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January 08, 2007
Giving Us The Bird
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| I took a family trip to the Gray Lodge Wildlife Area
south of Gridley (map
here) to take in the grandeur of the Snow geese.
The cost to enter is relatively
low at $2.50/person, people under 16 being free. Travel time is about 80 minutes
round-trip. About 80% of the area is open to hunting, but the area you
hike in is not (you'll hear shotgun "booms" going off in the background). The
Gray Lodge was a duck hunting club before it was a waterfowl management
area. There are two short hiking trails, and one "automobile only" trail through the area. The birds stay pretty far away from the hiking trails, and binoculars are a must for a good view (not something we had brought). The photo above is from one of two permanent blinds which provided the best viewing. Walking the trails took about 40 minutes and we did not drive the auto-only trail. This was the kind of experience I would recommend people do every few years. Sort of like hiking to the Feather Falls in Oroville (the water, not the Casino). It would not be fun for most kids under 5 or 6. There are regular educational tours, and the birds are supposed to be more active in the morning and evenings. A one time manager of the area wrote this (complete article) about his experience... "While living there, we saw sights few people witness. Snow geese flying on a clear moonlit night, so clear and bright, reading was almost possible. We saw flights of ducks and geese flying out of the refuge at dusk and returning the next morning. Some flights lasted more than an hour. At first, you could only hear them, just specks in the sky and then they would start circling and folding their wings, dropping like falling leaves on the water." But to get us back to a less romantic reality of what you'll experience with your visit here is what you will hear (click "song" at left) at the Gray Lodge. |
Posted by Lon at January 8, 2007 08:44 AM