Wednesday, May 29th was day 6 of our trip. We were both tired from our previous day's adventures, and so we decided to take in a couple of auto tours - Lower Klamath Basin and Tule Lake. Our first stop was the intersection of Highway 39 and State Line Road, where the fields on both sides of State Line were full of birds - White-faced Ibis, American Avocet, Franklin's Gulls (and others) and Black-necked Stilt.
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| American Avocet |
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| Black-necked Stilts |
Our first Black-necked Stilt was a proud parent of at least two fledglings.
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| Black-necked Stilt Fledgling |
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| Lower Klamath Basin |
Lower Klamath Basin lived up to its fine reputation - we saw lots and lots of birds along the route - and a few mosquitos.
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| Cliff Swallows |
The kiosk was being put to good use.
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| American White Pelicans |
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| White-faced Ibis |
Much prettier "live" than in photos.
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| Canada Geese families |
Next, we headed down to Tule Lake, stopping first at the Tule Lake headquarters -- definitely worth the stop!
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| Yellow-bellied Marmot |
We enjoyed walking the short trail around Discovery Marsh... a Yellow-bellied Marmot was our first sighting. We got some nice close-up views of shorebirds...
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| American Avocet |
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| Marsh Wren |
... and marsh birds.
Back in the car, we resumed the auto tour - but by then, it was mid-afternoon and we had both pretty much exhausted our energy. We saw quite a few waterfowl, although the masses of wintering ducks and geese were long gone. I hadn't realized until just now that I didn't take any photos at the lake itself. So, that's going to have to be another trip - perhaps earlier in the season!
Fabulous photos! I like seeing the high points without having to get wet or tired. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteStilt fledgeling!! So awesome.
ReplyDeleteThere were two - you can barely see the 2nd one behind the parent. I tried but couldn't get both babies in the same shot except that one where you can only see legs. So cute!
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