The 26th Annual
Snow Goose Festival
of the Pacific Flyway!
January 22-25, 2026
Patrick Ranch Museum - Snow Goose Headquarters
The Sandhill Cranes are calling; heralding the great gathering of winter birds in the northern Sacramento Valley. Join us on four days of action-packed field trips with experienced trip leaders, and more.
Upcoming Highlights
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Over 55 field trips, workshops, educational exhibits & free engaging activities for families
- "Gathering of Wings" Banquet at Bell Memorial Union at Chico State on Saturday, January 24, 2026
- Kate Marianchild, Banquet keynote speaker, is an environmental educator, naturalist, and author of Secrets of the Oak Woodlands.
- “Perch, Flutter, Soar” Art Exhibit at the Museum of Northern California Art (monca), January 22 to March 15, 2026
Webcam at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
Explore.org added a webcam at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge. Snow Geese, Northern Pintails, and Greater White-fronted Geese can currently be seen.
Western Canal Water District Webcam
I just returned from the Snow Goose Festival in sunny, beautiful Chico, California. The events were fun, the field trips were great, the birds were enjoyable, and the people were terrific! Seeing all the waterfowl in their freshest breeding plumages was a real treat to me. My mom tells me I got excited about seeing ducks before I could talk. And those ducks still get me excited to this day. What’s not to like about a cinnamon teal? Or a shoveler or pintail? And raptors were present in good numbers, too. It was exciting for me to see golden eagles, prairie falcons, and one of my favorite hawks — the ferruginous hawk.
— Greg Miller, 13th Snow Goose Festival keynote speaker, and was featured in the book/movie "The Big Year"
