6th Annual Snow Goose Festival, Jan. 28-30, 2005:
Saturday Field Trips

A special note about Field Trips

Unless otherwise noted, all field trips and workshops start at the Chico Masonic Family Center. If you have any questions, please check the registration form or the program description. Call (530) 345-1865 for further assistance.

Carpooling is encouraged. Please arrive at the location indicated 15 minutes prior to your scheduled event, in order to check-in. We ask that you follow your field trip leader from the meeting location to the final destination. Anyone arriving after the field trip leader has left may not be able to join the group. All field trips will be limited to the first 20 reservations, with a waiting list after that. Walk-in registration may be available for some events during the weekend of the Festival, but cannot be guaranteed.

Weather may change a trip's itinerary, but most trips will be conducted rain or shine. The weather in the valley during January is variable. It is generally cold and sometimes rainy, with daytime highs ranging from 50°-65° F.

Be sure to bring the following on your field trips: Rain gear, waterproof footwear, layered clothing, binoculars, camera, water, field identification guide, and snack or lunch as needed.

Chico to Gray Lodge Wildlife Area
7 am - 2 pm

Enjoy great birding opportunities as you travel the back-roads from Chico to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. Jay has made this trip many times and knows some of the great stopping places including the viewing platforms at the Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento River NWR. At Gray Lodge you will drive along a three-mile auto tour loop and take a short walk (.3 miles) to a viewing platform where a spotting scope is available for enhanced viewing. Along with identifying numerous avian species Jay will give an overview of wetland ecology and management in the Central Valley. Viewing opportunities include a wide variety of waterfowl (including snow geese) raptors and many other wetland species.
Field Trip Leader: Jay Bogiatto

Refuge to Refuge
7 am - 5 pm

Visit two premier Sacramento Valley wildlife refuges. Our first destination will be the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Sacramento NWR near Willows. Next, we will travel to the CA Dept. of Fish & Game Gray Lodge Wildlife Area. Plan to see huge flocks of snow geese, American wigeon, northern pintail, mallard, green winged teal and perhaps a blue winged teal and Eurasian wigeon. We should also see white-faced ibis, sandhill cranes and a variety of raptors. A "honker meal" including sandwich, chips, cookie, and drink can be purchased for $5.00 the morning of this tour.
Field Trip Leader: Skip Augur

Birding Lake Red Bluff Recreation Area and Environs
7:45 am - 3 pm

Meet at the Sacramento River Discovery Center in Red Bluff
View all Saturday events in Red Bluff
The Sacramento River Discovery Center will be the take off point for this exciting birding adventure. This trip is designed for the intermediate to advanced birder (beginning birders are welcome) as this is an ideal place to see a large variety of species. We will bird the recreation area's oak woodlands, riparian and upland habitats before venturing off towards the foothills. Last year’s trip revealed a roadrunner, several golden eagles and a host of other species. One of the target birds for this trip is the beautiful Lewis’s Woodpecker. Over 120 different species of birds have been sighted in this area throughout the year. Please bring your own sack lunch and beverage.
Field Trip Leader: David Dahnke

USFWS Llano Seco & Beginning Birding
8 am - noon

The Llano Seco Unit of the Sacramento River NWR offers sensational views from an elevated viewing platform. This trip is designed for the beginning to intermediate birder (advanced birders are also welcome) as this is an ideal location for viewing a large variety of species. Learn interesting facts about the birds as well as helpful hints on identification. You can expect to see a variety of wintering waterfowl, sandhill cranes, raptors (last year several bald eagles were seen), and many other species. Just a short drive outside of Chico, this is definitely a birding hot spot!
Field Trip Leader: Shelly Kirn

Dye Creek Preserve
8 am - noon

Visit the rugged, expansive Dye Creek Preserve in the Lassen Foothills region of eastern Tehama County. We will discuss land management efforts by the Nature Conservancy and tour the scenic Dye Creek Canyon or a streamside restoration site along the lower flood plain, depending on weather conditions. You can expect to see birds common to oak woodland such as the acorn woodpecker, oak titmouse and California quail.
Field Trip Leader: Brett Ochs

Tehama Wildlife Area
8 am – noon

Meet at the Sacramento River Discovery Center in Red Bluff
View all Saturday events in Red Bluff
California Department of Fish Game's Tehama Wildlife Area encompasses 46,903 acres located in the foothills of eastern Tehama County. The Area provides critical wintering habitat for the largest migratory black-tailed deer herd in California. Learn about the habitat needs of the eastern Tehama deer herd and how Fish and Game manages the area not only to meet these needs but also to provide compatible recreational opportunities.
Field Trip Leader: Jim Chakarun

Vina Plains to Pine Creek & The River
8 am - 12:30 pm

Visit The Nature Conservancy's Vina Plains Preserve and learn about the rare plants and animals of California's vernal pool ecosystems; you will also discover why vernal pool landscapes are so important to migratory waterfowl and shorebirds. Next, travel to the Pine Creek Unit of Sacramento River National Wildlife Refuge where you will see riparian habitat restoration and learn why it is important for the survival of Chinook salmon, migratory songbirds, and endangered species.
Field Trip Leaders: Joe Silveira and Dawit Zeleke

Sutter Buttes - Dean Ranch
8 am - 4 pm

We’ll drive almost into the center of the Buttes to see the historic Dean Ranch. A three mile gentle hillside walk will reveal the Buttes’ volcanic origins, Native American artifacts, and a hundred year old working cattle ranch. Enjoy a leisurely trip back into a time gone by.
Field Trip Leaders: Middle Mountain Foundation

