Week of Events
Sacramento Delta by Boat
Sacramento Delta by Boat
Sunday, February 6, 2022
(Super Bowl Sunday)
8:15 AM to 4:30 PM
Boat leaves from and returns to the Antioch Marina
With David Wimpfheimer
Online registration for this trip will begin on January 5, 2022. The cost will be $125 per person. The trip limit is 25 fully vaccinated participants.
Register for this field trip HERE
Join us aboard Dolphin Charters’ River Dolphin for a wonderful day of exploring the richness of the California Delta with naturalist David Wimpfheimer as our guide. Ronn Patterson, a Bay Area historian and naturalist, is captain of the River Dolphin and owner of Dolphin Charters. The boat is very comfortable, and the outer decks provide views over the levees of the amazing array of birds found in the Delta during the winter.
This rich area hosts a wide variety of raptors including Swainson’s Hawks, Peregrine Falcons, and Great Horned Owls. Large numbers of shorebirds, Sandhill Cranes, Tundra Swans, Snow, Canada and White- fronted Geese, ducks, as well as gulls, terns, bitterns and passerines make this cruise a highlight for birders. Uncommon mammals such as beaver, river otter, and mink often add interest to the cruise. We also will learn about the history, ecology and politics of the levees and the Delta as we travel through its meandering channels.
There will be a waiting list. To assure a spot for yourself, we recommend booking your space asap as this is always a popular trip. Those confirmed on the trip will receive directions to the Antioch Marina and other instructions the week before the trip.
Minnesota’s Sax-Zim Bog & the “Invasion of the Vole Snatchers”
Minnesota’s Sax-Zim Bog & the “Invasion of the Vole Snatchers”
Thursday, February 10 at 7:00 PM
Speaker: Sparky Stensass
Photo: "Boreal Owl" by Sparky Stensass
Please register for the program HERE
After an Introduction to the Sax-Zim Bog and why it's the "magic mix" for boreal birds, we'll learn about the Invasion each winter of "vole snatchers": Great Gray Owls, Hawk Owls, Boreal Owls, Northern Shrikes, hawks, ermine, marten, fox, coyote and more survive and thrive on a diet of voles. And we'll also enjoy some HD video of these critters actually snatching voles. We'll also touch on the work of Friends of Sax-Zim Bog to preserve over 4,000 acres of bog lands for future generations of birds and birders.
Sparky Stensaas is the founder and executive director of Friends of Sax-Zim Bog (www.SaxZim.org). Sparky is also a naturalist, publisher, wildlife photographer and now YouTuber (really?). He is the author of 6 books on the natural history of the North Woods. You can see more of Sparky's images at www.ThePhotoNaturalist.com and his videos on YouTube “Sparky Stensaas”