Wintu Audubon presents a night of Waterfowl ID tips by Mike Carion. Mike is a retired California Fish & Wildlife employee known for his expertise on waterfowl. He will focus on the waterfowl species found in the Shasta County area with helpful ID tips including field marks and calls! This refresher will help you identify these migratory waterfowl as they build up in numbers during their annual migration to the Sacramento Valley and parts beyond. If you love to watch waterfowl but need some helpful ID tips, please join us!
Tag Archives | waterfowl
Waterfowl Identification
Michael Carion is a retired Chief of Enforcement for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Mike has had a life-long passion for waterfowl and has taught waterfowl identification and enforcement techniques to California Game Wardens for over 25 years. Come learn basic techniques to help identify the waterfowl found throughout California. His PowerPoint presentation will start with basics and then focus on field identification marks to help identify the numerous species of waterfowl found throughout California.
Gray Lodge State Wildlife Area
Gray Lodge State Wildlife Area is west of Gridley about 100 miles south of Redding so this will be an all day trip. We should see Snow Geese, Ross’s Geese, possible Sandhill Cranes, Eurasian Wigeon among many other species of waterfowl—all this with a backdrop of the beautiful Sutter Buttes. Bring your camera! There is a $4.32 per person entrance fee. If you have a California hunting or fishing license there is no charge. We will meet at the Redding Civic Auditorium to carpool so bring a few dollars for gas also. Your trip leader will be George Horn.
Local Weekday Bird Walk—Clear Creek WasteWater Treatment Ponds
We are again scheduling a visit to the Clear Creek Wastewater Treatment Ponds targeting wintering waterfowl and very early migrating shorebirds. The 4-year drought exacerbated by improvements in tertiary treatment requiring fewer ponds has nearly eliminated habitat for these species. We expect the winter rains will create at least temporary habitat. Assemble at the Treatment Plant’s Administration Building at the end of Metz Road at 8:00 am to meet your leader, Jeannette Carroll. This is a ½-day trip that may end in the early afternoon if the birding is good.
Here are the directions to the Clear Creek Plant. Take Hwy. 273 and look for River Ranch Road after crossing Clear Creek. Cross over the Railroad tracks and turn left on Eastside Road. The entrance on Metz Road is on the right.
Second Saturday Bird Walk at Turtle Bay
We will return again this month to Turtle Bay and environs to view all the wintering waterfowl. As in January we will walk around Turtle Bay, the pedestrian walkway on the Hwy.44 bridge and maybe Kutras Lake. Assemble in the parking lot on the south side of the Redding Civic Auditorium. Brooke McDonald will lead.