National Wildlife Refuges: Four for the Road

Joe Meche is a member of the board of directors of the North Cascades Audubon Society and has been the editor of the chapter newsletter for the past six years. Joe has been photographing birds and landscapes for over 30 years and has been watching birds for more than 50 years.

The history of wildlife conservation in America can be traced directly to events that took place in central Florida just over one hundred years ago. Near the turn of the century, plume hunters were decimating the large flocks of wading birds for the millinery trade, in the name of fashion. One man, Paul Kroegel, provided the impetus that set the entire process in motion. This German immigrant and his efforts to protect the pelicans on a tiny strip of sand off the Florida coast came to the attention of a visiting naturalist, Frank Chapman, then curator of the Museum of Natural History and a member of the American Ornithologist’s Union.

Chapman discovered that Pelican Island was the site of the last rookery for brown pelicans on Florida’s east coast and pledged his support to protect the birds and the habitat that was essential for their survival. Chapman led a successful campaign to pass legislation in Florida that would protect non-game birds from the plume hunters. Chapman and a fellow naturalist were acquainted with the new conservation-minded president of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, and appealed to him to join in the fight.

On March 14, 1903, President Roosevelt signed an executive order to establish Pelican Island as the country’s first bird reservation. During his time in office, Roosevelt set aside 55 such reservations for birds and other wildlife. Pelican Island was the first time that the federal government set aside land for the sake of wildlife. This small island eventually became the Pelican Island National Wildlife Refuge, the first National Wildlife Refuge (NWR). This small refuge was the first of the 540 refuges that now comprise the National Wildlife Refuge System, which continues to set the standard for refuges around the world.

The current National Wildlife Refuge System and its refuges encompass over 90 million acres in all 50 states. The primary goal of the system is to conserve and restore habitat that is essential for the health of bird populations throughout North America, both resident and migratory species. Humans also benefit from the refuges in that they provide living classrooms for the observation and study of wildlife in a natural setting.

From mid-November to early December, I had the opportunity to visit four of the finest examples of a system that works. In a journey that involved a road trip of over 6,700 miles, I visited the Sacramento, Santa Ana, Aransas, and Bosque del Apache NWRs. Aside from the birds you’re certain to see, another factor that makes these refuges attractive is that each has a motor loop that allows you to tour a large part of the refuge in the comfort of a motor vehicle. On cold, rainy days, this is indeed a luxury. There are also numerous trails and boardwalks for hardy souls and sunny days. The best way to enjoy the refuges is to start early in the day and allow yourself a bit of time to explore as the refuge awakens, and then get back on the road to keep at least some semblance of a schedule.

After a long drive from Bellingham in a nonstop, pouring rain, I spent the first night in Redding, California, setting up an easy morning drive to the Sacramento NWR to begin day two. The area around this refuge is reminiscent of the terrain around my hometown in southwest Louisiana, with rice fields dominating the landscape. As with the Louisiana rice fields, the flooded fields of the Sacramento Valley are the big attraction for wintering waterfowl. The first day’s rain gave way to clear skies and a beautiful sunrise. Birds were already active when I arrived at the refuge.

The six-mile auto tour loop at the refuge starts at the headquarters and takes you through the marshes and riparian corridors and provides numerous viewing opportunities along the way. As I drove through in the early morning, tens of thousands of ducks and geese were either on the wing or feeding in the fields. Northern harriers were on their morning patrols and bald eagles kept watch over the scene. In just a few minutes of scoping some of the larger flocks of snow geese, I located at least two dozen Ross’s geese.

The Sacramento NWR Complex is actually comprised of six separate refuges and the number of birds to be found in the complex between December and February is truly staggering. Approximately 44 percent of the Pacific Flyway’s waterfowl population winters in the Sacramento Valley, with peak numbers reaching over three million ducks, and three-quarters of a million geese. The main refuge is just off Interstate 5 and easily accessed from the frontage road.

After a morning drive around the refuge, I continued south and then east for the next three days. In the process, I made short stopovers at the Salton Sea NWR in southern California to get close-up views of burrowing owls and large numbers of eared grebes, American white pelicans, black-necked stilts, and American avocets; in the saguaro forests of southern Arizona where I observed elf owls and phainopeplas at sunset; and in the Davis Mountains of west Texas where I enjoyed a morning search for Montezuma quail, western scrub jays, and the always busy and noisy acorn woodpeckers.

I began the fifth day of the trip dark and early, before sunrise, at the Santa Ana NWR, along the Rio Grande in southernmost Texas. Santa Ana is one of the best places in the country to see many of the Mexican species that add to the impressive list of birds that can be found in the state of Texas. One of these specialty birds is the plain chachalaca. This bird gets its name from the call it makes and the rolling, rattle of as many as 100 chachalacas calling at once in the dawn’s early light is at once pleasurable and a bit eerie. The sound is unlike any you’re likely to encounter anywhere.

