29 - Flooded Wetland Pond & Sandhill Cranes

The pond to the west of the trail is flooded during the fall and winter, when it becomes a roosting area for sandhill cranes and other wintering birds. Sandhill cranes are wading birds, about 4 feet tall, ashy gray with a bare red-topped head. Their long sharp bills serve them well as they hunt for roots, bulbs, frogs, mice and large insects in moist grassy areas. Two sub-species of cranes winter in the Sacramento region. The greater sandhill cranes, a state threatened species, migrate from their nesting places in northern California and eastern Oregon. The lesser sandhill cranes migrate from Alaska and as far away as the Arctic Tundra. The cranes forage for food during the day in nearby farm fields. They roost in the ponds of the Preserve at night. Be very quiet so that you do not disturb the cranes and other birds.