SOUTHERN OREGON, DAY 4: LOWER KLAMATH NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE AND TULE LAKE NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE

 September 6, 2020

In 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt established the Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, which straddles the Oregon-California border, as the nation's first waterfowl refuge. Its more than 50,000 acres host 80% of the Pacific Flyway's migrating waterfowl, with peak waterfowl populations reaching 1.8 million birds.

But while it is known for its waterfowl, there are plenty of other species to be seen, such as these red-tailed hawks, a bird we often see in our neighborhood in Southern California.

Turkey vultures congregate as if they were attending a funeral.

Later on we spied a golden eagle surveying the area from his perch atop a telephone pole. 

Once we got to the lakes and marshes, there were a lot of the expected waterfowl, such as this great blue heron. The largest heron native to North America, it has a wingspan of up to six feet and a height of up to four-and-a-half feet. For all that size, it only weighs five to eight pounds.

Great egrets are not quite as large.

Two egrets and a great blue heron take flight.

With its long legs trailing behind and its long neck curled in, this great egret looks a little awkward in flight.

Our next stop was the Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge, located in Northern California just south of the Oregon border. At 39,000 acres, it is about 80% of the size of the Lower Klamath Refuge and was established twenty years later in 1928 by President Calvin Coolidge.

We saw several fields like this one that were crowded with migratory birds.

Most of these are white pelicans. Many of my photos are a little blurry because I had to zoom in from so far away. However, you can clearly see the distinct long beaks characteristic of pelicans in this photo. I wonder how they scratch their chins.

At first I didn't recognize these snowy egrets because their long necks are folded against their bodies. Their legs are so skinny. 

Here is an egret (bottom left) with its neck mostly extended, the view that makes it easier to identify.

The watery reflection of this black-necked stilt makes its legs look twice as long as they really are. I can't tell where the real legs end and the reflection begins.

The ibis with its gently curved bill looks a lot like its glyph in Egyptian pictographs.

This is my favorite photo of this post, a great egret just after take-off with its neck tucked in and legs extended behind.

A closer view shows wings that look like pleated fabric and coal-black legs with ballerina-like pointed toes.

The same bird on the ground has a neck like a giraffe. Note the thick black legs of the bird on the left.

Beauty everywhere.