butterfly

KRP was off a couple of days this week so she took me out hunting birds. We made it to the Colusa Refuge – lots of ducks, a few Egrets, but otherwise most of the big birds have not arrived yet. Everything is about 2 weeks behinds schedule here. Even the rice, corn, and squash fields have not been plowed or harvested yet. So it was rater a bust finding any Sandhill Crane birds.

I really enjoy sitting outside away from the noise of the city and the blah blah blah of all the silly people in this neighborhood – the birds of a different feather.  I just drive out to the refuge and sit there for hours.  I listen to the different birds singing out their songs and I even hear there wing beats if it is quit enough. The frogs croaking, the bees and (unfortunately) wasps buzzing it is quite the symphony.  If something interest me I try and snap a picture. Sometimes the birds and sometimes?

In one section of the refuge the staff flooded two fields. Seriously, there were over a hundred cranes – putting the birds just about an eighth of a mile out of the range of my longest lens. ha! I waited on the other side of the refuge hoping a few birds would fly over and land – a few did the other night – but nope no cranes. So I started waiting out the little sparrows that hide up in the weeds along the edges of the trails and pond. Eventually a few little immature White Crowned Sparrows (the strips on their heads are kind of a chestnut rust color and no white more gray on the heads so fairly sure of identification)  started hopping in and out of the brush.  It is hard to locate them and take a picture of  them when they come out – an I tell you those little birds  are quick!

I am starting to wonder about myself. I am sitting forever watching birds? Field guide at my side? a have a vision of my grandparents in mind here . ..