San Luis Wildlife Refuge

Skippped Breakfast, and paddled out Rocky Slope almost to Rocky Point....thought to see if any signs of Rock Slide, but nothing new, dust and such, on the Wall....friend heard the Fall too...maybe it was on the other side of Three Brothers....not much time, and returned along the Road...quiet walk...sunny blueblue warm....more weekend report: On leaving Merced Wildlife Refuge, made a left on Sandy Marsh and took it to 152 (one needs a map to see how this happens!), and in Los Banos, turned right on 165, which goes through San Luis Wildlife Refuge...I watched for signs, and one directed me out a Road (Wolfson, I learned later), and I rolled up on a sign saying I needed a permit, and I checked at a Trailer, but no one about, just a curious Little Pooch, and I was hesitant to continue without a permit, and backtracked to 165 and continued...passed a couple Refuge signs beside gates, but the gates were locked...a bit disappointed until I rolled up on sign with open gate--West Bear Creek Unit...see pic up....no visitor center, just the sign with brochures....gathered one each, studied the map, and saw a walking trail, and rolled thataway...and I went for a good long walk along an elevated dike, Willows and Cottonwoods, flooded, on one side, open field on the other over to the Road....Hawks about, and Waterfowl too, which I could mostly only hear behind the Trees when Fowl would fly up...Waterfowl are reallyrelly skittish in the Refuges...for good reason, some sections are set aside for hunting, and I could here shooting far away now and then.....the Trail makes a big loop, and about midway, a maintenance pic up truck rolled up, and...'You know you cant walk here'....'but, but there's a Trail sign back there'....driver thought a minute, and said, 'oh, you're right, I'm sorry, I apologise'....and I smiled and said, 'that's okay, it's not the first time...'....driver's name was Dennis, and we talked a bit, about my morning walk, when I met a fellow name Rich, who is in charge of the MWR, and was there with crew to count Cranes, about the improvements being made, about the Black Tailed Deer, which I had just seen, about not so many Birds at San Luis....'yes, but it has a larger territory, and overall more Birds'....the Geese and Cranes and Waterfowls was what I had in mind, and I did see a huge overflight of Snow Geese theraabout....and I asked where I could go to see the Tule Elk, and was given directions back to the place I had turned back from....a pleasant talkabout!!....after goodbyes, I continued the loop, and back at the start was Picnic Bench where I sat awhile and snacked...mini donuts and crangrape, all I had to that time, late afternoon.....Northern Harrier about, and Long Legs, but too far away....few pics I took were farfar away....and I rolled back to Wolfsen Road, hesitated at the permit sign, and continued, and reached the Tule Elk Refuge, where a large new Visitor Center is under construction....the permit requirement is for the hunters, but signs not clear on this....I rolled around the Elk enclosure, five miles!...a tall Fence surrounds it...lots of Hawks, Redtail, Kestrel, and a few Birds, Flcker, Meadowlark, perched on the Poles....pics of Elk, but faraway, and not good backgrounds..but happy just to see Elk!...Does and Bucks were in separate groups, and the pic of the solitary Elk was near the end of the loop....Hawk on Fence pic up was taken just as I exited the Refuge...last pic of the Day, as it began to sprinkle, and not much daylight left....most of the weekend pics I took were of Hawks, and mostly Redtails, on Poles and Posts and Trees and Power Lines, and, I think I saw over a hundred Redtail Hawks!, and thirty or so Kestrels, a half dozen Harriers, and a couple Kites...this over the two days, most sightings the second day....and the Hawks are very hard to photograph in the Big Valley...it's just dangerous to stop on the Road, and in the Refuges, the noise of the approaching wheels on gravel, startles Hawk from perch...and if Hawk stays perched, it's unlikely there is good background, or lighting....from the Trail at Bear Unit, I didn't see any Redshoulders, which I thought I might with so many Trees...but it was mostly a looksee visit...it takes awhile to get a sense and feel for a place....and there's a cluster of other Refuges at San Luis for the sometime list!!.....San Luis is big, miles and miles....