Wetland Wanderings: Exploring the Great Valley's Marshlands

In my previous post about Elkhorn Slough, I outlined some of the major environmental services wetlands provide.  I also mentioned their intrinsic value: the satisfaction of knowing these wild places exist and are protected, as well as the enjoyment that can be found in visiting such places.  California's Great Central Valley is a beautiful and biologically rich place.  Once a vast prairie crisscrossed by free-flowing rivers, this grassland was historically one of the most productive and diverse grasslands in North America. 

Spring has arrived in the Great Valley!

But the Great Valley was more than a grassland; it also supported a large system of seasonal freshwater marshes, fed by snowmelt from the Sierra Nevada.  The largest concentration of these marshes lined Tulare Lake, in the southern San Joaquin Valley.  As recently as 1900, Tulare Lake was the largest lake west of the Great Lakes.  Surrounding the lake were vast stretches of seasonal wetlands that supported great biodiversity.  Since 1900, rivers have been dammed, water diverted and wetlands drained.  By the 1930's, Tulare Lake and its wetlands were gone.

This is the tale of about 94% of California's freshwater marshes; less than 6% of original marshland has been preserved, and even the remaining wetlands are extensively managed.  But so far, migratory and over-wintering birds seem to have adapted to the new arrangement: fields are flooded in the winter to provide habitat for birds and other wildlife.  Many species have declined, of course, as the Great Valley has been plowed and paved, but many are survivors, clinging to the last wild places.  Some excellent examples of wild lands in California, especially wetlands, are found in our National Wildlife Refuges.

A cloudy spring day at Merced NWR

I will urge you every chance I get to go out and visit one of our local National Wildlife Refuges.  October through April are the best months for viewing wildlife, and offer visitors the most comfortable temperatures.  Beyond May, the managed wetlands will be dry and the birds will have moved on along their natural migration routes.  That being said, we have about a month left in the wetland season.  Wildflowers are blooming, our summer songbirds that winter in the tropics are returning.  Some ducks and winter birds are still hanging around.  (Most of the geese and Sandhill Cranes have headed north already, but there might be a few stragglers.)

A Marsh Wren, singing at its nest.

The wetlands are alive with birdsong: Marsh Wrens, Red-winged Blackbirds, Western Meadowlarks and Song Sparrows fill the air with song.  Get out there and explore!  You never know what you will see!

Yellow-headed Blackbirds - you can't miss them, with their bright coloring and noisy behavior!

A few days ago, Eric and I found a large, noisy flock of probably 80 Yellow-headed Blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge.  A stunning sight! 

Striking tropical-looking Yellow-headed Blackbirds

Plus, we saw a few Lesser Scaups (Aythya affinis), a handful of Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola) and a large flock of Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis).  Northern Shovelers and Cinnamon Teals were plentiful, as were the lovely American Avocets (Recurvirostra americana).

Elegant American Avocet

Trees bordering the wetlands offer nesting and roosting habitat for a number of songbirds as well as raptors.  Look for American Kestrels (Falco sparverius), Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), Swainson's Hawks (Buteo swainsoni), and Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus); Northern Harriers (Circus cyaneus) are often seen flying low over the wetlands.

You never know "hoo" might be watching you when you venture into the wetlands!

If you're interested in mammals, the Merced and San Luis National Wildlife Refuges offer habitat for the endangered San Joaquin Kit Fox (Vulpes macrotis).  More commonly seen are Desert Cottontails (Sylvilagus audubonii), Black-tailed Jackrabbits (Lepus californicus) and Coyotes (Canis latrans).  The San Joaquin River NWR is home to North American River Otters (Lontra canadensis) and North American Beaver (Castor canadensis).  And of course, let's not forget the impressive herd of Tule Elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) at the San Luis NWR.

Black-tailed Jackrabbit, hoping to escape detection by blending into its surroundings.

Take a little drive this spring and explore a wetland near you.  To find your nearest National Wildlife Refuge, visit https://www.fws.gov/refuges/refugelocatormaps/california.html for a detailed map.  But of course these aren't the only places you can go to revel in nature!  Spend a morning along a river, hiking a trail, or even exploring your own property or neighborhood park.  Small pieces of wilderness turn up everywhere when we take the time to look for them.

