grp@unify.uucp (Greg Pasquariello) (01/09/90)
Well, I finally made it to Gray Lodge Waterfowl Management Area in California
this weekend. What a magnificent place to see waterfowl! I managed to get
two life birds on the trip, one of which was extremely rare in my native NJ,
and the other on my 10 most wanted list! Thanks to Mike Mammoser for
directions.
The first, the Ross' Goose seemed to be everywhere. At first, I began looking
at the flying flocks of Snows hoping to see a Ross' mixed in. Then I noticed
one! Then another, and another, and yet another! The real surprise came
when I trained my scope on the flocks on the water; Ross' Geese were literally
everywhere! When it rains, it pours. And to think that I had almost made the
silly mistake of asking someone where I might find one!
The second lifer was one of my most wanted species. There are many blue birds
around, but none come close to the brilliance merely hinted at in photos of
Mountain Bluebirds. As I was leaving Gray Lodge, a small bird flew up from
the roadside and into a fruit tree, flashing a glint of blue as it did so.
The truck screeched to a halt amid flying gravel and sand, and as I jumped out,
I saw the bird watching from it's perch. Up came the binoculars, and into
focus jumped a lovely female Mountain Bluebird! The brilliant blue of her
wings and tail contrasted vividly with her powder grey head and body. What
a sight! In flight the outspread wings and tail looked luminous, and as she
descended once again to the roadside, she was joined by a male. I don't
have the words to describe his color, but he was so vividly hued that he was
almost beyond blue! It was a sight that I shall no soon forget.
Oh yeah, there were other species at Gray Lodge too! Not one, not two, but
three, count 'em three Eurasion Widgeon! A stately Cooper's Hawk perched in
a bare tree. A raucous pheasant cackling at the edge of a hedgerow. Thousands
of American Widgeon, a blanket of heads and bodies on the water. And majestic
flights of Tundra Swans, long V's, fluid and graceful.
I will be returning there soon.
-Greg
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Greg Pasquariello (916) 920-9092 grp@unify.UUCP
Unify Corporation ...!{csusac, pyramid}!unify!grp