(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Daily Bucket - Summertime in the Wildlife Refuges - A Whole Different Crowd [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-07-04 A friend and I decided to see what wildlife refuges looked like in the summer. In the winter they have large ponds full of migratory geese and ducks. We wanted to see who stuck around during the summer heat. We headed first to Colusa National Wildlife Refuge. At my last visit in January, there were plenty of ducks and geese and all the ponds were full of water. 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. This time the ponds were bone dry. The observation deck looked over a grassy field. The ducks and geese were long gone but there were still plenty of birds and other critters as well. Colusa NWR last January — lots of snow geese and assorted ducks as viewed from the observation deck. Let’s see who enjoys the summer heat: A Killdeer flies overhead near the entrance to the NWR. A Grackle lunches on an insect atop a pine tree. A pair of Western Kingbirds prepare to lunch on some elderberries. A Mourning Dove and Kingbird share a branch. American Robin on the grass of a former pond A LLB — possibly a Savannah Sparrow My best guess is a Bushtit Tree Swallow — a summer migrant to California. A pair of juvenile Tree Swallows — they will head to Mexico/Central America in the fall Here are a few more of the year round residents: This looks like possibly a female Red-wing Blackbird A Song Sparrow A Great Egret foraging in the rice fields at the edge of the NWR Snowy egret in flight This Black-capped Night Heron stayed deep within the tule rushes. A few ducks, Mallards and Cinnamon Teals, in an irrigation canal A young deer lunches among the Tule Rushes. I spotted a pair of Coyotes at the far side of one of the ponds and had to take a couple of quick shots through the windshield. Pretty wildflowers edged the roadway. After a leisurely lunch at Granzella’s, a landmark deli in Williams, we headed to a new spot we had heard about. The Cache Creek Nature Preserve is managed by a local non-profit. The refuge is riparian oak forest and grasslands next to the creek and includes a former gravel pit turned into a year round pond. There are several miles of trails a number of them ADA friendly, a boardwalk into the pond and an observation deck overlooking the pond. We saw a few birds but agreed this would be a great place to visit in the late winter/early spring. We also saw a volunteer checking a few of the nest boxes scattered around the pond. She let us know that several of the boxes held baby tree swallows and they were carefully monitoring them. A hawk is silhouetted against a bright blue afternoon sky. I believe this is most likely a Swainson’s Hawk. A Mallard hen flies above the gravel pit pond. Ash-Throated Flycatcher Spotted Towhee in the underbrush Great Egret in the Goodnow Slough that feeds into Cache Creek Finally our last stop was another look at the Yolo Bypass. Most of the plowed fields are now planted with rice seedlings and covered in several inches of water. So the few waterfowl in the area are paddling in the paddies. Momma Mallard with 3 of her 7 babies. You can see the rice seedlings just under the surface of the water. A pair of juvenile Mallards, the male is still coloring out, rest on a dirt berm separating the paddies. A female Great Blue Heron stands in the middle of a newly planted rice field. The male Great Blue Heron stands on the edge of the same rice field. There were a number of marsh birds living inhabiting the natural area. Western Meadowlark singing in a pond now turned into a grassland. Red-winged Blackbird sings sitting on some wild grasses. A little Black Phoebe forages on the ground. A Kingbird perches in the sun. I looked up in the skies to see a little Red-winged Blackbird attacking a Raven. This went on for at least a couple of minutes all the way across the nature area. That little bird had the Raven on the run. Yarrow Summer has hit here full force. We just suffered through 3 days of 100+ heat including a record tying 109 degrees on Saturday and Sunday. So I am looking forward to temps cooling to the mid 80s by the end of this week. Happy Fourth of July everyone. I hope you all have a safe and fun celebration. [END] --- [1] Url: https://dailykos.com/stories/2023/7/4/2178275/-Daily-Bucket-Summertime-in-the-Wildlife-Refuges-A-Whole-Different-Crowd Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/