The Sacramento River Wildlife Refuge

Sacramento River Wildlife Refuge

Today we drove down a lot of country roads on the way to the Sacramento River Wildlife Refuge. We birded boat ramps, agricultural canals, river levees, farm fields, parks, muddy ditches along the road, any area with trees or bushes, empty parking lots, busy graveyards and maternity hospitals. We are always on the look out for birds.

We have seen most of the birds on today’s list during other birding trips. Some of the birds we have hardly ever seen. Some we have seen many times. It is a crapshoot. Let us meet the birds we saw today. Time for a little Q and A.

Question: Mr. Sandhill Crane, when did Robert and Berry see you ?

Answer: They have seen me in Florida in someone’s front yard. They traveled to Nebraska in the freezing cold weather to see me. And today, two of us were standing in a dirt road and Berry spotted us as they drove past.

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Question: Mr. Eurasian Collared Dove, why are you so distinctive among doves ?

Answer: I am similar in size to the Rock Dove you see in big cities, but my feathers are rather more white like the Turtle Dove. What makes me immediately identifiable is the black collar on my neck, from which I get my name.

Eurasian Collared Dove (Streptopelia decaocto

Question: Mr. Golden Eagle, what do you eat ?

Answer: I usually eat whatever I can catch. Rabbits, marmots and ground squirrels. I have been known to consume roadkill. If I am near water, I sometimes eat fish. I have even been known to attack a full grown deer.

Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos)

Question: Mr. Greater White Fronted Goose, where would you like to visit in the United States ?

Answer: I do my heavy courting in Siberia and sometimes in Greenland. I have one of the largest ranges of any species of goose in the world. When I come to the United States, it is mainly west of the Missisippi River. I hang out in wetlands and farmlands. My kids want to go to Disney World in Florida, but we have not been yet.

Greater White Fronted Goose (Anser albifrons)

Question: Mr. Ruby Crowned Kinglet, why are you not wearing your Ruby Crown ?

Answer: I am wearing my olive green feathers and look here at my wing bars. Of course, you can see my white eye rings. As your question stated, you cannot see my red crown, because I am not agitated right now. Step in front of me in line and you will see the tiny ruby colored feathers on the top of my head flare up. Showing my bright red crest is a way of signaling displeasure or excitement.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)

Question: Mr. Bushtit, how do you defend yourself, being so small ?

Answer: I cannot push people around in a bar. I am a lover, not a fighter. I flit constantly in the branches of thickets. Never alone and never quiet, I twitter even as I fly around, moving constantly. Robert saw me hanging upside down, prying a bug out of a pinecone. But I never sit still. That keeps me from becoming dinner on someone else’s plate. Bye, now!

Bushtit (Psaltriparus minimus)

Question: Mr. White Faced Ibis, when was the last time Berry saw you ?

Answer: I remember seeing Berry in New Orleans. It was before Katrina. I was standing in City Park and she had a spotting scope. I think I also saw Berry in Florida, inside the Everglades. This time, it was in California, inside the Sacramento River Wildlife Refuge at the end of the Autotour. She and I are becoming quite an item. Don’t tell Robert.

White Faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)

Question: Mr. Ring Necked Pheasant, do you have a passport ?

Answer: My origins are somewhere in ancient China. Now I live quite naturally in east Asia. In some european countries, royal gamekeepers installed me in official game preserves for the enjoyment of rich people. When you see me now in the United States, it is either in Florida, where Robert and Berry saw me on a birding trip, or in California, where they spotted me dashing out in front of their car in the Sacramento River Wildlife Refuge. I get around.

Ring Necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus)

Question: Mr. Black Necked Stilt, can you find pants that will fit you ?

Answer: As you can see, I have extremely long, thin, pink legs. This is so I can forage in deep water. In addition to today, Robert and Berry see my legs when I am wading in the muck inside the Maxwell Waste Treatment Plant on Second Street in Memphis. Besides, my legs are quite lovely, so why should I cover them up with pants ?

Black Necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus)

Thanks to everyone who participated in today's interviews.

Robert and Berry

photos courtesy of wikipedia