Natural History Wanderings

Updated 2/16/11

The second day(2/13/11) of Bay Birding class weekend field trip was quite different.  We went to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge and never made it to other destinations.  There were thousands of Geese (mostly Ross’s, but also some Snow) and Sand Hill Cranes.  We got to watch them fly in and out from relatively close range.  There were also lots of Northern Shovelers, Northern Pintail and Coots as well as many other birds.  To see the complete Bird List for the day go to: http://www.wingbeats.org/classes/lists/11winter.htm and check day 2/13/11 Los Banos.

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Michael Frye has posted videos on his blog of Geese fly-ins and fly-outs at the Merced Refuge from a trip he did this past Wednesday:  http://www.michaelfrye.com/landscape-photography-blog/2011/02/13/natural-beauty-in-motion—two-new-videos/

To see more photos go to Bob Stokstad’s site at: http://www.jstokstad.com/Birding_Panoche_Merced_NWR/Favorites/index.html

This was the last day of the Bay Area Birding class I was taking at the Albany Adult School  It was excellent and Is highly recommended.   The two leaders, Bob Lewis and Rusty Scalf, were very knowledgeable, good teachers, good field birders and good-natured.  If you are interested in their classes check the Wingbeats website.