Another good day in California

We added two new birds to our life list today--a Northern Shoveler and an American Wigeon.  We saw them in a wildlife refuge about 20 miles north of Colusa.  We also spotted a bald eagle and quite a few sandhill cranes.

The California rice growers no longer burn off their fields.  They have discovered that by disking the rice straw into the soil and adding some water, they get the same effect as burning but without the air pollution.  The added benefit is winter habitat for the waterfowl.

We also found a newspaper in Colusa that is almost as right-wing as the Times News.  It carried the local Tea Party news and ravings of the assault rifle crowd.  I felt like I was back home.