Thousands of Swans and Millions of Waterfowl
including Snow Geese Wintering in
Sacramento Valley
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讀萬卷書    行萬里路

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The Pacific Flyway ranks as one of the greatest migratory pathways in the entire world, stretching from the
Bering Strait off the coast of Alaska to the steeps of Patagonia in South America. Millions of migratory
birds representing hundreds of species use this great avian highway each year, and nowhere is this
abundance of wildlife more accessible than right here in Sacramento Valley in California. Winter is the
raining season in California. With an ideal combination of mild winter weather, abundant food and rich
quantities of water in winter season, the area attracts a huge wintering population of waterfowl and raptors
(水禽的越冬棲息地, 南歸秋雁多宿於此).

Every winter, thousands of migratory swans, 2 million migratory geese and 3 million migratory ducks arrive
at the post-harvest flooded rice farm field in Sacramento Valley in California as their winter home.

We came to Marysville area in California to join winter guided Swan Tour group on Saturday, December 3,
2016 to enjoy watching thousands of tundra swans and millions of waterfowl on about 23,000 acres of post-
harvest flooded rice field. This area is about 50 miles north of Sacramento, California. Such winter Swan
Tour is free but is limited to 30 people in each tour group. So, interested swan watchers must pre-register
on the following website:

https://
www.wildlife.ca.gov/regions/2/swan-tours

After completing the registration, the website will provide detailed instruction and the meeting-staging area
for the tour group to meet at the starting point of the 2-hour driving tour.

Expert birders and biologists from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife lead a carpool/caravan
driving tour along the back roads in (water) District 10. The swan tour last about 2 hours and offers
participants a spectacular opportunity to encounter these stately, elegant tundra swans. The tour explores
an area called (water) District 10, a 23,000-acre expanse of privately-owned rice farm fields and restored
habitat just north of  Marysville in Yuba County. This area boasts one of the largest winter concentrations
of Tundra Swans in California Central Valley, as well as a wide variety of other species, including White-
faced Ibis, white fronted geese, other ducks, shorebirds, herons, egrets and raptors. It is the flood basin of
the Feather River and Yuba River just north of Marysville. It is about 143 miles north of San Francisco Bay
Area.
每年從十一月份開始,北方的天鵝、雪雁和野鴨陸陸續續飛到這裡越冬,密集成群,最多
時是來年一月份,多達幾百萬隻,成群結隊,整個農田湖面潔白一片,這是很大的南歸天
鵝聚集地。

One of large groups of swans on a flooded post-harvest rice field in the winter season.
潔白的天鵝孤高、聖潔,或臥或立,千姿百態,或遊或走,或翔或奔,更有好“玩”者,
嬉戲打鬧,你追我趕,相互喙啄,交頸摩挲,鼓翼歡歌,蔚為壯觀, 成為賞鳥勝地,招
引四方遊人爭相觀賞,絡繹不絕。

A small portion of another large group of swans on a flooded rice field.
湖面上一群群潔白的天鵝,或安詳優雅地結伴嬉戲,或溫情脈脈地交頸摩挲,或悠閒自得
地以嘴梳理羽毛,或頸扎水中,翩翩跳起"水上芭蕾。

Zoom in for closer views of swans, white fronted geese, pintail; ducks and other waterfowl on the flooded rice
field.
天鵝們靜靜地貯立在田園湖面上, 一幅浪漫的畫卷。

I used my camera to scan the width of a flooded rice field to show the large number of swans on this
rice field and uploaded the movie clip YouTube at the following website:

https://
youtu.be/fRP8NCWvpwo
展翅高飛,直上九霄,白天鵝的神采,姿態優美,不同凡俗,看著白天鵝自由自在地
飛翔, 舒展著它們雪白的翅膀, 那份賞鳥的衝勁與浪漫。

Swans in the air with their long necks straight out, exuberantly calling to their mates and to their
young.
Many swans on the post-harvest flooded rice field.
藍天上白天鵝排成行。

Massive Lift Off of Thousands of Swans and Snow Geese:

When we were at the staging area for Swan Tour, we saw a massive lift off of thousands of swans and
snow geese far away. I had to use the 65X optical zoom of my compact super-zoom camera to take
movie clip through the gap between trees and upload the movie to YouTube at the following website:

https://
youtu.be/T4DpAmb_Jds

成千上萬的天鵝與雪雁,突然騰空而起,振翅飛翔, 漫天密密麻麻飛舞,意想不到的時候
常有驚喜,這也是觀賞鳥的樂趣吧。

Please enjoy the amazing experience of watching huge number of swans and snow geese circling in
the air.
天高雲淡,群雁高飛,空中不時有大群的雪雁或野鴨飛過,眼疾手快卡卡就是幾張,心花
怒放啊,絕對的運氣。

Some snow geese in the sky.
Some swans and some pintail ducks on the flooded rice field.
Some swans and some ducks on flooded rice field, and some ducks in the air.
密密麻麻的全都是野鴨。

