San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex, Los Banos, CA Videos

Join us on Saturday, July 13, to hear naturalist, birder, nature photographer, and frequent refuge visitor, Steve Johnston, share his experiences observing and photographing the flycatchers of the San Luis NWR Complex. From kingbirds to phoebes to wood pewees, flycatchers are masters at swooping out from their perch to pluck flying insects from midair. There are many species of flycatchers that make the refuges of the San Luis Complex their home during at least some part of the year and Steve gets great enjoyment observing them, and sharing that enjoyment with others. Join Steve at 9 a.m. in the San Luis NWR visitor center, on Saturday, July 13. For more information or directions, call the visitor center at 209-826-3508, ext. 127. This video of a juvenile western kingbird being fed by a parent was captured by Steve Johnston somewhere on the San Luis NWR Complex. The western kingbird is one of the flycatchers in the family Tyrannidae -- the "tyrant" flycatchers.

The wood duck (Aix sponsa) is perhaps our most beautiful North American duck species. Wood ducks are so named because they live in wooded wetlands where they nest in tree cavities. They will also nest in artificial cavities -- nest boxes provided by humans. Wood ducks are one of only a few duck species that possess strong claws with which they can grip bark and perch on tree branches. Breeding pairs of wood ducks will search for an appropriate nest cavity together, usually early in the morning. The male wood duck will wait outside while the female enters the cavity to check it out. A suitable nesting cavity can be 1 foot to more than 2 feet in diameter and can be as high as 60 feet off the ground, and usually near water. The entrance hole is typically quite small, not more than about 4 inches across. It may be so small that the female has to wriggle her way in and out. Such a small hole stymies would-be predators that would enter the nest to prey on the eggs. Female wood ducks may lay as few as 5 or 6 eggs, or as many as 20. The female incubates her eggs for 4 to 6 weeks. Once the eggs hatch, she leaves the nest and does not return. If the ducklings are to survive they must also leave the nest and follow their mother into the wide world to learn to find food and fend for themselves. To help them along, their mother stays on the ground outside the nest and calls to her ducklings. One by one, the youngsters scale the inside of their nest cavity aided by those strong claws (just like the ones their parents have) until they reach the entrance hole. They poke their head outside and heeding their mother's beckoning call -- jump! Wood ducklings can survive a fall of more than 50 feet without injury. Click on this video clip recorded recently by a critter cam at the San Joaquin River NWR showing wood duck pairs investigating new nest sites, raccoons attempting to gain entrance to prey on the eggs or ducklings, the female duck calling to her brood from below, and finally --

The refuges of the San Luis NWR Complex contain dozens of vernal pools -- seasonal wetlands that fill from rainwater or from flooding. Beneath vernal pools is always a layer of impervious material like bedrock or hardpan that prevents the pools' water from draining into the soil below. Therefore, vernal pools dry through evaporation alone. Characteristic inhabitants of vernal pools are a variety of species of fairy shrimp belonging to a group of invertebrate animals known as crustaceans. During a number of vernal pool surveys this spring, refuge wildlife biologists found a variety of fairy shrimp species -- the tadpole shrimp (Lepidurus packardi), a federally-listed endangered species, the vernal pool fairy shrimp (Branchinecta lynchi), a federally-listed threatened species, and this midvalley fairy shrimp (Branchinecta mesovallensis). The midvalley fairy shrimp is not threatened nor endangered, but they are endemic to California’s Great Central Valley grasslands. This individual is now the first one recorded on the San Luis NWR Complex since the 1990s. Midvalley fairy shrimp are found in tiny vernal pools that exist for very short periods of time, perhaps no more than a couple of weeks, each spring. It looks like the timing of the surveys this spring was perfect to find this species at home!

From April through May is nesting season for yellow-headed blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) throughout the San Luis NWR Complex. The bird's scientific name literally means "yellow head." Xanthocephalus comes from the ancient Greek words "xanthos" meaning yellow and "Kephalos" meaning head. Male yellow-heads establish their breeding territories in deeper-water areas of the wetlands where there are dense mature stands of emergent vegetation -- cattails and bulrush or "tules." Then they work to attract a harem of females to nest in their territories which they defend from all other males. Females built their nests by themselves, selecting a location over the water which may offer some protection against potential nest predators. They'll use long strands of wet vegetation collected from the water. The strands are woven around 4 or 5 upright tule stems that become a scaffold to support the nest. Additional material is added to form an outer wall to the nest and an inner cup. When complete, the female will have a deep cup, nearly 3 inches, in which she can lay as many as 5 eggs. In only about a month after laying, the young yellow-headed blackbirds will be ready to fledge or leave the nest. This video was taken a week or so ago at the Merced NWR showing a colony of many male yellow-heads and a few females in a dense stand of round-stem bulrush. Be sure to turn up the sound and listen for the males' unique song that some describe as sounding like a "rusty farm gate opening." Video is courtesy of Jeff Fairbanks.

