Gray Lodge

Snow Goose (adults)

Anser caerulescens

This week we went on our annual trip down to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, near Gridley, CA.  It is owned and operated by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and provides seasonally flooded wetlands for migratory birds.  I've written extensively about Gray Lodge in several previous blogs.  Just search for "Gray Lodge" in the "search this blog" bar on the top right of this page.  You will find lots of information on the different bird species that I've seen there.  For this blog, I've decided to focus on Snow Geese!

There are thousands of Snow Geese that spend the winter at Gray Lodge!  If you visit Gray Lodge, you'll notice that the geese aren't feeding!  They mainly roost there during the day, and leave at dusk to forage at night in the surrounding wetlands and agricultural fields of California's Central Valley.  The following information regarding their feeding methods and diet is from the birdsoftheworld.org website.  

"An intensive forager; prefers to feed in water-logged soil or shallow water. Foraging behaviors include: grubbing (excavating underground plant parts), pulling plant shoots out of ground and selectively eating basal portions, shearing off stems at soil surface, gleaning waste grain and tubers in plowed and disced agricultural fields, picking or plucking berries and other fruits from plants, and less frequently grazing on leafy plant parts. As habitats change along migratory routes and on wintering grounds, Snow Geese spend a considerable portion of time feeding on cultivated crops in agricultural fields. 

Almost entirely vegetarian. Diet consists of wide variety of plant species and plant parts; varies geographically, seasonally, and with age. Subterranean and above ground parts of American bulrush, Olney bulrush, wild rice, arrowhead, arrow-grass, spike-rushes, goose grass, red fescue, sedges, salt-water cordgrass, salt-meadow grass, fresh-water cordgrass, alkali-grass, cotton-grasses, and horsetails; leaves of sedges, goose grass, alpine foxtail, bluegrass, common Timothy, alfalfa, red clover, winter wheat, barley, oats, chickweeds, and prostrate willow; seed heads of sedges, wild rice, and American bulrush; fruits of black crowberry and mountain cranberry; waste seeds of corn, oats, barley, soybeans, rice, and sorghum; and waste potatoes."

During the day, they spend their time preening their feathers, socializing, vocalizing constantly, and sleeping!  They are also watching for predators or intruders, such as Bald Eagles, foxes, coyotes, humans, and helicopters.  Thousands will take off en masse if alarmed or threatened, which is amazing to hear and see!  After the threat has passed they will circle around and re-land in the wetland!  In late winter or early spring, courtship displays and pairing take place.  Individuals first pair in their second winter or second spring migration; when almost two years old. Pair bonds last for life, and are socially monogamous.  Breeding takes place when they return to the arctic in spring.

Snow Geese

Anser caerulescens

At Gray Lodge, strings of migrating Snow Geese are constantly flying overhead, circling, and landing.  It is amazingly beautiful to watch!  When approaching a landing site, they will perform a “falling-leaf” maneuver (or tumbling) to lose height.  They land with legs stretched forward, body tilted backward, tail fully extended, and wings flapping or opened to bell-shape.

Here's a short video of the Snow Geese landing at Gray Lodge!  Such Beauty!

Ross's Goose (adults) - Snow Goose (adults & juveniles)

Anser rossii -  Anser caerulescens

You will often see smaller white geese that look like "baby" snow geese, in amongst the thousands of adult and juvenile (the ones with light-gray plumage) Snow Geese.  These little white geese are Ross's Geese. They have migrated 3,000 miles down from their arctic breeding grounds, with the Snow Geese! Although Ross's Geese don't mate for life, they form long-term monogamous pair bonds.  Some males will also attempt to mate with additional females.

Greater White-fronted Goose (adults)

Anser albifrons

You will also see lots of Greater White-fronted Geese in amongst the Snow Geese. These large geese breed in Northern Canada and Alaska. They can be easily identified by their size, pink bill, and white feather patch on their forehead. Although they don't mate for life, Greater White-fronted Geese form long-term pair bonds and stay together year-round. Pairs are often accompanied by their young for the first year or more, and the young often help their parents defend the nest.

