Seasons of a Wetland at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge Complex

Title: Seasons of a Wetland. Column 1: Fall. Fall bullets: 1) September = fall flood-ups begin, and are staggered to provide fresh food for newly arriving migrants, 2) September = shorebirds stop by on their way south, 3) October = ducks, ducks and more ducks!, 4) November = geese...LOTS of geese!, 5) November = WATERFOWL NUMBERS PEAK in late November, 6) November = evening "fly-offs" occur at dusk as birds go out to feed in the rice. Column 2: Winter. Winter bullets: 1) December = WATERFOWL NUMBERS PEAK in early December, 2) December = raptor numbers peak as they follow the waterfowl, 3) December = ducks disperse across the valley in late December, as goose numbers peak, 4) January = wildlife viewing is less reliable as birds disperse to fin food, 5) February = winter burns are done to rejuvenate vegetation and nutrients. Column 3: Spring. Spring bullets: 1) March = draw-downs begin to germinate food plants and prepare for summer field work, 2) March = waterfowl numbers decline as they migrate north, 3) April = shorebirds stop by to use the shallow drawdowns on their way north, 4) April = neotropical songbirds stop by on their way north, 5) May = nesting occurs for summer residents. Column 4: Summer. Summer bullets: 1) June = irrigations are done to bring food plants to maturity, 2) June = grazing occurs to manage invasives and encourage native plants, 3) June through August = field work is done to control invasives and enhance habitat, 4) June through August = summer residents remain: mallards, wood ducks, herons, egrets, grebes, swallows, turtles, snakes, jackrabbits, deer, otters and many more! Line Graph that corresponds to the season columns: titled Number of Waterfowl at Sacramento NWR Complex, with conceptual maps of average water distribution at Sacramento NWR. Line graph starts in September with 348,000, October = 1.5 million, November = 1.8 million, December = 1.4 million, January = 995,000, February = 548,000, March = 243,000, April = 80,000, May = 6,700, June = 6,900, July = 6,300, and ends with August = 23,000. Twelve maps situated left-to-right to correspond to months on the line graph to show seasonality of the distribution of water across Sacramento NWR, starting with September showing approximately 25% of the wetlands flooded, October = 75%, November = 95%, December = 100%, January = 100%, February = 99%, March = 95%, April = 75%, May = 15%, June = 15%, July = 15%, and ending with August = 15%. Notation that Sacramento NWR Complex includes Sacramento, Delevan, Colusa, and Sutter NWRs, plus Llano Seco and Butte Sink Units; water distribution changes annually depending on habitat and water conditions.