From April through May is nesting season for yellow-headed blackbirds (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) throughout the San Luis NWR Complex. The bird's scientific name literally means "yellow head." Xanthocephalus comes from the ancient Greek words "xanthos" meaning yellow and "Kephalos" meaning head. Male yellow-heads establish their breeding territories in deeper-water areas of the wetlands where there are dense mature stands of emergent vegetation -- cattails and bulrush or "tules." Then they work to attract a harem of females to nest in their territories which they defend from all other males. Females built their nests by themselves, selecting a location over the water which may offer some protection against potential nest predators. They'll use long strands of wet vegetation collected from the water. The strands are woven around 4 or 5 upright tule stems that become a scaffold to support the nest. Additional material is added to form an outer wall to the nest and an inner cup. When complete, the female will have a deep cup, nearly 3 inches, in which she can lay as many as 5 eggs. In only about a month after laying, the young yellow-headed blackbirds will be ready to fledge or leave the nest. This video was taken a week or so ago at the Merced NWR showing a colony of many male yellow-heads and a few females in a dense stand of round-stem bulrush. Be sure to turn up the sound and listen for the males' unique song that some describe as sounding like a "rusty farm gate opening." Video is courtesy of Jeff Fairbanks.

The animal family "Cervidae" is known as the deer family and San Luis NWR has two species of the family -- tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) and black-tailed mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus). The deer family includes 47 species throughout the world and all of them, except one, have antlers. Males almost always wear the antlers in the family. The exception are caribou -- both male and female caribou have antlers. Young deer, called fawns, are born with white spots that help camouflage them from predators, but all young Cervids are born with that same cryptic coloration -- even the tule elk. The season for giving birth is quickly approaching for San Luis' cervids -- April through June. Both tule elk and black-tailed deer mothers will hide their young in dense vegetation after birth, then leave to forage nearby. The mothers will return periodically to feed and care for their offspring, but they won't bring them out to enter the world until they are strong enough to run from predators. That could take several weeks. Because of this behavior, tule elk and black-tailed deer are referred to as "hiders." The young of some species of cervids are born and able to run only a few hours after birth. Those species are called "followers." These black-tailed deer were observed recently while foraging right outside the tule elk enclosure at San Luis. These does were likely born last summer, so they won't breed for the first time until this fall. They'll give birth to their first fawns next spring. Video courtesy of Jeff Fairbanks.

We're approaching mid-March and it appears the sandhill cranes have begun to take their leave of the San Joaquin Valley and headed north for their breeding grounds in Alaska. If one visits the Merced NWR within the next few days, it's possible there may be a few dozen hanging around. Do not despair, however, for it's only 6 short months before they return. Mid-September sees the first cranes rejoin us for their winter stay. In the meantime, enjoy these videos with a few interesting "fun facts" about one of our most charismatic of winter residents. (There is audio, as well, so turn on the sound.)

For about three months of the year -- late July through September -- tule elk are in rut, or their breeding season. During this time, one or more "prime" bulls -- the healthiest, strongest bulls in the population -- win control of a group of cows or a "harem." To gain control of a harem, bulls will engage in sparring matches -- contests of strength and endurance -- during which two bulls will approach each other and lower their heads. They push the tops or "polls" of their heads together until their antlers interlock. Then, they begin the opposite of a tug-of-war. One bull pushes against the other, forcing him to back up. The other bull pushes back. This continues until one bull tires or stumbles, disengages, and runs away, leaving the harem to be claimed by the victor. The tule elk rut at San Luis NWR has all but ended for this season. The cows will return to their herd with their calves from this summer. The bulls will return to their bull herds. The next big event in the tule elks' world will be in February when the bulls drop or "shed" their antlers and immediately begin growing a new set -- in preparation for next summer's rut. This video of a sparring match between tule elk bulls is courtesy of Brad R. Lewis.

The breeding season or "rut" for black-tailed deer at the San Luis NWR is underway and these two bucks, spotted by refuge staff last week, look like they mean business. Now is a good time to see deer at the wildlife refuge since they are more active as they search for potential mates. Deer can be seen from the auto tour routes and from some nature trails. The best times to see them are early in the morning and later in the day -- shortly before sundown. The wildlife refuge is open every day from 1/2-hour before sunrise to 1/2-hour after sunset. The visitor center is open 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Saturday. USFWS video.

