Viansa Wetlands

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Viansa Winery, near the southern gateway to the Sonoma Valley, shares space with a 90-acre man-made wetland that is alive with birds. Here, along Sonoma Creek near San Pablo Bay, are mudflats, ample marsh vegetation, and new ponds with islands to protect against predators.
While bird numbers vary, up to 10,000 waterfowl have been seen in the Viansa wetland on a single day. More than 156 bird species have been recorded, including a rare White-faced Ibis and an even rarer Laysan Albatross. The seldom-seen Tri-colored Blackbird has nested here. Elusive Sora and Virginia Rails also may breed here, along with Black-necked Stilts, Common Moorhens, Pied-billed Grebes, Gadwall, and Cinnamon Teal.
In fall and spring, waterfowl and shorebirds flock in to rest and refuel on their migrations north or south bound. Many Canvasback, Pintail, and other ducks remain through the winter. Raptors, including Peregrine Falcons and Golden Eagles, monitor the skies overhead, and insect-eating swallows dart through the air. Herons and egrets stalk their prey as ducks loaf and feed in winter, or raise families in summer.
This privately-funded wetland was long a dream of its owner and creator, Sam Sebastiani. Since its completion just six years ago, it has already become a significant Bay Area wildlife refuge.
In the late 1980s, Sam and his wife, Vicki, purchased 175 acres in the Carneros wine region south of Sonoma. They wanted to establish a small, family-run, Mediterranean-style winery on the hill, overlooking a pastoral landscape that reminded Sam of the Tuscan countryside where his grandfather, Samuele, was born. Creating the adjacent wetland, Sam says, was in the tradition of wildfowl conservation set by his vintner father, August.
With the assistance and encouragement of Ducks Unlimited and biologists from the California Department of Fish and Game, a private, nearly permanent wetland was envisioned and designed for the lowest-lying 90 acres. Sam wanted to bear the cost of this himself, preferring not to seek tax-payer assistance
Sam and the project encountered many frustrating months of delay due to local contention and governmental hurdles, with costs increasing immensely beyond original estimates. Still, his long-dreamed-of wetland was completed in 1993, and is, today, a wonderful and rich gift from Sam to the wildlife and the people of Sonoma County.
Casual visitors can view the wetland with binoculars or a telescope, from the winery picnic area. Nearby, Viansa's Italian Marketplace offers wine tasting and has delicious food, fine wines and other items for sale.
For those who wish to see the wetland up close, a Madrone Audubon bird walk at Viansa is tentatively scheduled for Saturday, October 16. Watch for details in the next Leaves. Guided, 90-minute tours are available to the public on weekends by reservation (935-4717; fee, $7.50). A duck blind as well as level trails and levees provide easy access for observing birds, fish, frogs, dragonflies and other wild creatures.

The winery and wetland are located on Highway 121, south of Sonoma and north of Highway 37.

Gerry Mugele of Madrone Audubon and the Redwood Regional Ornithological Society, who surveyed bird populations at the Viansa Wetland for more than a year, has been helpful in preparing this article.