Memorial Weekend

[Lighthawk]

The weekend was upon us. We haven't been able to get away and were really looking forward to it. We both had full days of work on Friday, so didn't even leave town until noon on Saturday. Our secret is to drive less than two hours to our local favorite, Sierra Valley.

Along 89N from Truckee is Bickford Ranch, originally owned by a ranching family. They were going to sell the property to the local Land Trust, for historic, natural value, and they were going to do a deal. A local realtor talked to the heirs and told them they could get a better price with a developer, so the land trust deal fell apart. There's a For Sale sign posted today.



We were equipped with kayaks. Last year we put in at north end of the valley, where the Middle Fork of the Feather crosses A23, near Beckworth. It's a meadow stream that quickly becomes a reed filled swamp. It is also know to be the largest freshwater marsh in the Sierra.

Our friends had told us the water was low this year, so we were doubtful. However, I had made a connection with the Feather River Land Trust, and was offered access to the Maddalena Ranch property. We decided to check it out, despite stormy skies.

Just leaving Sierraville, I spotted a Sandhill crane, hunting in the flowering meadow. Even on a holiday weekend, the traffic is so light, I can usually check my mirrors and just stop, in the middle of the road, to take a photo. This shot is handheld, through the passenger window.



A harbinger of things to come.

 

[Lighthawk]

We spent the afternoon touring up our favorite roads in Sierra Valley, checking out the birds.
It's not uncommon to see other birder types (usually driving Subaru, or Prius) going really slow along these same roads. We like Harriet/Harriot Lane (depends upon which county you're in ) and Dyson Lane to Marble Hot Springs, which is dirt.



The old barns from the dairy industry are framed by the mountains surrounding this ancient lake bed.







And the birds are just amazing:

Ibis in silhouette remind me of an Escher drawing:



The American Pelicans were seen, but the largest flock we saw (and didn't photograph) was a huge group circling over Truckee on the way there.



Black-crowned night heron. Really cool looking bird, with a bizarre orange eye.



Driving along Dyson Lane we spotted a pair of Osprey, each eating half a fish ( I think it's a carp).







There's lot's more where these shots came from, but I'll close with this Yellow-headed blackbird doing his best Orson Wells impression.

 

[SunMan]

Nice photos Andy, really love the reflection of the mountains in the marsh. Glad you were able to get yourselves extracted from your sticky situation. Props to SR for pitching in and gettin' dirty!

 

[chnlisle]

Don't you love the way the Osprey carry the fish head first? Very aerodynamic. Great pix, thx.

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Thanks again, Andy& Susan. You two put out very nice stories. Would like to know more about the canoeing possibilities in the Sierra Valley marsh. We have driven through the area but didn't explore it. Loved the yellow headed blackbird. We did see some of them there before. Also the Ibis didn't know they would be in that area. Another spot on the list. We have camped and canoed the areas along Gold Lake road down to Gold lake. It has been several years since we were in that area. Defiantly need to go back.


Enjoyed the photos and stories.

Frank

 

[highz]

More great bird photos - love 'em!

 

[Ted]

As usual, I enjoyed your bird photos but agree with Sunman, the reflection shot is fantastic.

 

[Lighthawk]

The sky turned dark and foreboding as we scoped out the put in for our kayak adventure.
We used the truck as our refuge between freshets of spring rain, and enjoyed jumping out in the better cells of weather. The lighting was fantastic.









Maddalena Ranch, Feather River Land Trust


We followed the light to the north end of the valley. There were a number of raptors that seemed to have the same idea.









I suddenly realized I had NO BEER on board the FWC!!! (Yes, I did have some local Nevada County wine, but suddenly the hankering for beer was paramount!!!). We went up to Hwy 70 and headed towards Portola. I was able to delay my gratification shortly to briefly tour Beckworth (beck weth') where the Mason Lodge is notable.



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After securing the necessary beverage, we checked out Portola. We were lurking about, seeking access to the Feather River for potential kayaking. We found ourselves on the siding next to the RR tracks, where the Railroad Museum is located. It was closed, but I would recommmend any rail buff check it out. They have a wealth of equipment there on display, literally acres of it.

