GRIDLEY, CA (MPG) - The sky is alive with the movement of waterfowl shining brightly in the sunlight.  Their raucous sounds echo throughout the Valley.  It is the annual north to south migration of birds for winter.  Gray Lodge Wildlife Area water attracts the waterfowl and tourists who come to see vast arrays of birds.  Any day during the migration there can be more than one million birds present.  To see them rise in a mass of wings and earsplitting din is an unforgettable experience.

There are four major fly migration routes in the US.  One of them is the Pacific Flyway.  Many of the birds start in Alaska and Canada, continuing on through California, to Mexico and South America. Migration is a long process; the birds need wetlands with suitable habitat and food supplies as stopovers.  The Sacramento Valley supports about 44% of the migrating waterfowl throughout the Pacific Flyway. 

Approximately 1.5 million ducks and 750,000 geese come to the Valley marshlands and rice fields where their carbohydrate requirements are met.  Invertebrates that populate the ponds and flooded fields meet their protein needs.  Most of California is in extreme or exceptional drought. The drought has brought additional stress to the birds who find some of their traditional feeding sites dry.  They then use more energy to find other sources for rest and food. The success of the waterfowl migration within the Pacific Flyway is dependent on organizations maintaining winter water needs of flooded rice and wetlands throughout the Sacramento Valley.  Agency partnerships such as the California Rice Commission, Audubon California, The Nature Conservancy, farmers and landowners have been working for over a decade to increase the amount of available habitat for now and in the future.  A delicate balance has happened over the last several years to keep enough food and water available during the winter months.

Ninety percent of historic wetlands have been lost due to development as well as, recent droughts.  These environmental losses threaten the viability of the Pacific Flyway, according to the Northern California Water Association.  With natural wetlands in the Sacramento Valley diminishing, rice production fields become critical to the survival of the many wintering waterfowl.  The success of the Pacific Flyway waterfowl migration is dependent on organizations maintaining the winter water needs of flooded rice and wetlands throughout the Sacramento Valley.  The flooded rice land provides essential habitat and 60 percent of food resources for waterbirds in the Sacramento Valley.

According to Audubon California, about 235,000 acres of rice fields are flooded after harvest to provide habitat for the birds.  Recently, that number plummeted to 60,000 acres.  Unfortunately, the regional bird refuges and wildlife areas are struggling to maintain maximum habitat due to a lack of accessible water.  This, along with overcrowding of birds in available water habitats, could cause additional outbreaks of avian flu.   The winter emergency drought funding provided by the California Department of Water Resources is helping. Everyone is working toward a strong successful waterfowl migration.