I’ve mentioned before that I live in Sacramento, the state capital and the jewel in the crown of California. The Sacramento Valley is one of the great valleys of the world, with a vast and fertile soil area. The Valley’s farmland is unique in the way it provides habitat and food for salmon and birds along the Pacific Flyway. The Sacramento Valley has a deep connection between the urban and rural areas that is reflected in Sacramento’s designation as America’s Farm-to-Fork Capital. Crops grown in the Valley include rice, almonds, walnuts, plums, peaches, tomatoes, wheat, olives, corn, alfalfa, pears, sunflowers, grapes, kiwifruit, and hay.
Northwest of Sacramento is the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex which consists of:
The total area of the refuges is about 140 square kilometers (35,000 acres)s).
The Sacramento Valley represents the single most important wintering area for the waterfowl along the Pacific Flyway. Migrating waterfowl rely upon this region of the state to rest and feed during their annual migration. In addition to the multiple species of waterfowl, raptors, and shorebirds that seasonally inhabit the region, these lands provide habitat for a number of other species who rely upon this area year-round. This habitat comprises an important part of the integrated water system in Northern California. The Sacramento Valley lies on the southerly end of the Pacific Flyway migratory route and is one the most prominent wintering sites for waterfowl in the world. Waterfowl migrate to the Sacramento Valley by the millions from as far away as Alaska, Canada, and Siberia. Sacramento Valley habitat supports approximately 44 percent of wintering waterfowl using the Pacific Flyway, attracting more than 1.5 million ducks and 750,000 geese to its seasonal marshes. The limited amount of natural wetlands in the area makes small-grain production fields (mostly rice) critical to the survivability of the large numbers of waterfowl wintering in California. Many water districts and companies in addition to providing water for the working agricultural landscapes and privately managed wetlands also provide water to federal wildlife refuges and state wildlife management areas.
Needless to say, when you live in the Sacramento Valley, you are not lacking in places to go birding. Today I’m going to share photos I’ve taken in and around the Sacramento NWR Complex at various times of the year. If you’re within driving distance of Sacramento, you really owe it to yourself to pay a visit. It’s peak time right now, with hundreds of thousands of ducks and geese, among other waterfowl, occupying the refuge.
I’m going to start with a Snow Geese sequence. A small incoming group at first grows to a massive flock in no time. As impressive as it is to see such a huge flock of birds, the sound of them is deafening! If you do plan a visit anytime soon, I recommend earplugs.
Meanwhile, 20 miles down the road from the Sac NWR is the Colusa NWR where the Greater White-fronted Geese are arriving like gangbusters.
Moving on to the wintering ducks, the first ones to arrive are Northern Pintails which are, in my opinion, the most elegant ducks of them all.
Not far behind are the Northern Shovelers.
The Northern Shovelers and Northern Pintails are plentiful, but you’ll also see a variety of other ducks at the Sac NWR that you don’t necessarily see in your neighborhood parks and ponds. These include Gadwall, American Wigeon, Eurasian Wigeon, Cinnamon Teal, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, Ruddy Duck and more.
That’s a wrap of SOME of the geese and ducks you’ll see at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The photos I’ve shared were taken at Sac NWR, Colusa NWR, and Delevan NWR, all part of the Complex. And I didn’t even include the other waterfowl you’ll see there, to say nothing of the other birds commonly observed.
Here’s a chart showing the waterfowl count taken as of mid-October and these numbers have increased by leaps and bounds since then, as November and December are peak arrival times.
Have you visited any of the National Wildlife Refuges in your state? Here’s a link to the list of them: en.wikipedia.org/… I’ve visited several of the ones in California beyond the Sac NWR Complex discussed here today. If you’ve visited any, tell us which one(s) and if it was a rich experience for you. And talk about anything else birdy that you’d like. Judging from Facebook photos I’ve seen, it looks like a number of people went birding yesterday instead Black Friday shopping. Birding is a great way to walk off that Thanksgiving meal. The floor is OPEN!