Comments

Post a Comment

You Might Also Like:

Birds of the Desert: Residents & Spring Migrants

Image
Nearly everyone knows the desert as a barren, desolate land of extremes: high heat, low precipitation; little available food and water; prickly, spiny, unfriendly plants growing in a sea of rocks and sand as far as the eye can see.  But for those who stop and look closer, the desert reveals itself as the beautiful, incredible, mesmerizing place it truly is, teeming with unexpected life. Juvenile male Costa's Hummingbird visiting chuparosa blooms next to our campsite in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. I particularly love the desert in the spring, when the annual wildflowers, cacti, flowering trees and shrubs are all in bloom.  (I've experienced the desert in the searing 120 degree heat of summer, and the rainy, even snowy cold of winter... and spring wins every time!)  Eric and I just returned from a week in the Colorado desert, exploring the imperiled, accidental Salton Sea (more on that coming soon), the vital wetlands of the Sonny Bono Salton Sea National Wildlife Refu
Read more

A Shorebird Primer: Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels

Image
For those of us living in the Great Central Valley, autumn is the time to head to the coast.  Of course, there is no bad time to visit California's magnificent coastline.  But as the heat and haze of summer drag on in the Valley, the sea becomes increasingly tantalizing: September and the onset of autumn bring sunny weather and an abundance of migratory seabirds and shorebirds to our coast. A new birder visiting California's Central Coast will undoubtedly be met with a splendid array of very confusing birds.  Among these are small shorebirds like  "peeps" (sandpipers), Sanderlings and various  plovers .  But the larger birds can be just as confusing, until you learn a few distinguishing features.  Four large shorebirds that are commonly seen (and commonly confused) along California's Central Coast are Godwits, Curlews, Willets and Whimbrels. Marbled Godwit (upper left), Whimbrel (upper right), Long-billed Curlew (center front) The distinguishing featu
Read more

Birding in Adverse Weather Conditions: Wind and Rain

Image
Though I often extol the virtues and merits of winter in the Central Valley , especially when it comes to birding, the whole truth is that we experience "bad" weather also, just like anywhere else.  But even when the winter weather rolls in, the birds are still out there!  And sometimes, despite our best planning efforts, a birding day happens to coincide with crummy weather.   In that case, what's a birder to do?  Usually, we go birding anyway!   Birders far more intrepid than I regularly brave the ice and snow of northern winters to see their favorite birds, so perhaps you should look to them for real tips on winter birding!  For those of us in the valleys of California, the worst weather we see - wind and rain - is really comparatively mild.  Birding on an extremely windy day! I don't know of anyone who actually likes birding in the rain.  But I would argue that birding in the wind is just as aggravating as trying to bird in the rain!   Wind can be utterly infuri
Read more

What's Wrong With This Tree?

Image
If you've spent any time in an oak woodland (and I sincerely hope that you have!!) you may have noticed something odd: strange growths on the branches and leaves of oak trees.  You might wonder if the trees are sick or diseased, or plagued with a dangerous pest. But not to worry; these fascinating growths are a normal part of a healthy oak community.  Spined Turban Gall on Valley Oak, with a bonus gall: the tiny orange sphere to the left of the larger gall might be a gall of the California Jumping Gall Wasp (inconclusive) These growths are in fact galls, and are caused by a variety of cynipid wasps.  Galls form when a wasp lays eggs in a plant's tissue, releasing chemicals which stimulate the plant to use its own tissue to form protective structures around the eggs.  As the insect larvae develops, it feeds on plant tissue from within its cozy gall home.  Galls form on a variety of plants, including alders, poplars, willows and even sagebrush.  But the best known and m
Read more

Joshua Tree Woodlands: A Tale of Sloths, Moths and the Trees that Need Them

Image
In 1844, early California explorer John C. Fremont gave a somewhat scathing review of Joshua trees when he wrote, "...their stiff and ungraceful form makes them to the traveler the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom."  Rather unkind, don't you think?  But when Joshua trees were formally described by scientist William Trelease in the 1890's, he noted that Joshua Trees are "the most attractive of all the Yuccas."  I am inclined to agree with this sentiment, and must disagree most heartily with Lieutenant Fremont! I, for one, adore Joshua Trees, with their whimsical shapes and great ecological significance!  If you struggle with plant identification, the iconic Joshua tree, hallmark of the Mojave Desert, is a good place to start.  With densely spiked tufts protruding from the ends of gangly arms stretched towards the heavens, this looks like a plant straight from a Dr. Seuss book.  Native people called these trees “humwichawa,” and used thei
Read more

Invasive Species: European Beachgrass

Image
Visit a beach in California, particularly in the northern half of the state, and you are likely to come across stands of European Beachgrass ( Arundo arenaria ).  It looks so innocuous, picturesque even, waving in the Pacific breeze and blurring the line between land and sea.  But this grass, a plant you've probably never thought twice about, is much more than it seems.  Innocuous it is not.  European Beachgrass is one of California's most wanted offenders: an introduced, aggressive invasive species. This picturesque photo of the California's Pacific Coast has a secret...  Most people won't notice that the grass seen here is an imposter; it's not native to the area, but a species that doesn't belong in this ecosystem. The main crime this grass is guilty of is being too good at its job.  In 1869, European Beachgrass was planted around Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and since 1900, it has been introduced to other parts of California's coast in an
Read more