(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Daily Bucket - Back Roads Birding [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags'] Date: 2023-03-06 Killdeer in a cow pasture (cow patties on the right) - Eastern Sacramento County Took advantage of a break in the storms to scout for birds along the rural roads in Sacramento County. About 2/3rds of the county is rural with cattle ranches, vineyards, farms, etc. These back roads are excellent for birdwatching and the rural areas begin about 10 miles from my home. As the land is privately owned, I stay in my car only occasionally get out onto the shoulder. I also find that viewing the birds from the car is less disturbing to the birds and they are more likely to stay put and not immediately fly off. Many of these roads are partially paved or well graded gravel/dirt passable in a regular passenger car. The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns. We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below. Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow. Backroad birding is a little more difficult than my usual visits to a refuge. You are just about guaranteed to see lots of birds at a refuge. You never know what you will find or even if you will see any birds wandering on the back roads. I was expecting to see hawks, owls and other raptors. I didn’t see any while actively birding. But red tails were sitting on power poles and turkey vultures were in the air as I drove on the highway to the rural areas. The first road I drove on passed a cattle ranch with a pond full of birds. A little bit farther down the road, I saw my first Say’s Phoebe. I’ve seen lots of Black Phoebes including one who visits my yard daily. Say’s Phoebe A raft of white fronted geese on a cattle ranch pond Northern Pintails and Ruddy Ducks. There is also a shorebird near the post in the top center of photo. The black fuzzy blobs are redwing blackbirds photobombing the shot. Yellow Rumped Warbler on a fallen oak. The second rural road was about 5 miles further east by the Cosumnes River and led past the site of an early 49er gold settlement. Only a few mine tailings and a stacked rock chimney remain. The remains of a chimney stack stands in an open field. I found my second and third life list birds here — Lewis’s Woodpecker and Dark Eyed Juncos: The pink tummy on the Lewis’s woodpecker is so distinctive. Dark-eyed Juncoes (Oregon sub species) foraging in the grass There were a few other birds along this road. American Robin A second Say’s Phoebe Brewer’s Blackbirds on the Cosumnes River bank Western Bluebird I’m not flying away says Red-Winged Blackbird In addition to the back roads, I also visited a regional park on the edge of the suburbs and stopped by a nearby flood control basin in the middle of a planned community. Mather Regional Park was once part of the Mather Air Force Base and served as the recreational space for military personnel and their families stationed there. The base was decommissioned in the 1990s and the park was opened to the general public. The facility includes a fishing lake. Here are some of the Mather Lake residents including my fourth life bird — the Mute Swan. Mute Swan — European species introduced decades ago and now permanent residents Canada goose — year round resident Double Crested Cormorants cluster on a fallen tree Pied Billed Grebe Lots of the little birds along the shore and in the park. Ruby-Crowned Kinglet White-Crowned Sparrows foraging in the grass Brewer’s Blackbirds enjoying the sunshine Sparrow enjoying blossoms on a tree House finch California Scrub Jay playing hide and seek We watched a little drama as a couple of Canada geese were squabbling. I plan to present this as a future sequence. One goose dunks another as a swan and 3rd goose watch. The park also had plenty of other wildlife. Ground squirrel foraging on the grass. Finally, the flood control basin had some additional birds: Mallard Drakes hide among the tule rushes. Canada goose on alert Pied Billed Grebe just swimming along English House Sparrow keeping his eye on me It was a lovely afternoon and I enjoyed being out in the beautiful early spring countryside. I had one surprise, I didn’t see any egrets in the waterways. I am almost always seeing either great or snowy egrets in any spot that has more than a couple of gallons of water. Today we are in the midst of a couple rainstorms but it’s suppose to clear up later in the week with several clear but cold days (low-mid 50s) this weekend. The next storm is expected to come in next week. When I first moved to Sacramento, that was the pattern for the winter months. A storm for two or three days, then clear and dry for one to two weeks, then the next storm. In the last 20 years the pattern has been disrupted and in fact there is no longer a regular storm pattern. What’s up in your neck of the woods? 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