The pond west of the trail is seasonally flooded in the fall and winter, creating a vital roosting habitat for sandhill cranes and other migratory birds. Sandhill cranes are tall, elegant wading birds—standing about 4 feet high—with ashy gray plumage and a distinctive red crown. They use their long, pointed bills to forage for roots, bulbs, frogs, mice, and large insects in moist meadows and grassy fields. Two subspecies of sandhill cranes winter in the Sacramento Valley: Greater sandhill cranes, a state-listed threatened species, migrate from breeding grounds in northeastern California and eastern Oregon. Lesser sandhill cranes travel even farther, migrating from Alaska and the Arctic tundra. During the day, cranes feed in nearby agricultural fields. At night, they return to shallow ponds like this one to roost, where the water provides protection from predators. Please observe quietly and from a distance to avoid disturbing these majestic birds and the many other species that rely on this habitat.
