Birds, Birds and More Birds

 Spent some time at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge and the

Merced Wildlife Refuge and thought I'd share a few (okay a lot) of

photos from those Refuges. 

I've kinda mixed the photos up, i.e. no rhyme or reason!!!

Let's start off with two types of geese that are very common. The Snow and Ross

geese.  The two look very similar and can be difficult to tell apart. The Ross goose

 has a shorter neck and rounder head. They also interbreed and can

come in different shades or morphs.

Speaking of geese, the Iconic Canadian Goose

Okay not a bird but I liked the look of the thistle against the water.

I don't know why all these blackbirds chose this particular tree.

 There were other trees just like it nearby with very few birds on them!?

There weren't may of these buffleheads and I had to try and catch

this one through the reeds.

I'm never good at identifying Hawks, but there were several 

lurking around, mostly in the distance. This one thankfully 

posed for me.

One of the more beautiful ducks...

And a couple of the more ugly birds, though very necessary....

One of my favorite birds.

There were even a few Tundra Swans.

Ground squirrels blend in very well with their surroundings.... 

  Probably because these guys aren't too far away.

I saw several Bald Eagles at the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge, once again

most in the distance. These two cooperated. I wanted to get them in 

flight buy they were content posing.

Note the darker head, this is a juvenal.

The Meadowlark is a fairly colorful bird, 

on the bottom where predators are less likely to see the yellow.

Lots of Snow and Ross Geese getting settled in at the Merced Wildlife Refuge

 with a lot more coming in along with Canadian Geese and Sandhill Cranes.

These Ross Geese seemed to be doing Synchronized Flying.

The Sandhill Cranes weren't about to be outdone. 

And I leave you with a sunset from the Merced Wildlife Refuge.

Go, See, Enjoy, Stay Safe and Photograph.

Dave