The Cranes are back and so too are the free tours.
We are delighted to let you know that after a 2-year Covid pandemic hiatus we are going back to doing free crane viewing tours. This year, however, things will be different.
We are partnering with the Cosumnes River Preserve and will do the tours as volunteers for them. We will be doing two tours per month: the 2nd and 4th Saturday of each month, October through February. Each tour will begin at the Visitor Center, 13501 Franklin Blvd. Click here for directions.
Each tour will begin with a brief talk at the Visitor Center about 90 minutes before sunset and end shortly after sunset. We will walk or drive from the Visitor Center to wherever we believe the cranes will be that evening. Although the tours are free you need to register since we must limit the number of guests. For more details on how to register for each tour you can periodically check their web site at https://www.cosumnes.org/homepage-2/events/
If our tour schedule is not convenient for you, you can enjoy watching the cranes on your own. Following are two of the many places you can see the cranes.
For more information contact Mike at yogoombah[at]yahoo[dot]com.
Directions to the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve
The Woodbridge GPS address is 38°09’44.2″N 121°24’52.1″W. For you Google mappers the street address is 11154 W. Woodbridge Rd. Lodi, CA 95242
From Sacramento/North, take Interstate 5 south to Peltier Road. At the bottom of the exit, turn left to Thornton Road where you will go right. Continue on Thornton until the stop sign at the corner of Woodbridge road. At this point Woodbridge Road goes under the I-5 freeway. Make a right hand turn and travel west for approximately 2 miles to the turnout and lookout point of the reserve on the left (south) side of Woodbridge road. All visitors to DFW lands who do not have a fishing or hunting license will need to buy a Lands Pass. Information can be found here. (This “lands pass” requirement will only apply to our trips to the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, not to Staten Island.)
From Stockton/South, take Interstate 5 north to Turner Road. At the bottom of the exit, turn right to Thornton Road where you will turn left. Continue on Thornton until the stop sign at the corner of Woodbridge Road. Make a left hand turn and travel west for approximately 2 miles to the turn out and lookout point of the reserve on the left (south) side of Woodbridge Road.
Directions to Staten Island
Take I-5 to the Thornton/Walnut Grove exit and proceed west towards Walnut Grove. Go about 3 1/2 miles where you will turn left (south) towards the big silo. The turn is just past a green sign that says, “Staten Island.” Please be mindful that this is an active, working farm. Do not block traffic. Usually by the end of October the harvest is done and conflicts with worker traffic are minimized. Continue slowly past the large silos, watching for cranes foraging or roosting in the flooded fields to either side of the road.