Making Old Birds New Again

There's nothing better than a new bird except getting to show old birds to new birders. I got to guide a van full of new birders (although one grandfather was a duck hunter and rice grower) thru Colusa NWR yesterday, and had probably the best time of everyone.

I had already seen that there were way too many people on the refuge to expect to see the falcated duck so, after I gave everyone binoculars and a guide to waterfowl, and gave them a little discussion of what ducks we would see, we drove the auto tour.  We started out by checking out the over-sized feet of the coots in the road and discussed how they differed from ducks. Then we saw a big bird that wasn't a duck sitting on a little island.  In the binoculars, it turned out to be a peregrine falcon which then tried to fly off with its coot.  But it dropped it and then circled around several times for our extra enjoyment.  I thought it was circling back again but realized we had a harrier coming through.  We got to see another harrier later in the trip and some of the group could already call it. What brilliant students they were. 

We learned gadwalls, shovelers, mallards, and ring-necked ducks before we even got to the bridge.  Then we enjoyed two great egrets and a great blue heron sunbathing.  Soon everyone could decide what duck they were seeing. We found lots and lots of greater white-fronted geese, and got one good, albeit distant view of a male bufflehead.   We stopped to look at some golden-crowned sparrows and watched a couple of pie-billed grebes. Then we got to see a two cock pheasants and a deer in short order, and almost immediately after the deer crossed the road in front of us, we found an American Bittern sitting out in the open.   We rounded the last corner and enjoyed a close-up view of a red-tailed hawk, got a glimpse of a red-shouldered hawk, and got several looks at a kestral. And then I had to stop because I saw a single long-billed curlew on a levee. We also got distant looks at snow geese, none close enough to be able to find Ross's geese. Finally we enjoyed all the night herons in their roost just before the bridge.

The sunning great blue heron - (thanks for snapping the picture Charles)

Immature female red-tail hawk

Same bird front view

We got back to the viewing platform about  3:00 P.M. and were told by the other twenty or so people there that the falcated duck was actively feeding.  So I set up the scope and everyone got to see it and also enjoy closer views of the ducks and geese we had already learned.

Me and the birding group minus the photographer

The viewing platform after I removed the nine of us

It was hard to break away but I had strict orders to get back to Sacramento NWR by 4:00 P.M.Otherwise all of us were ready to continue birding until dark.

Our VIP Visitor

 On Thursday, December 8, 2011, Dan Tankersley visited the Colusa NWR platform and found a falcated duck (formerly Falcated Teal), a very rare visitor to the United States from Asia. ( I can only find three other California submissions and one sighting that was not submtted to the rare bird committee.) This has caused great excitement in the birding community and all the volunteers were taken off their regular jobs so we could cover Colusa  and Sacramento NWR's all day.

I, of course, was the first to volunteer and got to go to the platform that afternoon. The bird had first been seen at the closest little islet but soon after it was discovered, two groups ignored the "no walkers" sign and walked into the auto tour which starts just past the viewing platform.  Of course, this caused all the birds in the pond to fly away, including the falcated duck.  It had not returned by the time I had to leave at 3:30P. At 4:00P, it again came to the nearest pond and the Refuge Manager got pictures of it. The refuge manager called for volunteer help to keep people from getting out of their cars on the auto tour or to and to greet them at the platform.

People watching for the falcated duck the first afternoon after it was discovered

My boss allowed me to go to the refuge early on Friday and I got there at 7:00AM and found sixteen people already trying to find the duck in the predawn light. And about 7:30, the duck was gracious enough to come to the front of the back pond and take an hour and half nap in front of a tule clump so we could all (barely) see it. 

The small platform was almost full by 8:00AM on Friday

I really enjoyed getting to share this bird and others with people arriving at the platform.  A few of the first birders didn't have their own scopes, and even those that did, took a quick look as they arrived so they could see the bird and its location. I left at noon but got reports that he had been seen several times.

Saturday was a madhouse because the bird didn't show itself at all and no one wanted to leave.  Soon we were trying to squeeze in over thirty-five scopes and even more people and had to extend the viewing area to along the road and allow cars to park in the maintenance area. But Sunday morning, our visitor relented and gave lots of pretty short but adequate views of itself so people came and went normally.  The luckiest group had driven over two hours to get there and got good views of it in the first twenty minutes of viewing.  So the volunteers' work got a lot easier and we didn't overload the platform. 

The duck is still here over a week later and bringing in lots of visitors. We had 81 visitors yesterday, Saturday, and 105 today. And it is staying in the front pond and, for the last two days, has been continuously visible.  Today it even stayed active during its normal nap time of about 10:30 to 2:30 and delighted lucky visitors with a display - seemingly a "I'm the cock of the walk" that it does to male American widgeon which it likes to hang with. It first thrusts up its head and flashes its white neck and raises its crest a little and then ducks his head, lifts his tail and shakes it. I got to see the display several times today. 

