Northern Shovelers at the Cosumnes River Preserve

Some people, when they are on a long journey, will stop at rest stops or gas stations, or maybe fast food outlets. Mrs. Geotripper and I are not quite like that. When we were looking for our first rest stop on our holiday travels, we noticed a sign for the Cosumnes River Preserve north of Stockton in the Great Valley. That was therefore our first stop. The Cosumnes River is one of very few free-flowing rivers left in the Sierra Nevada, and a patchwork of government and private entities manage tens of thousands of acres of the river where it flows through the Great Valley. I described the nature of the river in my post on the Greater White-fronted Geese that we saw there.

We also saw a number of Northern Shovelers (Anas clypeata). They have unusually long beaks with serrated edges that allow them to strain food out of the water efficiently. They are abundant birds, with a range that extends from northernmost Alaska to the southernmost end of Central America (as well as much Europe and Asia). As is usual in duck world, the males are the colorful ones.

Greater White-fronted Geese at the Consumnes River Preserve

The Cosumnes River in California's Sierra Nevada and Great Valley is unique in one very important respect: it is the only free flowing river left in the region. Although dams have been proposed at various times during the last century, none were ever built, so the upper river retains some of its primeval character (aside from the logging and gold mining, anyway). The lower reaches on the valley floor and near the delta were heavily modified for agricultural development, but a variety of agencies and organizations have cobbled together a unified protected area of 50,000 acres (nearly 80 square miles) called the Consumnes River Preserve. It is critical habitat for thousands upon thousands of migratory birds, as well as a great many year-round residents.

The Preserve's Visitor Center is easily accessed from Interstate 5 between Stockton and Sacramento, so it made for a pleasant first stop on our way north today for our holiday travels. A number of birds were about, including a small gaggle of Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) feeding on an embankment near the end of one of the boardwalks.

The White-fronted Geese breed in the far north, and migrate in winter to a series of refuges along the length of the Great Valley, Texas, and on into Mexico. I often see them in massive flocks at the San Joaquin National Wildlife Refuge, but it is less often that I get to see them up close like I did today.

Black Phoebe at the Cosumnes River Preserve

I was picking someone up at Sacramento Airport the other day, and had enough time to make a brief stop at the Cosumnes River Preserve between Stockton and Sacramento. If I had been intending to hike the usual nature trail around the wetland, it just wasn't going to happen...the Cosumnes River was flowing at around 6,000 cubic feet per second, and the entire trail was deep underwater. But as I was looking at the inundated trailhead, I spied a Black Phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) in the shrubs nearby, and it allowed me a few pictures. They are pretty little tyrant flycatchers that are fun to watch as they do their aerial acrobatics chasing insects.

Looking at the World for the First Time: Tree Swallow Chick at Cosumnes River Preserve

I was picking someone up at Sacramento Airport today, which gave me a chance to stop and wander a little at the Cosumnes River Preserve between Stockton and Sacramento.  Maybe this is a bureaucratic nightmare, but the preserve covers 50,000 acres and is managed by not less than seven agencies: The Nature Conservancy, Bureau of Land Management, California Department of Fish & Wildlife, Sacramento County Regional Parks, Department of Water Resources, Ducks Unlimited, and the California State Lands Commission. Their management meetings must be a lot of fun! Still, they've done a good job of protecting a wide swath of river bottomlands, ponds and grasslands along the Cosumnes. I took a three mile loop trail from the visitor center (off Twin Cities Road at I-5) that turned around at the Cosumnes River. There weren't an overwhelming number of birds out and about, but as I followed a trail down to the river I was buzzed by a few Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor). I didn't realize what the ruckus was about until I noticed a nesting box right next to the trail. Something was looking at me. And what a sour face!

I immediately realized the problem and backed off. The Swallows were concerned about their chick (or someone's chick, I couldn't be sure), who was looking out on the world, but wasn't quite ready to emerge from the nest and start exploring. 

It's the quiet season at the preserve as it transitions into the summer and much of the wetlands dry up. The river will be running all year though, so I'll check it out when I can. It's a pleasant place to hang out while waiting for a plane to land.