Merced National Wildlife Refuge
Merced National Wildlife Refuge
7430 West Sandy Marsh Rd, Merced, CA
Merced National WIldlife Refuge Web Site
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The Merced National Wildlife Refuge is part of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex near Merced, California. It's on the Pacific Flyway and is the Winter Home for a number of species, including the Sandhill Crane, White-Face Ibis, and Snow Goose. It will also play host to Pintails, Gadwalls, Mallards, Scaups, Rails and Snipes. The area is flooded every Fall in time for the birds to arrive, and will stay flooded through the Winter season. The best time to catch the Sandhill Cranes is from late October through early January. By the end of January, the cranes have left on their journey to the Canadian Arctic,with the Snow Geese soon following. You may see flocks numbering close to 1000 Snow Geese and 100's of Sandhill Cranes, especially towards dusk.
Typical species include:
Ducks
Mallards, Green Winged Teals, Blue Winged Teals, Cinnamon Teals. Northern Shovelers, Gadwalls, Pintails, American Wigeons, Eurasian Wigeons, Canvasback, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Barrow's Goldeneye, Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Ruddy Ducks
Geese
Canada Goose, Brandt's Goose, Snow Geese, Ross's Geese
Ibis
White Faced Ibis
Pelicans
WHite Pelicans, California Bown Pelicans
Cormorants
Double-crested Cormorants
Shorebirds
Greater Yellowlegs, Red-Necked Phalarope, Western Sandpiper, Long-billed Curlew, Willet, Short-billed Dowitcher, Marbled Godwit, Black Bellied Plover, Black-necked stilt, American Avocet
Grebes
Pied Billed Grebe, Western Grebe, Clark's Grebe
Rails
Virginia Clapper Rail, Bittern
Herons and Egrets
Snowy Egret, Great Egret, Cattle Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Blue Heron
Cranes
Sandhill Cranes
Songbirds
Song Sparrows, Lincoln's Sparrows, Black-Crowned Sparrow, Golden-Crowned Sparrow, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Lesser Goldfinch, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black Phoebe, Say's Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Loggerhead Shrike
Swallows and Swifts
Cliff Swallows, Barn Swallows
Hummingbirds
Anna's Hummingbird
Raptors
Red Tailed Hawks, Northern Harrier, American Kestrel
