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Daily Bucket - Up and Over the Levee to the Bobelaine Audubon Sanctuary [1]
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Date: 2022-11-21
Sanctuary Entrance - behind the sign is the gravel road that takes you up to the top of the levee
My bird club held its annual wild bird outing last Saturday and visited the Bobelaine Audubon Sanctuary which is about 30 miles north of Sacramento next to the Feather River, just off of Highway 99.
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The sanctuary is several hundred acres of riparian woodlands with a small lake and a seasonal slough. It sits on the river side of a 20 foot high levee that protects the farms from winter flooding. To get to the sanctuary, you have to walk up a steep gravel road and walk atop the levee for about 1/3 of a mile in either direction to a less steep gravel road that brings you down the levee on the river side to the trails. There are a number of trails through the property that take you through oaks, sycamores, cottonwoods and thick brush, perfect environment for birds.
The trails are broad and fairly level but that initial climb is not ADA friendly and a wheelchair will not fit through the trail entrance next to the locked vehicle gate.
Strolling along the levee put you eye level with the tree canopy offering a great view for spotting birds sitting high in the trees. You can also look down and see birds ground feeding on the levee sides without disturbing them. You can see a lot just staying on the levee.
The first critter I saw was this handsome fellow:
Western Gray Squirrel scampering on a trail next to the brush.
A break in the tree canopy gave me a view of Lake Crandall.
Family of Double Crested Cormorants — note how the birds swim with their beaks tilted up. The juveniles have white necks.
A dozen turtles sun on the logs to the right and on the shore as well.
White Crown Sparrows foraging on the levee.
Northern Red-Shafted Flicker standing on the trail.
Western Bluebird hen sitting atop an utility pole
House Finch on a glass insulator
Sandhill Cranes flying overhead.
European Starlings in the canopy
Ruby Crown Kinglet sitting in an Oak tree
Cedar Waxwing in the walnut orchard next to the levee
Into the sanctuary we go.
Deep in the underbrush — a Hermit Thrush?
A Juvenile Sharp-Shinned Hawk scouts for prey from his oak tree perch.
Scrub Jay stays in the shadows on a lower branch in the same tree as the hawk
Turkey Vulture grooms his feathers sitting atop a dead snag
Black Phoebe suns on a tree branch
Empty nest in a tree next to the river — possibly for a hawk or great horned owl?
We also spotted deer and coyote tracks on the trail. The merlin app picked up Spotted Towhee song but we couldn’t find it. We also heard the distinct tap tap tapping of a woodpecker but never saw it.
After our walk of approximately 2.5 miles, we had lunch back at the entrance. The sanctuary has a small parking lot, picnic tables and a port-a-potty.
This is a great place to lose yourself in nature for a couple of hours.
We have a stubborn high pressure system that is sending all of the rainstorms well north of us. So we are going to be very dry with temps in the mid-high 60s all week and cold clear nights dropping into the 30s just above freezing. But we really need the rain.
Headed to LA for Thanksgiving with the family. It’s going to be in the mid-high 70s possibly low 80s in November!
What’s up in your neck of the woods?
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