SAN LUIS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE 2.
Day 149 – Low 40’s this morning and sunny. We left the campground before 11 a.m. to begin today’s bird watching adventure. First we went into Los Banos to Subway and picked up sandwiches for lunch. Then we drove to the second unit of San Luis NWR, the Bear Creek Unit. We did not go to this unit on Monday when we last visited this refuge.
Bear Creek Unit had an auto tour road that was shorter than the two we drove on Monday. Unfortunately there was no water; the impoundment had not been filled, therefore we didn’t see much. Water makes a huge difference for migrating birds. We did see a Red-Tailed Hawk, a large nest, a Coyote deep in the bushes (the picture didn’t turn out), and one Squirrel. We ate our lunch at Bear Creek.
We drove back to the other unit at San Luis NWR and drove both of the auto tour routes again. We saw some different things this time, and more of the same like Monday. We also took a long drive on a road that we didn’t drive last time. Again we were pleased with the outcome.
On the way back to the RV we stopped for gas in the Honda; we got home after 5 p.m. At the campground there were several Mule Deer chomping grass by one of the campsites. The high today was 73 degrees and it was windy in the afternoon.
The San Luis National Wildlife Refuge Complex – composed of the San Luis, Merced, and San Joaquin River National Wildlife Refuges (NWR), and the Grasslands Wildlife Management Area (WMA) – consists of nearly 45,000 acres of wetlands, grasslands, and riparian habitats, as well as over 90,000 acres of conservation easements for the protection and benefit of wildlife. The refuge units are located in the northern San Joaquin Valley of California in Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin Counties.
The Complex is located within the Pacific Flyway, a major route for migrating birds. The extensive wetlands of the Complex and surrounding lands provide habitat for up to a million waterfowl each winter.
The San Luis NWR Complex is located between Interstate 5 and CA Highway 99, the two primary north-south travel routes in California. The Complex is within an hour and a half drive of several major metropolitan areas in central California. San Luis NWR Visitor Center, 7376 S. Wolfsen Road, Los Banos, CA 93635, (209) 826-3508. http://www.fws.gov/refuge/san_luis