 

[Lighthawk]

There's a final chapter to wrap up this trip. Our big kayak day on Sunday!
We had previewed the put in and knew we would be portaging about 75 yds to access the water.



What we didn't know is that after paddling a short ways, we would run into a dead end.

I put on my fishing waders and boots at the truck and offered Susan a pair that used to belong to my son. They fit ok, but she thought she could do without. We stashed them under the hatch of her Wilderness Pungo kayak. Two years ago I bought her a kayak for her birthday, and last year we replaced our old (heavy) tandem, and I got a Pungo too. They each weigh 50#, so we usually carry only one at a time. In this case I was packing a 400mm lens, 70-200mm and a 35mm plus two camera bodies. Susan brought food for a long day on the water/swamp/land.

I had downloaded USGS topo and color aerials views of our tour, and started tracking our location from the truck. Later on, this was useful, as the maze of water channels and low islands were had to tell apart.

We portaged our first obstacle, around a wire fence and got onto better waters.





But ten minutes later we were padding through shoulder high reeds and dragging our keels.


I am forty or more pounds heavier, plus gear, so I found myself paddling like I was dragging a truck tire while Susan would just glide by with a sweet smile.



We paddled beneath a few electrified fences. I got zapped with some high volt/ low amp ( correct me if I'm wrong here ) jolts, while trying to lift the wire with my paddle. Susan took her time and got away clean.

The birds were amazing. This was the best we've seen. A sampler:

Avocet




Killdeer


White faced Ibis



Wilsons Phallarope


Black-crowned Night Heron




And a Raven, stealing an egg. Thief!


Yellow-headed Blackbird. These guys were very tame and you could paddle right up to them.


A little swallow decided he liked Susan's boat, while we were taking a lunch break.


We also saw osprey and bald eagle as we reached our goal, an ancient concrete dam.
Here's Susan sporting the latest in birder garb



It had been over three miles of paddling and portaging.


It was almost 3pm, and time to head back and retrace our route. We had enough fences, duck blinds and landmarks to retrace our route, but I could see someone getting lost here.

Well, I would post a few more pics to finish this post, but the WTW Gods have decried that I have posted too many photos. I actually cut a few images.

Long story short. We made it! Now we have reached the concrete dam from upstream, and have almost reached it from downstream via Beckworth/A23 bridge. Fun to connect the dots.

After doing the reverse portage back to our vehicle, we heading to the springs for a hot shower and a soak. Little did we know we were not done adventuring for the evening.
The Mudfest

 

[Lighthawk]

Sorry, but I realized I mentioned the skunk episode. It's nothing, really.

We were driving down Dyson Lane, our favorite SV dirt road, when I spotted a dark animal running down the road. "What's that?", I said "A dog? Or . . . a badger?". All I could was white stripes on a dark body. Susan has the binocs, so I count on her to be a spotter. She didn't get a good look, though. Finally I got a shot with the camera and we consulted the LCD. "Skunk!" Duh. I'm not even sure there are badgers in California anymore.

He kept running down the road. It was comical. He was maybe 75 yds. away as we watched him run off into the brush.


But then we saw another skunk, running after the first one. Susan was glassing them with her 'nocs while I was steadying the camera with telephoto.

Question: What do two skunks do when they meet in the wild?

HI FIVE!

 

[Casa Escarlata Robles Too]

Great story Andy/Susan. Thanks for sharing.
Frank

 

[ski3pin]

We always enjoy your photos and story of your adventure. I especially love the ibis flight photo. Thanks for taking us all along!

 

[highz]

Some more amazing photos - I think we just expect this kind of excellence from you now. I'm going to have to pull out a map to see where you were 'yaking.

 

[Lighthawk]

Some more amazing photos - I think we just expect this kind of excellence from you now. I'm going to have to pull out a map to see where you were 'yaking.


Thanks High. I was wondering if my overly photo-laden posts were lost in the shuffle.
I've had others asking me about our route, so I created a map to show where we were, using Gmaps.

Sierra Valley kayaking and birding

 

[craig333]

Thanks for the map. I had you pictured in another area entirely.