{"id":33756,"date":"2013-02-10T21:53:49","date_gmt":"2013-02-10T20:53:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/?p=33756"},"modified":"2019-12-22T22:38:37","modified_gmt":"2019-12-22T09:38:37","slug":"sacramento-nwr-complex","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/focusingonwildlife.com\/news\/sacramento-nwr-complex\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento NWR Complex"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the past few weekends we have taken day trips to some refuges around the Sacramento area. We are lucky to have many great refuges that come alive every winter.<\/p>\n

While officially not part of the Sac NWR Complex, Cosumnes River Preserve in Galt is worth a stop. Close to 1000 Sand hill Cranes winter here but our goal was to see some Short-eared Owls that had been spotted in the area. We did encounter an owl right off the bat, but to our surprise it was a Barn Owl:<\/p>\n

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Barn Owl<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

We did end up seeing 3 Short-Eared Owls, but none stayed still long enough for a photo.<\/p>\n

The following weekend we headed up to the Sac NWR Complex to check out all the wintering snow geese:<\/p>\n

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Snow Geese<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

That flock was sent airborne due to a fly-by from this juvenile Bald Eagle:<\/p>\n

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Juvenile Bald Eagle<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

The driving tour is a great way to see the different wildlife at the refuge:<\/p>\n

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Great Egret in Flight<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

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Ring-necked Pheasant<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

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California Ground Squirrel<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

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White Pelicans in Flight<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

On the way to Colusa NWR we stopped at Delevan NWR which turned out to be a good decision since we finally got a Short-eared Owl to stay still:<\/p>\n

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Short-eared Owl<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

The scenery at Colusa NWR was stunning. The evening light is great here and that coupled with the Sutter Buttes in the background makes for a great location to look for wildlife:<\/p>\n

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Colusa National Wildlife Refuge<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

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Colusa National Wildlife Refuge<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Colusa NWR is home to dozens of Black-crowned Night Herons. We counted over 50 roosting along the river:<\/p>\n

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Black-crowned Night Herons Roosting<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

We even had another Barn Owl to wrap up the trip:<\/p>\n

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Barn Owl Roosting<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/p>\n

Here’s some video from Sac and Colusa NWR to give you an idea of the great sights and sounds:<\/p>\n