In January 1937, the federal government purchased 10,775-acre Spalding Ranch and christened it the Sacramento Migratory Waterfowl Refuge. From 1937-1942 the Civilian Conservation Corp's (CCC) "Camp Sacramento" housed up to 200 men at the current headquarters area. The men constructed levees, water control structures, and delivery ditches to create and sustain wetlands across the majority of the refuge. Mosquito bitten, sunburned, dust-choked men worked non-stop even on 100-degree days to create the refuge.
Today, the refuge is known as the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge and it functions as the headquarters for the entire Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex. The refuge supports over 250 species of birds. Most notable are the huge wintering concentrations (November - January) of 500,000 to 750,000 ducks and 200,000 geese. Raptor numbers swell as the waterfowl numbers increase, including bald eagles and peregrine falcons.
Less than a two hour drive from San Francisco, Jadyne and I headed there yesterday, not really knowing what to expect.
The egret alone was worth the price of admission. After a two mile walk past wetlands we came across this lone bird.
We started on a six mile auto tour. To prevent frightening the birds, we were warned to keep quiet and stay in our cars. We did.
The first flock we found were a combination of snow geese and Ross geese. We watched them quietly for a few minutes...and then
...Someone gave the signal, and the sky was filled with fluttering wings.
We'd been told that other birds were present, and that someone had seen a bald eagle.
...such as this one
As we finished our six mile drive, we were once again astounded by what my birder friend George calls, a "geese fly-out."
A small part of the sky.
I guess you had to be there...
Birds are art...
A $6 entrance fee and the nuisance of having to wash the car (when thousands of geese fly over your car you know that washing it afterwards is a given) was a small price to pay.