Lost in the Fog

A couple of days ago, I awoke to a beautiful and foggy day in the central valley of California. Thick valley fog lay low, shrouding buildings and trees and blanketing the marshes and agricultural fields around Davis. As I was walking across campus on my way to teach Vertebrate Anatomy, I heard a sound above me that I do not hear on campus very often at all. It was the sound of geese flying high overhead. They came into view through the fog; a flock of about 200 Snow Geese wheeling and drifting through the fog. They wavered back and forth for a minute and then drifted out of my view back into the fog. A few minutes later, a smaller group flew past, and a bit after that, a flock of about 30 Northern Pintail flew by. All these waterfowl seemed to be a bit disoriented by the low, thick fog. They, presumably, were trying to find wetlands in which to settle for the day, but instead of spotting suitable habitat from high up and far away as they would on a clear day, they had to move around low and slow almost by feel trying to find a good place to rest. In their search, they took a wrong turn and ended up over the town and university of Davis which is not really the best waterfowl habitat. It was a fun treat for me to see and hear these birds, and I hope they figure out that heading a bit to the east and landing the Yolo Bypass is really a much better place to hang out. Good luck to them!

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