Sutter Buttes - Peace Valley
8 am - 4 pm

Explore California State Park’s newly acquired property, Peace Valley, in the Sutter Buttes. It will be like stepping back in time as you learn about the Valley’s natural and cultural history. We will visit a Native American site used for grinding acorns. As we traverse this incredible Valley we will learn the interesting geological processes that formed it. This is an undeveloped area, wear comfortable walking shoes or boots and bring a sack lunch and beverage.
Field Trip Leaders: State Parks Rangers Tim Davis and Dave Garcia

Feather River Region & Nature Trail
8:30 am – noon

The trip begins with a caravan to the Old Bath House Nature Center in Oroville near the Table Mountain Bridge at Montgomery and Bridge Streets. We'll leave our vehicles here and begin the hike. As we meander along the banks of the Feather River keep a keen eye out for some of the area's abundant wildlife which may include mergansers, goldeneye, bufflehead, osprey, eagle, river otter and even lingering salmon.
Field Trip Leader: Rex Burress

Explore the Red Bluff Recreation Area
9 am – 11:30 am

Meet at the Sacramento River Discovery Center in Red Bluff
View all Saturday events in Red Bluff
Managed by the Mendocino National Forest, the Red Bluff Recreation Area offers opportunities to explore a variety of habitat types. We will first visit the Sacramento River Discovery Center which offers numerous educational programs, maintains a native plant garden and hosts a visitor center with hands-on interpretive displays. We'll then venture outside to view the Red Bluff Diversion Dam and stroll into oak woodlands, wetlands, riparian, and grassland habitats. By keeping a watchful eye open during these explorations we hope to see an assortment of birds and other wildlife that call this area home.
Field Trip Leader: Ben Hughes

Book Family Farm
9 am - noon

The Book Family Farm is nestled in-between hundreds of acres of rice fields and has a lovely meandering creek running along side it. With the rice fields, the creek and the crops that Keith Book grows, the Book Family Farm has become a sanctuary to a large number of wildlife. Sandhill Cranes are frequent winter visitors and beaver enjoy living in the creek.
Field Trip Leader: Keith Book

Sustainable Working Landscapes
9 am - 3 pm

Meet at the Sacramento River Discovery Center in Red Bluff
View all Saturday events in Red Bluff
Find out how we have moved from debt in the ranching business to developing profitability, maintaining quality of life, and most important, improving biodiversity and increasing biological capital at the same time. You will experience and participate in a project showing how 65 of our neighbors, representing 40,000 acres, are moving to a long -term sustainable solution to manage our "catastrophic fire" problem in brush and timber land. You will be exposed to a decision-making model based on quality of life, profitability, and environmental enhancement.
Field Trip Leader: Bill Burrows

Sacramento River Management Area
10 am - 2 pm

Meet at the Sacramento River Discovery Center in Red Bluff
View all Saturday events in Red Bluff
The federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a hiking tour of lands under its protection in a special management unit known as the Bend Area of Critical Environmental Concern. Located to the northeast of Red Bluff, this area is currently under discussion in Congress as the potential Sacramento River National Conservation Area. We’ll see a variety of upland habitats as well as spectacular scenic vistas of the Sacramento River and surrounding watershed lands. Wildlife viewing opportunities include wetland, upland and neo-tropical birds as well as deer and other mammals. This will be an easy to moderate hike. Please bring a sack lunch and beverage.
Field Trip Leader: Kelly Williams.

Owling in Upper Bidwell Park
10am - 2pm

Owls in the daytime? Join Jackson as he pursues the Northern-Pygmy Owl in the dense woodlands of the foothills. This tiny owl is chiefly diurnal (active during the day). We’ll listen for scolding birds to help locate this special owl. You’ll have a chance to see and hear many of the other unique birds in this beautiful and wild setting. This hike will require some exercise, as we go down a slope and climb back up. Be sure to bring your binoculars, a sack lunch, and water.
Field Trip Leader: Jackson Shedd

Birds of Bidwell Park: 100 Years of Sanctuary
1 pm – 2:30 pm

Meet at the Chico Creek Nature Center
Surrounded by giant Valley Oak, towering Sycamore and aromatic Bay Laurel this hike focuses on the birds of Lower Bidwell Park. The 100 Year Anniversary of this beautiful park is upon us and what better way to celebrate this amazing landmark than a birding walk through its magnificent interior. Brown creepers, red-breasted nuthatches, and beautiful ruby-crowned kinglets are a few of the many intriguing winter residents we will see.
Field Trip Leader: Randy Palmer

Lundberg Family Farms
1 pm - 4 pm

Tour the farm famous for its specialty rice products and for attracting wildlife to it organic fields. Witness first-hand how valley farm practices, and ecological farming in particular can benefit migratory and non-migratory bird populations of the Pacific Flyway.
Field Trip Leader: Jessica Lundberg

Genetic Resource Center
1 pm - 4 pm

This well kept secret is one of Chico’s birding hot spots. The U.S. Forest service arboretum offers outstanding wildlife viewing as well as a unique collection of trees and plants from around the world. Over 200 species of birds can be found here. Gary Norcross, Orchard Manager, will cover the history of the Center, the tree nursery, and birds and animals found at this site. Enjoy birding on a short walk along a creek, among the many trees, that make up this unique Center.
Field Trip Leaders: Gaylord Grams and Gary Norcross

Esquon Ranch Road to Butte College Refuge
1 pm - 4:30 pm

Just a short drive outside of Durham, along the roadways bordering the Esquon Ranch, snow geese, white-fronted geese and sandhill cranes can be seen in great numbers right from your vehicle! Bald eagles are occasionally spotted perched in the snags along the agricultural wetlands. Many more birds and wintering wildlife will be seen during your visit to the sanctuary of Butte College.
Field Trip Leaders: Albin Bills, Herman Gray and Bob Guzman