The refuge features 4 nature trails for wildlife observation and photography. Nature trails are open to foot traffic only. Please stay on trails, except at special areas where leaving the trail is allowed and indicated by signage. Dogs are allowed on nature trails, but must be on a leash and under control at all times.
Bittern Marsh trail
Open Season: Open year-round. Walking only. Not open to biking or horseback riding.
Length: 1 mile
Location of trail: Starts from auto tour route.
Surface: Compacted gravel.
Difficulty: Light to moderate.
Information: The Bittern Marsh trail, accessed from the Merced auto tour route, offers visitors a choice of two loops – an inside loop and an outside loop, as well as a short spur leading to an area with a picnic table surrounded by native cottonwood trees. Depending on the season, the trees may be home to dozens of songbird species; house finch, warbling vireo, and American goldfinch in the summer; yellow-rumped warbler, bushtit, and ruby-crowned kinglet in the winter. During spring and fall migration seasons all kinds of neotropical migrant songbirds move through, taking a short pause in their amazing long-distance migrations to rest in the shelter of the trees and glean protein-rich insects from the leaves and branches. Bittern Marsh and surrounding trees are a veritable beehive of activity no matter what the season. Some secretive marsh species such as American bittern, Virginia rail, and sora are often more easily heard than seen; but scan the water and the treetops for all kinds of waterfowl, shorebirds, and other species that are at home near the water such as, great egret, great blue heron, and red-winged and yellow-headed blackbirds.
Meadowlark trail
Open Season: Open year-round. Walking only. Not open to biking or horseback riding.
Length: 1 mile
Location of trail: Starts from auto tour route near the main entrance.
Surface: Compacted gravel, dirt.
Difficulty: Light to moderate.
Information: Accessed from the main entrance parking lot, the Meadowlark trail could be called the “Songbird trail.” The first section travels along the bank of Deadman Slough through a dense riparian riparian
Definition of riparian habitat or riparian areas.
Learn more about riparian woodland of native cottonwoods, black willows, and Oregon ash. Depending on the season, you may spot flycatchers, warblers, grosbeaks, and other songbirds, as well as raptors like red-tailed, Swainson’s, and red-shouldered hawks. Great-horned and barn owls frequent these trees as well. Look for large nests near the treetops. Check closely – it may be home to a nesting great-horned owl and her owlets. Be alert because you may just spot a bald eagle as well! The trail leaves Deadman Slough making a loop through the wetlands and upland grasslands. Along the way you may take a short spur that leads into the woods. Check the trees closely for woodpeckers and other surprises, especially during spring and fall migration seasons. The main trail loop offers views of grassland species like western kingbirds, loggerhead shrikes, and western meadowlarks; as well as wetland species of waterfowl like northern pintail, northern shoveler, and cinnamon teal in the fall and winter. You may also see wading birds like white-faced ibis, long-billed dowitchers, and black-necked stilts. When in vast open habitats like this, always watch the skies for soaring raptors or flocks of waterfowl flying overhead.
Cottonwood trail
Open Season: Open seasonally fall through spring. Walking only. Not open to biking or horseback riding.
Length: 1.5 miles
Location of trail: Trailhead parking on north side of Sandy Mush Rd, 1 mile east of main refuge entrance
Surface: Compacted gravel.
Difficulty: Light to moderate.
Information: Accessed from the trailhead on the north side of Sandy Mush Road one mile east of the main entrance, the Cottonwood trail leads to an elevated observation deck that provides visitors with outstanding opportunities to view thousands of snow and Ross’ geese in one of their favorite upland foraging spots on the refuge, but other species make use of this habitat too. Greater white-fronted geese and sandhill cranes favor the same foraging habitats. Aleutian cackling geese may also make an appearance. Along the walk to the observation deck, visitors pass through a grove of native Fremont cottonwood trees that provide nesting and foraging habitat for all manner of songbirds in summer and winter, as well as neotropical migrants in the spring and fall. The trees provide a place for red-tailed hawks, Swainson’s hawks, red-shouldered hawks, and great horned owls to build nests in the spring – and provide roosting sites for raptors in the winter.
Kestrel trail
Open Season: Open year-round. Walking only. Not open to biking or horseback riding.
Length: 0.5 miles
Location of trail: Starts from auto tour route near the main entrance.
Surface: Compacted gravel, dirt.
Difficulty: Light.
Information: The Kestrel trail, located near the main entrance, takes a short walk alongside Deadman Slough through native quail brush habitat. Egrets and great blue herons are often seen hunting for crayfish in the slough. Early and late in the day, you may see a black-crowned night heron hunting, and keep a lookout toward the ground because you may spot a coyote or black-tailed jackrabbit moving through as well. The quail brush provides cover and food for a myriad of songbirds in the winter – white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows, and yellow-rumped warblers. In the summer watch for northern mockingbirds, American robins, and western meadowlarks. The native trees on the west are full of songbirds in the spring – watch and listen for all manner of surprises as the neotropical migrants move through during March, April, and May. In the summer the tall cottonwoods might be sheltering nests of red-shouldered hawks and red-tailed or Swainson’s hawks. Recently, these trees provided a summer home for the endangered least Bell’s vireo. Watch also for spotted towhees, black-headed grosbeaks, and woodpeckers – Nuttall’s, downy, and northern flicker. The litter of dead leaves and vegetation beneath the trees provide foraging habitat for wintering birds like the hermit thrush. In the winter, the sky can be full of geese and sandhill cranes as they move back and forth over the refuge.