Roll down your windows to take in the sights and sounds of snow geese, roadrunners, and maybe a bald eagle or two
https://roadtrippers.com/magazine/central-california-wildlife-refuges/
The complex is located along the Pacific Flyway which is a major route for migrating birds. There is somewhere around a million waterfowl each year that utilize this provided habitat. This number is composed of 30 species the most common of which are the Ross geese, snow geese, mallards, teal, pintail and Aleutian Cackling geese. Also, large numbers of shorebirds, songbirds and raptors utilize the complex.
https://mercedcountytimes.com/amp/exploring-the-san-luis-national-wildlife-refuge/
San Luis Preserve
"The preserve offers an auto tour through the park; November through March is the ideal time to see the various water birds that spend the winter at the preserve. San Luis also has a fenced area that is the home to a herd of majestic tule elk."
California Fish & Wildlife Department relocated 60 tule elk from San Luis National Refuge in Merced County, CA, to Carizzo Plain National Monument in San Luis Obispo County using a helicopter and a net gun.
https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/environment/article225528870.html
LOS BANOS, Merced County — Before the midday heat had set in, Jeff Cann and Tim Kroeker were out of their Dodge pickup, trudging through waist-deep water in waders and rubber boots.
Avian migration exhibits a planetary ebb and flow like that of an ocean tide—a pull across the latitudes exerted on whole populations of birds. Throngs of shorebirds and waterbirds come surging into our region from the Arctic north every autumn—they ride the frozen edge of winter south to California’s Central Valley.
They numbered in the tens of thousands and roamed a vast range from Kern County to Butte County in California’s great Central Valley. In the 1840s, the earliest settlers were amazed by their long, high-pitched call that resembled a siren with the clarity of a ringing bell that echoed across the plains every autumn.
http://www.recordnet.com/sports/20161004/outdoors-tule-elk-are-making-comeback
More than 70 lagomorph scientists from 23 countries recently converged on the town of Turlock, in the middle of California’s Great Central Valley, for the 5th World Lagomorph Conference at the campus of California State University, Stanislaus.
https://www.fws.gov/cno/newsroom/highlights/2016/Lagomorphs/
LOS BANOS
Just off Highway 165 in southwest Merced County sits an opportunity to see wildlife up close, and autumn is one of the best times to visit.
http://www.sacbee.com/entertainment/living/travel/article97736177.html
Thousands of wildlife spotters fanned out across 126 U.S. national park units last May in a mammoth BioBlitz held to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the National Park Service.
