- Date: 11/23/2007
- Time: 07:30:00 AM
Post-Thanksgiving Tour
Field Trip
21st Annual Post-Thanksgiving Day Tour
This all-day field trip will take participants to several birding locales in the Sacramento Valley where we’ll search for wintering shorebirds, ducks, geese, swans, hawks, owls and Sandhill cranes. Starting in South Davis, we’ll look for Burrowing, Barn and Great Horned owls, followed by a drive through the Yolo Basin Wildlife Area, where the wintering waterfowl and shorebird numbers could be significant. Next, we’ll travel to the Nimbus Dam and Fish Hatchery in Sacramento to get close-up looks at giant Chinook salmon making their way up the fish ladder to spawn and complete their lifecycle. The great numbers of fish draw a variety of opportunistic gulls, ducks and other birds. In the afternoon we’ll explore several areas known for the variety of wintering raptors they support including Merlin, Prairie Falcon Ferruginous and Rough-legged hawks. Finally we will end the day at the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve where we’ll witness the spectacle of hundreds of Sandhill Cranes returning to their traditional evening roost in the wetlands, and enjoy the cacophony of calls of the Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, ducks and geese as the sunsets.
Meet at 7:30am at the Nugget Center parking lot in South Davis, behind Burger King for carpooling. Pack a lunch and drinks for the day. Dress in warm layers and wear comfortable footwear. This field trip includes several stops with short walks. We will return to Davis around 5:30pm. Participants are welcomed to join
the group afterwards for our traditional Chinese dinner in Davis during which we’ll recap the day and complete the checklist. This is an ideal field trip for beginners. Heavy rain cancels. The field trip leader is Terry Colborn (530)-758-0689.