Turn up your speakers to hear the rattling bugle calls of sandhill cranes earlier this week at the San Joaquin River NWR. Hundreds of cranes had moved into a newly-flooded unit of the refuge. Sandhill cranes roost in wetlands at night. During the day they may forage or loaf in the wetlands. Their calls are unique in the bird world and can be heard from more than 2 miles away. Sandhill cranes are an ancient species, having existed on Earth for several million years. In his work, Marshland Elegy, conservationist Aldo Leopold wrote, "When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. . . " The cranes will be with us through the winter. They usually can be seen and heard at least through February. USFWS video.

GOOSE CAPTURE: The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex with California Department of Fish and Wildlife continues with the capture and collaring of Aleutian cackling geese at the San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuge. Video of rocket net used to capture geese. USFWS video.

At the San Luis NWR Complex, capturing of wildlife is occasionally necessary for monitoring, relocation, rescue, or health checks. Every year, conditions permitting, staff of the San Luis NWR Complex and their partners with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife work to capture and band at least 400 Aleutian cackling geese at the San Joaquin River NWR. Each captured goose is fitted with a plastic neck band with an alpha-numeric ID, large enough to be spotted from a distance with spotting scopes and binoculars. Each goose also gets an aluminum leg band. Later in the season, before the geese leave on their northward spring migration, surveys are conducted throughout the Aleutians' foraging areas to determine how many collared geese can be spotted. That data is used to determine the size of the Aleutian population on the Pacific flyway. This video shows rocket-netting, one method used to capture multiple geese at a time. USFWS video.

The elk at the San Luis NWR are Tule Elk. What are the other types of elk in North America, and how are they different? Watch this video to learn more about North American Elk and the fascinating story of Tule Elk's recovery from the brink of extinction. Video footage courtesy of Brad R. Lewis.

This week, staff of the San Luis NWR Complex along with CDFW veterinarians continue vaccinating endangered riparian brush rabbits at the San Joaquin River NWR against the rabbit virus, RHDV-2. This video shows a rabbit being released after having been vaccinated at the San Joaquin River NWR. USFWS video.

SUMMER'S END -- A GREAT TIME TO OBSERVE THE TULE ELK AT SAN LUIS NWR. Be sure to turn on the sound -- the bugling of the tule elk bulls heralds the end of summer in the San Joaquin Valley. The tule elk at the San Luis NWR are currently in the middle of their breeding season or "rut," and it's a wonderful time to observe them. The bulls are bugling to impress the cows and intimidate other bulls. It can be quite interesting and entertaining to watch the elk behaviors during this season which will continue through the end of September or early October. There's still time! Plan your visit to experience the tule elk this weekend. Video courtesy of Brad R. Lewis.

A Bird in the Hand: Mourning doves are one of the most recognizable migratory birds, and a very common species at the San Luis NWR Complex. A national banding program began in 2003 to monitor changes in mourning dove populations throughout the country. Doves are banded each summer at the San Luis NWR. In this video, a mourning dove is being released after it was banded and identified by age, sex, and molting stage. USFWS video.

BRUSH RABBIT RELEASE. The San Luis NWR Complex staff with CDFW veterinarians this week continue vaccinating endangered riparian brush rabbits against the rabbit virus - RHDV-2. This video shows a rabbit being released after vaccination at the San Joaquin River NWR.

Part 2 of our previous post about the purpose and benefits of having a grazing program on our refuge complex. This video shows a large flock of white geese using a grazed pasture on the refuge. Scenes like this can be viewed daily during this time of year from the Merced NWR auto tour route. Video courtesy of Suzy Erickson.

Visitors to the San Luis NWR Complex are often curious as to why livestock (cattle and sheep) are grazing on portions of the refuges. Grazing removes invasive weeds and the dense thatch created by non-native grasses – all plants that negatively impact wildlife's ability to use the habitat. Grazers create short grass and more open habitat preferred by native wildlife and the large flocks of avian grazers like geese. Geese prefer to forage in short grass so their eyes are not covered when their heads are down to feed, enabling them to better watch for predators. This cow is munching on dead invasive thistle. In doing so, she is also removing weed seeds -- which in turn reduces weeds the following year. Video courtesy of Suzy Erickson.

Sights and Sounds at the San Joaquin River NWR! Turn on the sound -- now through early March is the best time of year to experience the sights and sounds of millions of migratory waterfowl and other migratory birds that spend the winter at the San Joaquin River NWR and other refuges of the San Luis NWR Complex. Plan a visit and drive one of the auto tour routes, walk a nature trail, or view the sights from one of many elevated observation platforms throughout the complex. For more information, check out the refuge brochures containing maps of auto routes and nature trails on the individual refuge websites: http://www.fws.gov/refuge/san_luis ; http://www.fws.gov/refuge/merced ; and http://www.fws.gov/refuge/san_joaquin_river. USFWS video.