Living on the Edge of the Sagebrush Ocean
Took a quick trip up to Sierra Valley in the morning to look for shorebirds. Not much luck with those as the valley is so flooded with snowmelt it is short on shore. I did have some luck with a Merlin. I haven’t seen one for a few years and this one was accommodating flying from one fence perch to another in front of my truck.
I haven’t made the trip up to the Klamath Basin to see the Bald Eagles for a few years. A visit several years ago was disappointing with lack of water and wildlife in the midst of drought. We have had a couple of decent winters, so I went. It was pleasantly surprising to see all the waterways full to overflowing. Wildlife was there in abundance and of course the stars of the show, the Bald Eagles were plentiful.
The AWMA is a relatively new wildlife area that was created from a historic ranch property along the Humboldt River on the outskirts of Battle Mountain Nevada. I follow several wildlife pages on Facebook and have seen some good photos from a local photographer who visits the area regularly. I took a trip out there yesterday. It wasn’t productive from a wildlife photography standpoint, but I had the property to myself. I had a pleasant few miles of walking through the area. I thought it might be too early for a lot of bird life, and it was, but the habitat is healthy and looks like it supports many species. I will visit again when the birds are present.
The loading chute at the abandoned ranch at the center of the property
I think this is an old fuel tank for the ranch.
The Humboldt. It will be a trickle in the summer but is flowing full with snow run off.
The Machine Shop
Abandoned ranch house. I think that autumn photos here would be pretty.
Northern Desert Photography 