• Numbers peaking for geese, cranes, and ducks.
• Wetlands fully flooded.
• Foggy weather prevails.

February

• Elk bulls drop antlers.
• Great-horned owls hatching.
• Large numbers of wintering waterfowl and cranes visible.
• Hummingbirds migrate north.

March

• Waterfowl are migrating north.
• Vernal pool wildflowers begin blooming.
• Pelican Island NWR, the first National Wildlife Refuge, was established by Teddy Roosevelt on March 14, 1903.
• Department of the Interior established March 3, 1849.
• Hawks and herons begin nesting.
• Elk antlers begin to regrow.  They are in 'velvet.'

April

• Songbirds are migrating.
• Wildflowers are abundant around vernal pools.
• Tule elk are calving.
• Spring is in the air! Good air quality with spectacular views of the mountains.

May

• Shorebirds are migrating with breeding plumage.
• Songbirds singing.
• Celebrate International Migratory Bird Day this month.
• Wildflowers still spectacular.

June

• National Fishing Week.
• Tule elk are rubbing the velvet off their antlers.
• Shorebirds migrate north.
• Hummingbirds migrate south.

July

• Tule elk rut begins.
• Habitat irrigations grow food for wintering animals.
• Fall shorebird migration begins south.
• Young birds fledge.

August

• Swainson's hawks have fledged and will form "kettles" over prescribed burned areas.
• Irrigated pastures attract ibis and long-billed curlews.
• Elk rut and bugling peaks.

September

• The elk rut continues.
• Songbirds and Cinnamon Teal migrate south.
• Valley oaks drop their acorns.

October

• Come celebrate National Wildlife Refuge Week!
• Sandhill Cranes begin returning in mid-October.
• Waterfowl hunting season opens.
• Elk still in harems and bachelor herds.

November

• Aleutian Canada Geese arrive mid-month in Stanislaus County.
• Over 15,000 Sandhill Cranes are in the Grasslands by Thanksgiving.

December

• Snow geese begin to arrive at Merced NWR.
• Ross' and White-fronted geese have already arrived.
• Swans may arrive in small numbers by month's end.
• Watch for eagles, falcons, and ferruginous hawks