LOS BANOS — You can find almost any species of duck in the fields surrounding this community of 45,000 on the fertile Westside of the San Joaquin Valley except for Donald.
Los Banos is ground zero for the largest concentration of wildlife refuges in the Great Central Valley that during the course of a year experts estimate more than a million birds find their way to — or reside year-round.
And the prime visiting months to take in the most birds at the United States Fish & Wildlife Services’ complex are December and January.
The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex consists of three complexes - the San Luis and Merced refuges immediately to the north and northeast of Los Banos.
The San Joaquin River refuge is west of Modesto and south of Manteca nestled between where the Stanislaus and Tuolumne rivers flow into the San Joaquin River.
That is in addition to the Grasslands Wildlife Management Area also in the Los Banos area that is not accessible to the public.
Those 45,000 acres of wetlands, riparian habitat including woodlands, and grasslands are in addition to another 90,000 acres of conservation easements that serve as key wintering grounds - and stops - along the Pacific Flyway.
Combined, they are home to almost 300 species of birds.
The list runs the gamut from wintering ducks, geese, and swan to raptors and grassland songbirds.
There are also 70 mammals, including 55 of the 200 plus species that are native to California.
The marquee animal is the California tule elk.
One of three North American elk subspecies that include the Rocky Mountain elk and Roosevelt elk, massive herds of California tule elk once roamed the valley where the now extinct California grizzly bear was its biggest predator. The last California grizzly bear died a century ago.
The California tule elk almost joined the California grizzly bear as a lost species.
The decision to establish a 780-acre enclosure at the San Luis refuge in 1974 stopped that from happening.
Eighteen of the animals transplanted from zoos in San Diego and Detroit were used to start the recovery process in San Luis.
Since then, California tule elk from San Luis have been re-introduced elsewhere in California including the Diablo Range south of the Altamont Pass and the Point Reyes National Seashore.
The refuges also support native flora that ranges from vernal pools — that are seasonal wetlands that are dry by summer but support unique “micro” flowers found nowhere else – to riparian woodlands.
The San Luis complex is home to the largest restoration of riparian woodlands in California. The largest representative of such woodlands can be found on the 200 plus acres of Caswell Memorial State Park along the Stanislaus River at the end of Austin Road south of Manteca and west of Ripon.
Roughly 98 percent of the riparian woodlands disappeared over the years as the Central Valley was transformed after the Gold Rush into what is arguably the most bountiful farming region in the world.
As a side note, Los Banos is where Henry Miller — a man who played a major role in the agricultural development of the San Joaquin Valley in the 19th century and put in motion legal precedents that are part of the foundation of much of today’s California’s water laws — started his massive empire.
He also was one of the first to use reservoirs and canals to store and redirect Sierra snowmelt to enhance the year-round agricultural viability of the valley.
It was an empire that also started the rapid decline of native mammals, birds, and riparian woodlands and grasslands that the wildlife refuges are helping restore and survive.
Miller, at one point, was among the largest landowners in the country.
He owned 1.4 million acres and directly controlled another 22,000 square miles through leases and such in California, Oregon, and Nevada he used for cattle and farmland.
At one point, he was the largest cattle rancher in the United States.
Visiting the complex
The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex offers more than 21 miles of auto tour routes and 20 miles of hiking paths along the three components that are accessible to the public.
The best way to appreciate the undertaking and its impacts as well as fully enjoy the birds, mammals, and scenic vistas jammed with wetlands, grasslands, and riparian habitats is to start with the visitors center open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
It is to the north of Los Banos and takes a somewhat circuitous route to reach but is worth it.
The visitors center offers educational presentations in the form of displays and such that in itself is worth a trip to Los Banos.
It is arguably the only place where you can get such a concentrated, CliffsNotes style overview of the San Joaquin Valley’s grasslands, wetlands, and riparian habitat.
There is even an area where you can use binoculars attached to a panel with seating at a large window to scan a portion of the California tule elk enclosure to try and get a glimpse of the stately elk.
The visitors center is also where the 5-mile auto route around the perimeter of the elk preserve starts and ends plus a similar 8-mile auto route for bird watching.
There are also some hiking trails.
You need or stay in your car most of the time. That said, cars make the perfect mobile blind to take in birds without spooking them.
To fully enjoy your visit, binoculars are a must. Cameras with telephoto lenses are a big plus as well.
There are a series of free brochures dedicated to birds, mammals, auto tours, the refuge complex in general, and how to “discover” California wildlife available at the visitors center.
What you can expect
throughout the year
The following is what you can expect to encounter as the refuges make their way through the calendar:
December
*Snow geese begin to arrive at San Joaquin River NWR
*Swans may arrive in small numbers
*Watch for eagles, falcons, and ferruginous hawks
January
*Numbers peak for geese and ducks
*Bald eagles often observed perched and hunting where migratory birds are concentrated at feeding and nesting areas
*Winter sees greatest diversity of raptors
February
*Great horned owls hatching
*Hawks exhibiting aerial courtship displays
*Large numbers of wintering waterfowl and cranes visible
March
*Waterfowl begin migrating north
*Hawks and herons begin nesting
*Shorebird numbers building
*Snakes encountered basking in the sun
*Beckwith wildlife observation area at San Joaquin River NWR closes for the season as geese and cranes migrate north
April
*Wildflowers in bloom
*Seasonal wetlands are drained to allow waterbird food plants to grow
*Peak number of shorebirds
*Summer neotropical songbirds begin arriving
May
*Peak nesting time for hawks and herons, and early nest fledging begins
*Shorebirds are migrating in breeding plumage
*Songbirds are very vocal defending nesting territories
*Tiger salamanders return to burrows as vernal pools dry
June
*Shorebirds migrate north
*Seasonal wetlands are dry
*Songbird, heron, and raptor fledglings are visible
July
*Seasonal wetlands are irrigated to encourage waterbird food plants to thrive
*Fall shorebird migration begins
*Coyote pups out exploring their territories
August
*Swainson’s hawks have fledged and will form “kettles” over grasslands
*Irrigated pastures attract ibis and long-billed curlews
*Some early northern pintails arrive
September
*Sandhill cranes begin returning mid-month
*Aleutian cackling geese begin returning end of the month
*Greater white-fronted geese begin arriving
*Songbirds migrate south
*Monarch butterfly fall migration peaks
*Black-tailed deer rut begins
October
*Aleutian cackling goose numbers increasing at San Joaquin River NWR
*Beckwith wildlife observation area at San Joaquin River NWR opens for the season
*Greatest bird diversity occurs during fall and spring migrations
*Juvenile snakes emerge
November
*Wetlands fully flooded
*Sandhill cranes are abundant
*Ross’ geese arrive
*Tiger salamanders begin trek to vernal pools to breed
*Large numbers of ducks present
For information on the overall complex, go to fws/gov/refuge/san-luis and for the San Joaquin River component go to fts/gov/refuge/san-joaquin-river