There are also thousands of ducks overwintering at Gray Lodge.  Many of them breed in the north central part of the U.S., central and western Canada, and Alaska.  Unlike the Snow Geese they appear to be feeding in the Gray Lodge wetlands.  Most of them are dabbling ducks, which feed by sifting pond water  through the lamellae (comb-like structures) inside their bills, for plant matter, insects, and worms.  

Winter is the season when many ducks pick their mate for the year.  Males molt from their eclipse plumage (resembling females) to their colorful breeding plumage during late fall to early winter.  Many waterfowl pair bonds form between the months of December and March on the wintering grounds or during spring migration.  Pair bonds only last for one season in most waterfowl species.  In waterfowl mating, female’s choose their mate.  Groups of males perform for the female, and she picks her favorite drake with the best plumage and the best display!  Dabbling Ducks breed while at their wintering grounds, rather than at the breeding grounds where they nest!  

Below are the Dabbling Ducks we saw this year! Enjoy!

American Wigeon (male & female)

Mareca americana

Northern Shoveler (male & female)

Spatula clypeata

Gadwall (male & female)

Mareca strepera

Norther Pintail (males & females)

Anas acuta

River Otter

Lontra canadensis

Surprise Sightings!

For the first time ever this year we saw River Otters at Gray Lodge!  Wow!!!  Three of them were swimming in a partially plant-covered channel of water!  We were able to watch them for about five minutes while they dove underwater for food.  It was difficult to photograph them, because of the tangle of shrubbery, but it was amazing to watch them!  In the photo above you can see the wet head of one with is dark tail and part of its body to the left on top of the log!  We were so lucky to see them!

Peregrin Falcon

Falco peregrinus

We also saw a Peregrin Falcon for the first time ever!  An unknown birder pointed it out to us!!!  It was perched in a far distant tree, above thousands of Snow Geese!  My friends were asking me what it ate, and it turns out that it preys on 429 species of birds in North America, some bats, and a few rodents!  I seriously doubt that it would prey on a Snow Goose, as they are so much bigger than a Peregrin.  Peregrin Falcons are 16"L, with a wingspan of 41", and a weight of 1.6 lb.  Snow Geese are 28"L, with a wingspan of 53", and a weight of 5.3 lb.  It was probably waiting to catch one of the many perching birds we saw!

Below are some of the more common perching birds and shorebirds we saw.

(Again, refer to my previous Gray Lodge blogs 

for more information on these species.)

Western Red-tailed Hawk - Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis ssp. caluris  - Buteo jamaicensis

Interestingly, I posted the photo on the left on the iNaturalist.org website, and they identified it as a "Western" Red-tailed Hawk, not just a Red-tailed Hawk.  Apparently there are lots of "morphs" in birds.  Morphs are a color phase, that happens when birds of the same species regularly develop more than one plumage color. The morph plumage could be any color: white, red, blue, gray, brown, etc.  So a "Western" morph is different than the normal plumage.  Sheesh!  There is so much to learn!

Northern Mockingbird - Turkey Vulture

 Mimus polyglottos - Cathartes aura

Black-necked Stilt - Greater Yellow Legs - Killdeer 

Himantopus mexicanus - Tringa melanoleuca - Charadrius vociferus

Snowy Egret - Great Blue Heron

 Egretta thula - Ardea herodius

We still need stormy, wet Weather!

Even though we got 5.13" of rain in November, we still need a LOT more. I am once again sending out a "Call for Art", this time in celebration of winter weather. My intention is to focus on the need for rain or snow, and through collective positive energy invoke them to fall. It is just a wish, a thought, and a hope. If you would like to submit some art, or writing, or a photo please check out my blog at dampearthart.blogspot.com. I will be posting new art weekly.

You can view what was submitted last year at dampearth.blogspot.com.

Check it out and pray for rain!

Sierra Buttes - 11/29/20

What's happening in the Lakes Basin?

How's Project FeederWatch going?

Are there Water Bears/Moss Piglets visible in the moss?

What's happening in the local ponds?

Check back next week for the answers to these questions and more!

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