SAVE THE DATE — California Swan Festival, Nov 12–15

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Get Outside

What to look for, and where to go, across Sutter, Yuba, and Colusa counties.

Get Outside

Explore the region

You don’t need to wait for the festival. Here’s what to look for, and where to go, across Sutter, Yuba, and Colusa counties.

The Swans of the Sutter Buttes: A Winter Spectacle

Each winter, the skies and wetlands of the Yuba-Sutter region are transformed by the arrival of tens of thousands of migrating swans. The shadow of the Sutter Buttes and the surrounding flooded agricultural lands serve as a critical wintering ground along the Pacific Flyway, offering a vital sanctuary for these magnificent waterfowl.

Swan Species in the Region

Tundra swans, ducks, geese and other migratory birds winter here by the thousands, arriving in late autumn after a migration of several thousand miles from the Arctic. They feed in flooded rice fields — an agricultural landscape that has become critical habitat.

 

Look for them from November through February, most active at dawn and dusk. Listen first: you’ll often hear a flock before you see it.

An Incredible Migration

Tundra Swans undertake a grueling, 3,000-mile migration from their summer breeding and nesting grounds in the remote Arctic tundra of Alaska and Northern Canada. Traveling in classic V-formations and communicating with a distinct, high-pitched, melodic honking, they arrive in the Central Valley starting in November and stay through February before making the long journey back north.

Habitat & Regional Connection

The Sacramento Valley provides the perfect winter habitat. The shallow waters of our local wetlands and flooded post-harvest rice fields allow the swans to safely roost and forage for tubers, aquatic plants, and leftover agricultural grain. This unique, symbiotic relationship between local agriculture and wildlife management is what allows the swans to rebuild their energy reserves for the spring migration.

Conservation & Habitat Protection

The continued return of these migratory flocks depends entirely on habitat preservation. Protecting remaining natural wetlands and establishing conservation easements on local agricultural lands is critical to their survival. By safeguarding these open spaces around the Sutter Buttes, we ensure that the Pacific Flyway remains a viable route for swans and millions of other migratory birds for generations to come.

Sutter Buttes

Often called the smallest mountain range in the world — a circular volcanic formation rising abruptly from the flat floor of the Sacramento Valley, visible for fifty miles in every direction.

The Buttes are almost entirely privately owned, so access is by guided hike. We offer them on our North Butte property through Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes.

How to visit →

Explore locally

Nearby public lands and refuges worth a visit, especially in the winter months.

Middle Mountain hikes

Guided access into the Buttes themselves, through our sister organization.

Visit

Gray Lodge Wildlife Area

One of the best waterfowl viewing spots in the valley, just north of the Buttes.

Visit

Sacramento NWR Complex

Auto tour routes and viewing platforms over managed wetlands in Colusa County.

Visit

Feather River corridor

Riparian habitat and river access near Yuba City and Olivehurst.

Visit

Full “Explore Locally” list with the client’s numbered destinations and starred highlights to be added.

  • Identifies barrier free, accessible sites
  • Identifies auto tour for road viewing
Viewing sites
Access#Site
Auto tour1Bear Valley Road, Colusa
Auto tour, barrier free2Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
Auto tour, barrier free3Delevan National Wildlife Refuge
Auto tour, barrier free4Colusa National Wildlife Refuge
Barrier free5Colusa-Sacramento River State Recreation Area
Barrier free6Upper Butte Basin Wildlife Area
Auto tour, barrier free7Grey Lodge Wildlife Area
8Sutter Buttes
Barrier free9Sutter National Wildlife Refuge
Barrier free10Bobelaine Audubon Sanctuary
Barrier free11Feather River Wildlife Area
Barrier free12Beckwourth Riverfront Park
Barrier free13Feather River Parkway
Barrier free14Ellis Lake
Barrier free15Spenceville Wildlife Area
Barrier free16Black Swan Preserve
Barrier free17Englebright Lake
Barrier free18Hammon Grove
Barrier free19Sycamore Ranch
Barrier free20Daugherty Hill Wildlife Area
Barrier free21Collins Lake
Barrier free22Lake Francis
Barrier free23New Bullards Bar Reservoir

Wildlife viewing tips

Go early or late

Dawn and dusk are when waterfowl are most active and the light is best.

Respect private land

Most land around the Buttes is privately owned and farmed. View from public roads and pullouts only.