Other birds that I observed at Santa Ana were the spectacular green jays and great kiskadees, along with first-time sightings of Altamira orioles and green kingfishers. I walked the trails from sunrise, in the relative cool of the morning, until the temperature moved into the 80s. I spent the rest of the time at the refuge on the seven-mile Wildlife Drive. Notable among the raptors on the drive were Harris’s hawks, crested caracaras and the reliable northern harriers.

The Santa Ana NWR is situated at the confluence of the Central and Mississippi Flyways and is a crossroads where four distinct ecological zones meet. The refuge is all that remains of the vast semitropical thorn forests that once dominated the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas. Almost 400 species of birds can be found on the refuge and about half of the butterfly species in the United States can be found there. As the temperature reached 92 on November 20, I was reminded of how hot is was when I last visited in August of 1991!

The next planned stop was at the Aransas NWR, on the central Texas coast. Aransas has an 18-mile motor tour route and an impressive observation tower that provides a full 360-degree view of the refuge. The major attraction through the winter months at Aransas is the wintering flock of whooping cranes. About half of the 400 or so whooping cranes that nest at Wood Buffalo National Park in northern Canada migrate to Aransas for the winter. Aransas is a vast refuge that is accessible to some degree, but the whooping cranes tend to be seen more often from a distance, as specks of white in the marsh. If you have the time, sign on for one of several charter boats that leave Rockport and cruise into the refuge. The boat traffic into the refuge is carefully monitored to minimize disturbance to the endangered cranes.

Aransas has a lot more to offer the winter birdwatcher than whooping cranes. The sheltered bays are often busy with herons and egrets, brown and white pelicans, and large flocks of black skimmers. One of the most entertaining of the large wading birds can be found here—the reddish egret. I spent a bit of time observing a half-dozen doing their highly animated feeding dances in the shallows.

The remainder of the first leg of my journey along the upper coast of Texas and into southwest Louisiana provided many opportunities to observe wintering birds. The numbers of birds on the Bolivar Flats, a short ferry ride across the Houston Ship Channel from Galveston, Texas, can be incomprehensible. Thousands of black-necked stilts and American avocets filled the flats and moved enmasse with the incoming tide. Equal numbers of the same two species, along with masses of black skimmers, brown and white pelicans, and laughing gulls greeted me on the beaches south of Cameron, Louisiana.

On the first day of December, after spending a week with family over the Thanksgiving holidays, I was on the road again. It turned out that I was a little early for Louisiana birds, due in part to the milder weather to the north. However, one of the main birds that I wanted to see on the trip was the turkey on Mom’s table, so the trip was a success. I left Louisiana with ample leftovers and headed west for the final refuge on my Big Four list—the Bosque del Apache.

The Bosque del Apache NWR, south of Socorro, New Mexico, was created as an NWR in 1939 by executive order of another Roosevelt—President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. This refuge annually hosts staggering numbers of snow geese and sandhill cranes. While I was there, there were in excess of 20,000 snow geese and over 10,000 sandhill cranes. The debate continues as to which time of day is best to observe these two species. While some feel that the fly-in is the best, an equal number votes for the fly-out.

The fly-in occurs in the evening, when the birds return to their night roosts at the end of a day of feeding and foraging. The fly-out occurs when the birds leave, often all at once, to head for the cornfields for the day. It really depends on how early you like to rise. No matter which you choose, the Bosque del Apache will not disappoint. The birds at the Bosque seem to be more habituated to humans than anywhere else I’ve been in the West, and the sights and sounds of the winter birds there create an experience to be cherished.

As I drove along the 15-mile auto tour loop, I observed other species that winter at the refuge, including scores of western meadowlarks, American pipits, black phoebes, greater roadrunners, and raptors such as bald eagles, American kestrels, northern harriers, red-tailed hawks and one beautiful, adult ferruginous hawk. Aside from the fantastic winter birds, another thing you can count on at the Bosque del Apache is abundant sunshine and the always enchanting light of New Mexico. The light was so enchanting in early December, in fact, that it was difficult to pull myself away to get back on the road and head north.

There are wildlife refuges that are much closer to home that come to life in the spring. However, if you want a break from the wet, Pacific Northwest winter, head south and east to some of the country’s finest refuges. You are certain to find good weather and even warmer temperatures, along with incomprehensible numbers of birds that are wintering in the lower latitudes. If the idea of driving doesn’t appeal to you, fly down and rent a car. A car is essential to connect the dots and certainly provides you with more flexibility once you get to the refuges. Either way, you’ll return with a greater understanding and appreciation of this essential component of the American legacy of wildlife conservation.

Our National Wildlife Refuge System promotes conservation strategies consistent with the objectives that were established over 100 years ago. With the growing threats of increasing human population and habitat destruction, refuges are more important today than at any time in history. Each year, more than 37 million visitors spend time at NWRs. The fate of millions of migratory birds lies in the future of our wildlife refuge system, and healthy bird populations are one of the best barometers of life on the planet. We must be stewards of these lands and seize every opportunity to set aside more land for conservation and restoration of essential habitat. §