Winter Wildlife in the Sacramento Valley

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Backyard Birding: Water Gardening for Birds, Pt. 2

Fields filled with grazing Snow Geese, endless skeins of distant waterfowl, the gurgling calls of dancing Sandhill Cranes all heighten the awareness and feed the spirit of each nature-loving visitor to the Sacramento Valley in late fall and winter.

Whether on a day trip from Sonoma County or on a weekend get-away, birders and casual observers of nature can't help but be overcome with the wonder of this snapshot from the past

There remains only a small portion of the original habitat that was used by wintering waterfowl in the early 19th Century. Millions of birds once lived here along with wintering elk, deer, pronghorn, and grizzly bears. Now many wetlands have been drained, and native grasslands reclaimed for agriculture.

Yet, up to two million ducks and a half million geese may visit the Sacramento Valley each winter, many in refuges created by the California State Department of Fish and Game and U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and in private agricultural fields throughout the valley.

The two refuges most accessible to visitors are Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge just east of I-5 at Willows, and Gray Lodge Wildlife Management Area near Gridley. Each has a kiosk with brochures and information, and an unpaved automobile route with an observation platform. Hiking trails are well signed. Entry to Sacramento NWR is free, and Gray Lodge has a modest per-person entry fee.

Outside the refuges, many roads, especially West Butte Road just south of Gray Lodge, afford excellent wildlife viewing.

Throughout the valley, all manner of ducks and geese can be found, as well as American Bitterns, rails, Common Moorhens, Great Horned and Barn Owls, and many raptors. Look especially for Eurasian Wigeon, Red-heads, Ross's Geese, Tundra Swans, and Blue morphs of Ross's Geese and Snow Geese. Rough-legged and Ferruginous Hawks, and Peregrine and Prairie Falcons may circle the skies.

Experience shows that on days when hunting is permitted, most birds prefer the non-hunting ponds on the auto routes in the refuges. Bring a lunch, and enjoy every detail of what nature offers.

And by all means, plan your day so you are in a refuge at dusk, for it is then that you may witness a most breathtaking event, the "Fly-Out". As if pre-orchestrated, the wildfowl rise as one from the ponds and fly to nearby fields to feed during the night. There follows an avian chorus, set to the beat of a hundred thousand wings, and soon, just as the skies seem filled to overflowing with birds, the sun sets on one of nature's most beautiful ballets.

Overnight accommodations are available in Willows, Gridley , and Yuba City. Before you go, be sure to get a good, detailed map of the Sacramento Valley. Refuge details are available from the Area Manager, Gray Lodge Wildlife Management Area, P. O. Box 37, Gridley CA 95948 and Refuge Manager, Sacramento NWR, 725 County Road 99W, Willows CA 95988, (916) 934-2801.

When planning your route between these two refuges, consider using California's last automobile ferry, which crosses the Sacramento River near Princeton, just east of Sacramento NWR. Don't worry about the departure schedule: it leaves as soon as you get there, and it's free!