Ground Birds: Grouse and Pheasants

Here are a few of the decent grouse photos I've taken over the years:

Dusky Grouse

Franklin's Spruce Grouse

Ring-necked Pheasant

Spruce Grouse

National Wildlife Refuges

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, California, 1937

The Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge is the headquarters for the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex and is one of six refuges located in the Sacramento Valley of north-central California. The refuge is approximately 90 miles north of Sacramento, adjacent to Interstate 5.

The 10,783-acre refuge consists of about 7,600 acres of intensively managed wetlands, uplands, riparian habitat, and vernal pools. It typically supports wintering populations of more than 600,000 ducks and 200,000 geese. Since more than 95 percent of the wetlands of the central valley have been lost in the last 100 years, and waterfowl have become increasingly dependent upon the refuges of the Sacramento Valley.

The refuge supports several endangered plants and animals, including transplanted colonies of palmate-bracted bird s-beak, several species of fairy shrimp, vernal pool tadpole shrimp, giant garter snake, wintering peregrine falcon, bald eagle, and breeding tricolored blackbird. Resident wildlife includes grebe, heron, blackbird, golden eagle, beaver, muskrat, black-tailed deer, and other species typical of upland and wetland habitats. 

Sacramento NWR is one of my favorites. I have been there many times and am never disappointed. Here are some of my favorite photos:

Sunset

American Bittern and Ring Necked Pheasant

Greater Yellowlegs

Long Billed Curlew

Peregrine Falcon

Ring Necked Pheasant

Sandhill Cranes

Turkey Vulture

White Faced Ibis

National Wildlife Refuges

Mahleur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon, 1908

One of the crown jewels of the National Wildlife Refuge System, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge protects 187,000 acres of wetlands in southeastern Oregon's high desert. It is adjacent to the Steens Mountain Wilderness, with the Wild and Scenic Donner and Blitzen River flowing into the refuge at its southern boundary.

The refuge is famous for its tremendous diversity and spectacular concentrations of wildlife. Boasting over 320 bird species and 58 mammal species, Malheur is a mecca for birdwatchers and wildlife enthusiasts.

Spring is the most spectacular season at Malheur. More than 130 species of birds nest on the refuge, while other waterfowl using the Pacific Flyway stop at the refuge to refuel for their journey northward. In February, northern pintail and tundra swan begin to arrive, followed by large flocks of lesser and greater sandhill crane, and flocks of snow goose and Ross' goose.

It's another Refuge that I went to several times during the 90's. So, I have photos from several different seasons. Here is a variety of them:

Great Blue Heron

Great Egret

Hooded Merganser

Mule Deer Buck with Doe

Mule Deer Door with a "nosy"  LBB

Northern Pintail

Northern Shoveler (male and female)

Red Tailed Hawk

Ring Necked Pheasant

Rough Legged Hawk

Wood Duck in winter

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

Another favorite place -- that I haven't been to in ten years -- is Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge which is about 90 miles north of Sacramento. There are actual five different wildlife refuges in this complex totaling about 35,000 acres of wetlands.  

I have been there seven or eight times and each time has been different. On one occasion I saw a beautiful male Ring Necked Pheasant in a grassy field. Looking closer, about 25 yards away was an American Bittern. Neither seemed especially bothered by me, although I kept my distance for a while. After a couple of minutes I noticed that their eating patterns were bringing them closer together. So I waited. Maybe ten minutes later they were side by side and viola and nice photo of the two together.

Here they are:

Ring Necked Pheasant

American Bittern

Ring Necked Pheasant with American Bittern

Ground Birds - VII

Ring-necked Pheasants. These multi-colored birds are not native to North America. Their native land is Russia and the northeast part of Europe (Caucasus). It has been widely introduced in other places as a game bird. It has become one of the world's most hunted birds. Ring-necked Pheasants are commonly bred and then released specifically for hunting. It is the state bird of South Dakota -- one of only three US state birds not native to the United States. Estimates are that farms in the US have nearly 10 million birds, 35 million in the UK. Most of these are released into the wild for hunting purposes, but many are also available for purchase through grocery and specialty stores for consumption. The majority of the "wild" or feral birds are in the plains states as well as the northwest and northeast states. 

Ridefield National Wildlife Refuge, Washington.

Mahleur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon

And a favorite of mine with an American Bittern

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, California