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Sacramento NWR Nov. 2013

On November 10, 2012 we visited the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. This consists mainly of a driving loop where you stay in your car and use it as your "blind", as the birds let cars much closer than people on foot. This place is dominated by water fowl (mostly geese and ducks), but there are plenty of smaller birds on land as well.

Probably the stand-out photographic feature of this day for me was coming across a flock of Cattle Egrets feeding near the road, who kept flying from place to place, giving me lots of practice photographing them in flight. This allowed me to get may different angles of them, and while many of those angles probably won't be framed and hung on a wall, they are a big help if you are trying to identify the bird from a pose that isn't in your typical bird book.
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A pair of Cattle Egret flying low over the water. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
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A pair of Cattle Egret flying low over the water. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)

A pair of Cattle Egret flying low over the water. 11102012Sacramento National Wildlife RefugeSacramento National Wildlife RefugeWillowsCA20121110 November 102012

  • A flock of American Coots (black bird with white beak and red eyes) swimming in the water. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • Two White-fronted Geese (grey geese with a pink bill) come in for a landing. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • Two White-fronted Geese (grey geese with a pink bill) come in for a landing. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • The wetlands landscape: The marsh has a flock of Cattle Egret in the front, with tiny blackbirds in the grass and reeds behind them, and a large flock of snow geese behind that. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Snowy Egret, distinguished by its black bill. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Snowy Egret on the left, and a Cattle Egret on the right. Both are similar size, but the Snowy Egret has a black bill, while the Cattle Egret has a shorter yellow bill. (The Great Egret, not seen here, is larger and has a much longer beak than the Cattle Egret, but otherwise has similar coloring.) (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A flock of Cattle Egret feed in the grass, while Red-winged Blackbirds fly about. The Cattle Egret are often found in flocks. Note that while similar in color to the Great Egret, the Cattle Egret is notably smaller (about the size of a Snowy Egret), and has a shorter bill. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A raptor (possibly a female Northern Harrier) standing at the side of the road. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A raptor (possibly a female Northern Harrier) taking off from the side of the road. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A huge flock of geese (many of the Snow Geese), with several ducks swimming in the foreground, and a pair of Cattle Egret (with one starting to fly off) in front of that. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Cattle Egret flying against the blue sky. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • Several Cattle Egret in the grass, with one taking off. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Cattle Egret landing. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Cattle Egret landing. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Cattle Egret flying low over the water. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Cattle Egret coming in for a landing. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Cattle Egret flying low over the water, with its reflection in the water. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Cattle Egret flying low over the water. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A pair of Cattle Egret flying low over the water. (11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
  • A Cattle Egret flying low over the grassland.(11/10/2012, Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge)
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