Huge number of ducks on this flooded rice field.
夕照霞光田園美景, 霞光在波浪的邊緣鑲上了紅色的裙邊,暈暈的晚霞展現出無窮炫麗的
色彩, 醉心於飛羽攝影, 有了很豐富的收穫, 滿意的踏上田園歸途。

We admire the wonders of incredibly spectacular golden sunset casting a warm glow on the rice farm field
while we were driving south to go back to San Francisco Bay Area.
百雀呼朋引伴,振翅飛過, 成群地在草地上覓食,吱吱喳喳,鼓舌鬥唱, 相互呼應。

Lots of black birds on the rice field.
In this 2-hour Swan Tour, we also saw such huge structure of Rice Dryer in the middle of the huge expense of
rice farm field.
Another view of the Rice Dryer.
The big truck brings the harvested rice to the Rice Dryer.
The truck is unloading the rice into the intake hole on the ground surface of the Rice Dryer.
Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge:

Two of many pintail ducks and other waterfowl in Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) on December
2, 2016. This is the first day of our 2-day bird watching trip. On the second day of December 3, 2016, we
did the Swan Tour as described above. But on the first day of December 2, we drove from San Francisco
Bay area and arrived at Sacramento NWR at about 4 PM, for the golden sunset hour when the light is
beautiful and soft.

Sacramento NWR is California's premier waterfowl refuge of nearly 11,000 acres in the heart of the
Sacramento Valley. The visitor center is located at 752 County Rd. 99W (i.e., Old Highway 99W), Willows,
CA 95988. This NWR has a 7-mile Auto Tour Loop and a large elevated viewing platform for visitors to drive
their own cars to enjoy bird watching on their own at their own convenience.
冬季南歸雪雁多宿於此濕地沼澤。

Many snow white geese and vibrantly colored ducks come to Sacramento NWR as their winter home. It is an
amazing sight to behold.
Magnificent snow geese.

Spectacular Evening Fly Offs of Snow Geese and Ducks

Our main goal to visit Sacramento NWR near sunset time between 4 PM to 5 PM in the winter season is to
enjoy the spectacular evening fly offs of huge number of snow geese and ducks. During the sunset time, with
orange colored sky, there are thousands and thousands of snow geese and ducks flying off all over the sky.
Group after group and wave after wave of snow geese lift off from the marshy ponds and fly in formation to
nearby post-harvest flooded rice fields to feed on decomposing rice stubble.  It is awe-inspiring and one of the
most memorable experiences ever.

I took several movie clips of evening fly offs of snow geese, connected them into a movie and uploaded it to
the following YouTube website:

天高雲淡,成千上萬的群雁振翅雲霄,漫天飛舞天空鳥陣如雲,非常壯觀!

https://youtu.be/OwdVhrrMPGk

It is a pure joy to watch such wave after wave of fantastic evening fly offs of large number of snow geese,
spectacular views as the huge flocks take off!

I stood on the Observation Platform along the 7-mile Auto Tour Loop in Sacramento NWR to take the movie of
the evening fly offs. The observation platform is next to a big tree. There were lots of small birds on that big
tree. The background sound of my movie on evening fly offs of snow geese was the chatter and chirping (鼓舌
鬥唱, 相互呼應) of many small birds on the big tree, and not the sound of the snow geese.

My movie of the evening fly offs of huge number of ducks is on the following YouTube website:

https://
youtu.be/iwIxO1V_4C4

Aerial video by a drone of thousands of snow geese in a rice field in the Central Valley of California can be
seen at the following YouTube website:

https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcDTCJds1DI
夢幻黃昏, 彩霞滿天,通紅的霞光映紅了西邊的天空,泛著溫馨的色彩,妝點著幾絲溫柔
與浪漫,長風萬里送雪雁,暮色中覓食, 遨翔天空彩霞隨,天空在不斷的變化著色彩,是
一張絕美的畫面,在這不經意間收穫如此美景, 讓人癡迷和驚歎, 我為這樣的畫面陶醉
著。

A lovely sight at sunset, the thrill of the moment.

If you visit Sacramento NWR in the winter season, do not miss the fantastic evening fly offs at sunset
time when thousands of snow geese lift off from the refuge waters to spend their nights foraging in
nearby rice fields, and do not  leave too soon. Just make sure you stay for sunset, because the pink
and orange sky filled with snow white geese will be one of your most memorable experiences ever.
Sacramento Valley 田園濕地的落日餘暉, 黄昏戀曲, 最美不過夕陽紅,如此撩人, 久久
的凝望, 安詳寧靜的田園,站在賞鳥平台,靜靜的享受著這一切。

A gorgeous, memorable and photographic sunset view from the Observation Platform in Sacramento NWR.
天鵝湖一副動人的畫面,天鵝們,美麗的身影, 象徵著純潔,悠然自得地徜漾在湖面
上,寧靜又祥和,畫面美不勝收。