For nearly 18 years, I have been roaming up and down California, hiking, photographing and simply soaking in nature and the wonderful people of California who have the capacity to make the smallest of all feel at home, with family. I don’t know what the future holds, but I would like to call California my home forever. My journey from an amateur to a Certified California Naturalist is but a small note of gratitude to this great state. Part of this effort has been my search to find ways in which I can share the joys I have discovered with the world at large. Since I have had the luck of traveling to the natural treasures of California, both well known and obscure, I thought I will share some of the locations for the discovery and pleasure of others.
Of late, there has been a tendency among people to rush to places when events such as bursts of wildflowers in the deserts and trample all over them. Therefore, I will decidedly NOT share anything that will risk natural phenomena to any such risks. Meanwhile, feedback is definitely welcome!
Lodi Lake, is in Lodi, California, smack dab in the middle of an area famous for wineries, farms and more. Unfortunately, much of that region is not protected at all. This makes Lodi Lake, and a handful of small oases, even the artificial ones like the lake, which is more a dam, built of a conglomerations of dams, fed by the Mokelumne River. I have taken a friend there once a year for many years now, to meet family there, and I spend time at the Lake and regions nearby. I will write about those other sites in future posts, but Google Maps should give you easy access to them anyway.
The lake is a refuge for birds of all kind. I am only going to speak to what I have seen here – many native, non-native and hybrid species of birds, squirrels and insect life. I have photographed ants, Canada Geese, Chinese Ducks, Hybrids, Mallards, Western Cormorants, Red-Winged Black Birds, Ravens, Tits and Squirrels, to name a few! In such a tight spot, over the seasons, I have cashed in on many sights, including the one featured above in this post. That one was a quick draw of the phone, as I had decided to go on without my coterie of lenses, wide-angled and others.
If you have an hour or so to kill, I recommend Lodi Lake, especially in Spring, when most of my visits there have been. Parking in the lake costs a little. Parking by the lake boundaries may be available, but as a thoroughly well-visited lake, you may not always find parking. I have managed to spend more than an hour, tracking the birds and other critters here, so I hope whatever time you spend here is valuable to you.
If you do end up going to Lodi Lake, and have feedback for me, please do drop me a line!
