Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge

Saturday I drove down to visit the Lava Beds National Monument (which I will have other posts about). Now while I am staying in Klamath Falls, Oregon for a few days, the Lava Beds are about 45 miles south, in northern California. Both on the way to and from the Lava Beds I passed through portions of the huge Tule Lake National Wildlife Refuge. Here are some photos I was able to capture today using the digital camera:

I’m quite sure this is a Northern Harrier (a type of hawk). It was pretty far off the road but I could tell it was very big:

This red-eyed wonder is a Western Grebe. They are like loons and some waterfowl I saw while I was in Arcata (but haven’t posted about yet) in that they will dive underwater for a minute or more while searching for food. They really do have red eyes, although I think I was real lucky on this shot to get some great sun reflection (kind of “red eye” for birds!):

This is a Red-winged Blackbird:

And as I watching several of these to try and get these shots this one took flight towards where I was parked:

This is an American White Pelican. This Wildlife Preserve near Klamath Falls was the first place I ever saw a reference to these (I was here briefly last year after visiting nearby Crater Lake), although I never actually saw any until I was in Aurora, Colorado (near Denver) towards the end of my trip last year (Search for “Pelican Point” on the Home page, or use the calendar there to locate posts from 10/16/17).

Unlike brown pelicans who dive from the air for fish these pelicans sit on the water and dip them out. Then they lift their heads and swallow their catch.

Then, like bobbing for apples, they go back for more…

They release the water from their pouch (but not the fish)…

Then lift and swallow:

Finally, this is a Great Egret, perched on a nearby work platform, grooming itself while keeping an eye on the lake:

I may go back down to the Preserve on Sunday and try my luck getting more pictures.