The American River runs along side of the Effie Yeaw Nature Center where we saw Gulls (Increasing), Turkey Vultures (Increasing), a female Merganser (Increasing), a Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Stable), and a Western Scrub-Jay (Increasing). The first photograph shows an island where water birds tend to congregate and feed. If you imagine walking along the shore to the right, we positioned ourselves to the right side of this island, where I took the second photograph.
Here, Turkey Vultures had acquired a dead salmon for lunch, eagerly sought by another fellow scavenger–the Gull. Unfortunately for him, he was out-numbered and held at bay from this delicacy.
Speaking of salmon, there were numerous dead salmon in the river–apparently expired after spawning. We decided to drop in to the “Dead Salmon Society” to see what was going on, as shown in the third photograph–not much.
I was able to photograph a Common Merganser cruising along the shoreline by the feeding vultures. This is one of the diving ducks. As she swam, she would occasionally submerge her head to locate her prey, then dive to catch it.
Among the numerous land birds we saw, I was able to photograph the Ruby-crowned Kinglet. They feed on insects as well as seeds and fruit by quickly moving through bushes and trees, much as do warblers. Fortunately, I was able to capture a few good shots, one shown in the next photograph.
Although we spotted their ruby crown occasionally through
the binoculars, I had no such luck with the camera. As with Red-Wing Blackbirds, these birds have control over when to display their red feathers.
Finally, last year I could not get an unobstructed view of a Western Scrub-Jay. This year, however, I was able to get several.
Here, one is shown holding an acorn in his bill.
When all was said and done, we had a pretty successful outing.
Stephen Fielding Images 