Friday, Nov. 13, 2009

Cranes miss guided tour of Merced Wildlife Refuge

"The cranes don't know it's Crane Day,"" declared Jack Sparks, an Outdoor Recreation Planner for U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

On Saturday, Sparks was acting as tour guide and was standing at the front of a busload full of would-be birdwatchers who were about one-third of the way through a tour of the Merced National Wildlife Refuge. The understanding crowd chuckled as the nearly full VTA bus trundled its way along the auto tour route.

The announcement on the Fish and Wildlife Service website had hinted at a day of education and bird-watching saying, "On Nov. 7, refuge staff will lead guided bus tours to showcase the lesser sandhill cranes that make the Merced National Wildlife Refuge their winter home. The refuge and surrounding landscape are home to the largest wintering concentration of lesser sandhill cranes along the Pacific Flyway, with as many as 20,000 cranes spending the winter on the refuge. . . .The public is invited to come view these magnificent birds and learn about their natural history and refuge management through guided tours."

Unfortunately for the busload full of people taking the tour, nature did what nature does best and (at least insofar as the sandhill cranes were concerned) it was being quite unpredictable. The hoped for thousands of cranes had chosen not to show up for either the 8 a.m. or the 10 a.m. tours.

Despite not being able to see too many of the big gray birds up close, the audience seemed to have a good time anyway as the tour bus made its way around the marsh toward the observation deck where there were spotting scopes set up for people to use. Notwithstanding the lack of cranes, Sparks seemed unphased as he delivered an interesting and educational oration while pointing out other species of birds and discussing the local wildlife. He also educated his audience about the history of the Merced Refuge and future plans for improvements to the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex to which the Merced Refuge belongs.

Sparks informed the group about some of the improvements that are being made at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge near Los Banos. The Tule Elk enclosure, a favorite for locals and tourists alike, is going to see some considerable upgrades. A permanent visitor center is going to be built near where the restrooms are now located. A portion of the new building will actually extend part way into the elk enclosure and have outsized picture windows that will give visitors a grand view of the resident Tule Elk herd, unobstructed by fences or other visual impediments.

Sparks also noted that the bird tour route at the San Luis Refuge was finally re-opened on Nov. 2, after being closed for several months. He noted that the bird tour route is a bit shorter than it once was and that it is still a work in progress, but that improvements are being made which will soon make it even better.

As the sandhill crane tour wound down, the visitors exited the bus and thanked Sparks as well as the bus driver for an enjoyable hour of bird-watching. Though the sandhill cranes were mostly elusive, the group was able to see many other birds including northern shovelers, pintails, Ross's geese, egrets, herons, hawks, coots, a bittern, and more. Sparks encouraged his audience to come back again and take the self guided tours and hikes that are offered at the complex. He also gave hints and tips on other species to watch for at the Merced Refuge such as the bald eagle and other rare or unusual birds such as the burrowing owl that takes over holes in the ground left by other animals such as squirrels.

For more information on the Merced National Wildlife Refuge visit: http://www.fws.gov/sanluis/merced_info.htm for more information on the San Luis refuge Complex see: http://www.fws.gov/sanluis/ or call 209-826-3508