The chorus of geese, heard before seen, pass over head. Their wedged flight pattern becomes a frequent sight at the end of summer.
Seasons shift and with the coming of winter migratory birds are now frequent visitors to the back yard feeding station.
We make regular trips to the wildlife refuge at Summer Lake, but always make a point of being there during this time of year.
The marshes are starting to draw passengers off the Pacific Flyway. This week was the first of those visits.
The wild fire plume had shifted to the north and east pulling smoke away from the summer lake area.
Though, when we came over Picture Rock Pass there were remnants of a recent fire.
Not huge but enough to threaten some homes on the western edge of the lake. Hot spots were still smoldering.
Marsh ponds weren’t teaming with birds, but we did see Ibis, Stilts and Dippers. Water levels are low and the refuge management has moved most of it to the south west corner.
Our standard visit is to drive in the headquarters entrance a bit south of town then follow the loop road turning north along Link Canal and exit on the north edge of the city of Summer Lake.
There was no one else around so we pulled into River Ranch camp site, found shade in a willow grove and had some lunch.
Sitting on the bank of the Ana River we were entertained by a group of Passerines hopping between branches and reeds.
In a few weeks the bird count will grow and while the week’s worth of rain, forecast, won’t make much of a dent in the water volume it will make the road a lot less dusty for our visit.