Consumnes River Preserve

We've been getting a lot of rain here in Northern California (at last!) but Saturday was dry with some lovely but non threatening clouds.  Since we had family visiting from the southern part of the state we decided to visit the Consumnes River Preserve.

There were picnic tables at the visitor center and a boardwalk that made the wetlands accessible. We started our visit with a picnic and then checked out the visitor center which is staffed by knowledgeable volunteers.  We then strolled along the boardwalk to see how many birds we could find.  There were a lot, both in number and variety.

Cinnamon Teal

 Gadwall

 Green Winged Teal

 Northern Pintail

 Northern Shoveler

 Common Snipe?
(not sure about this one)

American Kestrel

 For more information about the preserve check out their website http://www.cosumnes.org/
You can find more views of our amazing world at Our World Tuesday.

More birds can be spotted at Wild Bird Wednesday found on Stewart's blog "Paying Ready Attention"

Northern Harrier

About 80% of the times we go walking I bring my camera.  Fortunately this day was not an exception.

 As we walked along the path we spooked a hawk but it flew only a short distance away, showing us its white bloomers as it took off.

 White rump and this interesting, owl-like face meant it had to be a Northern Harrier, either a juvenile or female.  I decided it was most likely a mature female.

 We saw that she had left her prey on the ground and we quickly backed away.  She looked us over and decided we had moved far enough not to be a threat and came back.

 She checked out her catch.

 She looked around to see what other intruder might be close.

Then she went to work removing the feathers from her meal.

We turned around and picked another route to walk.  We didn't want to disturb her further though it is a popular trail and I don't know how long she was left in peace.  When we came by later the only sign of the drama was a pile of feathers.

The male Harrier is gray and I was fortunate to get a picture of one last year.

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly

and

World Bird Wednesday