A visit to the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge in late autumn or winter always pulls at the edges of any definition of the word “many.” There were “many” ducks and geese in temporary residence. There were a few raptors and a singular Loggerhead Shrike during my visit on Sunday in drizzle and fog.
Mallards, Pintail, Wigeon, from left to right. Below: Shoveler, Coot, Gadwall pair, Pintail female seen from the rear. 
Coots, Shoveler, Gadwall. below: Gadwall, Wigeon, Mallard among the White-fronted Geese on a berm. 
Pheasant next to the road.
Let sleeping Cinnamon teal lie.
Raven pair together, lone Eared Grebe. 
Gadwall male above. Gaggle of grebe below 
Back row: Herring and Rng-billed Gulls, middle a few White-fronted Geese, lone male Shoveler obvious in front pool
Loggerhead Shrike. 
One of three Peregrines I saw there. 
Red-tail giving me “the look.” 
Congress of Gadwall. 
Pintails, Cinnamon Teal tucked in. 
Yokung Bald Eagle on his lonely hillock, surrounded at a safe distance by thousands of potential meals. 
Sacramento NWR, Glenn, California, US
Nov 8, 2015 12:30 PM – 1:45 PM. 40 species
Greater White-fronted Goose (Anser albifrons) 10000
Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) 100 [the winter’s usual suply of white geese have not yet arrived]
Ross’s Goose (Chen rossii) 500
Canada Goose (Branta canadensis) 120
Gadwall (Anas strepera) 12000
American Wigeon (Anas americana) 20000
Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) 2000
Cinnamon Teal (Anas cyanoptera) 4
Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) 15000
Northern Pintail (Anas acuta) 30000
Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca) 500
Ring-necked Duck (Aythya collaris) 300
Ring-necked Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) 8
Eared Grebe (Podiceps nigricollis) 20
Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) 4
Great Egret (Ardea alba) 8
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula) 1
Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) 2
Northern Harrier (Circus cyaneus) 3
Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) 1
Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) 4
American Coot (Fulica americana) 10000
Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) 20
Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) 6
Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) 15
Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) 30
Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto) 6
Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) 1
American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) 1
Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) 3
Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) 1
Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) 1
Western Scrub-Jay (Aphelocoma californica) 2
Common Raven (Corvus corax) 2
Marsh Wren (Cistothorus palustris) 3
White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys) 200
Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) 3
Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus) 300
Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) 15
Brewer’s Blackbird (Euphagus cyanocephalus) 200
Leave a Reply