Sunrise at the Merced NWR

I haven’t visited the Merced NWR since October, I thought I’d take a drive and see how the conditions were. My “mission” was only to see how the pools were filling up and if I happen to take a few pictures along the way, it’s icing on the cake. With that in mind, I got up at 5:30AM Saturday so I could possibly photograph a nice sunrise…if the conditions were right.

I was a bit disappointed from the lack of water. Doesn’t look like anything changed in almost 2 months. I do hope they continue to fill the pools with water.

Despite the low water, I “managed” to photograph the sunrise and spilled my coffee in the process. Thankfully it spilled on the ground and not in the van or on the camera.

I was happy to see (and photograph) a Black-crowned Night Heron…a first for me. I had to remove my teleconverter to be able to compose the Great Egret 10 feet away from me…another first. Usually for me, those guys fly way before I get close enough. Got a few shots of a White-faced Ibis as well.

All and all, I would say it was a good morning and hope to get back soon.

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Mike is a Central Valley California landscape and nature photographer whose subjects include scenes from Merced County, Yosemite, SeKi, and the eastern Sierra. He is currently living in Atwater, CA.

The text and photographs are © Copyright Mike Matenkosky (or others when indicated) and are not in the public domain and may not be used on websites, blogs, or in other media without advance permission from Mike Matenkosky.

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