Sandhill Cranes Arrive at Merced National Wildlife Refuge

Let's face it. The Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) are one of our most charismatic local species, and the fact that they spend much of the year elsewhere makes their arrival a moment of celebration. I saw my first ones of the season more than a week ago, but they were hundreds of yards away, and the pictures were pretty fuzzy.

We headed out to the Merced National Wildlife Refuge this afternoon to see what was happening there, and we were pleased to see a fair number of migrants, including hundreds of Greater White-fronted Geese, a thousand or more Sandhill Cranes, and even five extra early Snow Geese

According to a gentleman at the viewing platform, there are 7,500 Sandhill Cranes at the refuge already. I had to believe him because he had an expensive spotting telescope and camera (snark), but he did have the look of a diehard birder (expensive equipment but trashy car). It was an exceedingly windy day, so the birds may have been sheltering elsewhere. Still, I was happy to get a few clearer shots than those I got last week.

The Merced National Wildlife Refuge is one of my favorite birding destinations in the Great Valley. The five-mile auto tour always provides plenty of viewing opportunities (I got pictures of at least seven species worthy of a post in just the two hours of our visit; we saw dozens of species total). It is south and west of the town of Merced on Sandy Mush Road (and I always wonder how that road got its name).