Duck, on right with an American widgeon - he also has been courting a female widgeon -pic by Mike Peters

Falcated duck with greater white-fronted geese - Photo by Mike Peters

I'm even starting to get some distant pictures of him

I've enjoyed talking to the visitors, some who have come back multiple times. Because we are spending so much time in the same small area, we are also seeing other fairly rare sightings. Yesterday we had a flock of about 50 tundra swans fly over and immediately after that, several tree swallows flew through. Today we had two sightings of barn owls, a half-dozen ruby-crowned kinglets feeding on water plants in the creek, a white-tailed kite, an immature sharp-shinned hawk and a Virginia rail that flew about a foot above the water and a couple of feet in front of the viewing platform.

And we get to watch behaviors that we don't normally watch long enough to see.

Pintail love?

And today I met the Sutter Buttes Christmas Count Compiler. He;s going to let me join the count this Tuesday and I'll be in his group on his ranch in the Buttes. This will be the first count when I may be too interested in the scenery to find the birds. I'll definitely have my camera and an extra battery with me.

While doing traffic control, I got interested in some of the license plates. Word is that we have had some visitors fly in from New York, but I just got a few of the many places the bird lovers are coming from.   Many of them have driven 8 hours or more to get to us. Some reported driving all night.We are also getting locals from minutes to an hour away.

We expect the bird to spend the winter here. Hopefully we'll have lots more days like this weekend. He sure has been a great Christmas present for Colusa NWR and made a fun job even more fun.

P.S. One day later I found a link to a video taken of the bird.  Apparently I was doing my job of helping the public find the bird since that Texas drawl is definitely mine.  

A Blind Experience

Last Wednesday a new friend, Shelia, who works at the refuge, invited me to share her reserved photography blind. The refuge complex has 4 photography blinds on three different refuges. The blind we went to was blind 3 on the Colusa NWR.  The rules are that you have to get to the blind one hour before sunrise.  You can remain there as long as you like but once you come out, you may not go back. This is to minimize disturbance to the birds.

This blind can only be reached by wading through thigh-high water so we had to wear waders - rubber boots that are built into neoprene overalls. The day was expected to start in the mid-thirties so we also had to dress warmly. Shelia told me to be ready with camera, tripod, water, snacks and plenty of warm clothes at 5:00A.M.  We drove about a half hour to Colusa NWR and stopped at the restrooms to change into our waders.  We were screeched at by a couple of barn owls as we got out of the car. 

Then we drove down to the place to park the car, gathered up our gear and walked by flashlight down the path and found the turn to the blind along with a sled/boat in which to put our gear. We pulled the sled behind us as we walked about thirty yards through the water to the tiny blind sitting in a clump of tule (bulrush).

It was still several minutes to first light as we took out some of the little short boards to make places to point our cameras. The blind has two layers of boards that can be removed and then two or three layers of strips of screening and shade cloth. We can shoot from two levels.  The lowest is at just above the bird's heads.

We had to move quietly and be careful as we stuck our cameras out through all the layers of screening in order to not alarm the birds. In a few minutes, we had our gear stored, cameras ready and were sitting and eating our cereal bars and listening to the geese come back to the refuge from their nightly foraging. Then, as it got lighter, we started to see the dark forms of coots and then mallards. By 7:30, the birds were getting active and feeding and grooming. I think I must have taken about 1000 pictures. 

Shelia took pictures of me for my blog but declined to star in it. 

On a little break while waiting for more birds

Coots appeared first

What big yellow feet you have

Mallards and coots were the most numerous in our photography area

I'm SOO handsome

We had two male and one female cinnamon teal. They breed here and are the most common teal.

This pie-billed grebe swam through the blind area and was gone in about three shots

Morning stretch

A female ringed-neck duck swam through our field a couple of times

Gadwell pair

Greater white-fronted geese

Gotta polish my image

Mallard and cinnamon teal pair

Ahhhhhhhh

Leaving

Car bound

Finished with the blind  but the birding never stops

A Day of Light

Today we were under a eighty per cent chance of rain. Storm clouds came over us but mostly we had sun shining under the clouds, making a  beautiful light. I went out before work and drove around the auto tour and was enchanted.

 

I managed to drag myself away from play and get to work.  I was assigned the job of driving to Celosa NWR and checking out the trail there. I had to continue to stop and take more pictures and then take bunches of them along the trail.

I got a view of the Sutter Buttes and had another try at getting a picture of them.

Then, as I drove back, the Coast Range was so beautiful, I had to take several pictures of it.

Finally, just as arrived back at the last turn to Sacramento NWR, I had to stop to photograph a rainbow.

 

I got back in time to eat a late Thanksgiving dinner we had bought from the Methodist Church in Willows. Then I actually had to work a few hours putting Liquid Gold on cabinets and  the woodwork in headquarters. 

Tomorrow I have to help in the Visitor Center in the morning - and I'll apply more Liquid Gold and sweep the deck where people eat.  Then I'll have to go to Colusa and hang out with a scope.  I'm getting really good at this kind of work.