Bear Creek along SR-16, Colusa County

Red-wing blackbirds are one of my favorites, probably stemming from childhood memories of seeing and hearing them as I traversed the marshes between Sacramento and San Francisco. I’ve recently found them quite close to home at Sailor Bar’s Turtle Pond in Fair Oaks, but I always love spotting them around Clear Lake, especially in the spring. On this particular trip, I heard them all around me and occasionally got a quick glimpse, both at Anderson Marsh State Historic Park and Boggs Lake Preserve. Getting a good shot with my camera was feeling like a forlorn hope — until I decided to stop along the road on my way home to admire Bear Creek.