Birding

Avoid the crowds and listen as experienced volunteer docents from the Department of Fish and Wildlife share the natural history of the cranes.

Avoid the crowds and listen as experienced volunteer docents from the Department of Fish and Wildlife share the natural history of the cranes.

Turner Road Vintners continues to be a destination highlight among Festival goers. Its innovative eco-friendly water reclamation ponds have created a natural habitat for a variety of birds.

At the family-friendly Durst Winery, join local birding experts in the quest to expand the bird list crafted especially for this tour in a mature rural landscape while enjoying a glass of Cassandra’s vintage and complimentary cookies.

Join Headwaters Kayak staff for an enjoyable paddle along the Mokelumne River. The tour will be guided by locally renowned naturalist, Jay Bell.

Jointly managed by 9 private and government agencies, the Cosumnes River Preserve is the finest Valley Oak riparian forest and wetland in California. Explore this key link on the Pacific Flyway and learn why its management is considered a model in conservation partnerships.

This tour combines a crane fly-in with birding on Staten Island, a premier Nature Conservancy/Conservation Farms and Ranches location, to learn what the birds already know - this is one of the best places in the Delta to spend the winter.

Join Mokelumne River bird experts, Liz West and Joanne Katanic, on a short hike along the River

Jointly managed by 9 private and government agencies, the Cosumnes River Preserve is the finest Valley Oak riparian forest and wetland in California. Explore this key link on the Pacific Flyway and learn why its management is considered a model in conservation partnerships.

This tour combines a crane fly-in with birding on Staten Island, a premier Nature Conservancy/Conservation Farms and Ranches location, to learn what the birds already know - this is one of the best places in the Delta to spend the winter.

Jim Dunn was the Festival’s 2015-featured photographer and one of the Festival’s most popular presenters.  He says, “Birds in the wild are an intriguing subject for any photographer.  Making beautiful photographs of wild birds places requirements on the photographer and his or her equipment that are very different.“ 

Join a local naturalist and fifth-generation viticulturist, Aaron Lange, on a rare walking tour of their wildlife habitat areas and adjoining vineyards, where you will see a variety of bird species and possibly even Sandhill Cranes moving overhead.  The tour will culminate in a visit to the family winery where adults can peruse the many fine vintages that have been personally nurtured by the family from the soil to the bottle. 

Avoid the crowds and listen as experienced volunteer docents from the Department of Fish and Wildlife share the natural history of the cranes.

Avoid the crowds and listen as experienced volunteer docents from the Department of Fish and Wildlife share the natural history of the cranes.