Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
This week we’re planning to go to the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge. We explored it several years ago and in keeping with our post-pandemic intentions to “do stuff” we booked a nearby motel for two days in Willows, which is about a 2 ½ hour drive. Willows is just off of Highway 5, which is a massive truck route, and the town has many motels and a few places to eat. Probably not a good place for your Biden bumper sticker.
In our younger days we were not birders (Wisconsin: 1. Robins 2. ,all others), but thanks to Kossack bird hikes and our proximity to Spring Lake, we are now. The Refuge features a 6 mile loop on which to slowly drive and view millions of birds of many varieties. There are 3 spots to pull off for closer observation. On our previous tour we were just gobsmacked at the arrival of the huge flock of snow geese. We had never seen any bird flock that massive. This is a photo from the website; mine were less stunning.
Last visit we had our bird identification book, but recently we downloaded the Merlin app, and it will be fun to learn how to use it, with so many birds in one place, plus some signs to confirm our attempts. Just as I compulsively checked weather in Vietnam for months before our trip, I’ve been doing that for Sacramento, since lately here it rains all the time! Last check the rain will stop the day we get there.
As of 2022, there are 588 National Wildlife Refuges in the United States, with the addition of the Green River National Wildlife Refuge. National Wildlife Refuge System is a system of protected areas of the United States managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, an agency within the Department of the Interior. This is a LINK to all of them. Are you familiar with any in your area? Have you gone to any? Have you become a birder? (over and above Flaco, of course) Do you keep binoculars in your car at all times?