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Borrego Springs, CA

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Driving some back roads

Fall migration has begun, and for the next two months more and more waterfowl will be making their way to the Klamath Basin.  The other day, I took a ride on some of the back roads of the refuge to see what I could see.

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Many acres of Tule Lake NWR are leased by farmers for organic grain production.  After harvest some of those fields are flooded.

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                                       A flooded grain field is like a magnet for ducks and geese.

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                                   There were literally thousands of waterfowl in this flooded field.

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The regular hunt season doesn’t begin until Oct. 10 on the refuge, but there is a special youth hunt coming up this weekend.  The youngsters will get the first crack at filling their limit.

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                I, of course, only hunt with my camera.  It was simply a gorgeous day to be out and about.

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A large flock of about a hundred sandhill cranes was also taking advantage of the fields.  It made me wonder if these birds were on their way to Bosque del Apache NWR.  Maybe they’ll see Lynne down there if that’s where they’re headed.

DSC_0010It won’t be too long before the black-crowned night herons are also on their way south.  With all these comings and goings, I’m also getting anxious to be on my way.  I’ve got about three weeks left before I make my way down to my new home base at Jojoba Hills. 

DSC_0047Perhaps you remember when intern Katie and I put up all of those area closed signs a couple of weeks ago?  Well, tomorrow I have to go back and take all those signs down.  That area, with Mt. Shasta in the background will be open for the youth hunt on Saturday.  I’m not sure why those signs had to go up for two weeks only to be taken down again.  Mine is not to reason why…

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I’m a sucker for hay bales, and who could pass up a chance for a picture with the snow capped mountain in the distance?  I will certainly remember the beautiful sights I’ve seen while at this refuge.

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                                                                             THE END!!

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

20 comments:

  1. Great blog today. Loved the pictures of the ducks. Speaking of hay bales, when I visit Pennsylvania in the Fall, I love to see the Amish hay fields with the hand stacked hay. No bales for them. I even did a painting of them a while back.

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  2. That area brings back so many memories, but we never went there when the birds were flying through! Our loss.

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  3. Glad you gave those Sandhills a good meal and nice place to rest for their journey. I sure hope they're headed to Bosque! (but as I understand it, most of ours come from the northern Rockies (US/Can). If you get bored at Jojoba this winter, plan a jaunt over to NM to come check out our cranes & see if you recognize any of them!

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  4. You must be in bird heaven at the moment. Love the shots of Mt. Shasta in the distance.

    www.travelwithkevinandruth.com

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  5. I can't wait for you to get to your new home! I'm wanting to do the same thing and am very interested in how you adapt, and how much you want to head off to be on the road from time to time. I'm getting so excited for you! :)

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  6. Such wonderful pictures and scenery, hay bales all around us here, but no mountains.

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  7. Love the birds, but especially like that wide angle shot of the hay bales with the mountain.... beautiful!

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  8. The hay bales remind me of traveling through Amish country in Ohio. Such beauty.

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  9. I agree that the photo with Mt. Shasta in the distance takes the prize today.

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  10. I think those sandhill cranes are going to Whitewater Draw Wildlife Area - shorter flight and more friend. The Bosque del Apache NWA has a wintering population of sandhills that is 17,000. The Whitewater Draw is winter home to over 30,000!

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  11. I only hunt with a camera, too. Sadly, I am a very bad shot, the only thing I "hit" is great pictures of my thumb... :cD

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  12. These days, I only hunt with a camera as well. It does look like the kids are going to have lots of opportunities to fill their tags.

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  13. What a wonderful place to be during fall migration. I'd have trouble with the hunting though. Don't they scare off the birds and make them use energy they need for their long flights? Here on the east cost, during the migrations even the paths closest to the ponds they are feeding in are closed so as not disturb them. I don't think all National Wildlife REFUGEs allow hunting, do they?

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  14. You're going to have some fat ducks and geese in that flooded field. I hope you really enjoy your new home base and safe travels.

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  15. Love all your photos, especially the great Mt.Shasta in the background...Can't wait to see your new "diggs" for the Winter...

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  16. We've been traveling the past two weeks, mostly in Canada. Funny. I took a hay bale shot too...no snow capped mountain behind it but still...I love them too. Also I thought our sandhill cranes would be gone but we saw two in a neighbor's yard today as we pulled into the neighborhood. They should be on their way down any time though.

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  17. There is nothing better than a flooded grain field for waterfowl and shorebirds!! It looks like you've got some dandy ones.

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  18. Great photos as usual. Way behind in reading blogs.

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