November 12–15, 2026

The California Swan Festival

Celebrating the return of tundra swans and other waterfowl to our region
— three days of guided tours, presenters, and family activities.

Proudly hosted by Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust

All festival proceeds directly benefit local land conservation and wildlife habitat protection.

Purpose

Why we hold the festival

Each winter, tundra swans travel thousands of miles down the Pacific Flyway to winter in the rice fields and wetlands around the Sutter Buttes. The festival exists to celebrate that arrival — and to show why the working farmland they depend on is worth protecting.

It is also our largest annual fundraiser. Proceeds go directly to conserving land and habitat in Sutter, Yuba, and Colusa counties.

Festival at a glance

Dates

Nov 13–15, 2026

Length

4 Days

Hosted by

Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust

Website

caswanfestival.org

Venue details for the new location to be added.

Tours

Guided tours & field trips

Festival tours take small groups out to see swans, geese, and raptors on private and public land around the Buttes, led by experienced local guides.

Swan viewing tours

Evening and early morning outings to the flooded rice fields where the swans gather.

Sutter Buttes hikes

Guided walks into the Buttes — rare access to a privately owned mountain range.

Working lands tours

Visits to rice farms and conserved ranches to see agriculture and habitat side by side.

Cancellation policy

Tours run rain or shine. Cancellations made more than 14 days before the festival receive a full refund; after that, tickets may be transferred to another guest.

To cancel or transfer, call 530-755-3568 or email info@sutterbutteslandtrust.org.

Final policy wording and tour schedule to be confirmed.

Guide Bios

Meet your guides

Our guides are naturalists, farmers, and long-time residents who know this landscape intimately.

Carolyn Brown

Carolyn’s lifelong love of the outdoors, along with her daily view of the Sutter Buttes, inspired her to become involved with Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes and the Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust after retiring from a career as an Environmental Planner. She now serves as Vice President of the Land Trust and has spent the past six years exploring the Buttes with Middle Mountain. Enthusiastic about all things in nature—especially wildflowers, fungi, and birds—Carolyn enjoys sharing her knowledge while also learning from fellow hikers, making every outing a rewarding experience.

Events: Nature of the Sutter Buttes – Hike on Dean Place

Laura Lush

Laura Lush is a life-long Yuba-Sutter resident, artist, high school teacher, nature enthusiast, and avid birder. She has been active with Middle Mountain/Sutter Buttes Regional Land Trust for over a dozen years and is currently on the board of Middle Mountain Interpretive Hikes.

Events: Gray Lodge Wildlife Area, Shaeffer Ranch

Cliff Hawley

Cliff Hawley is a certified California Naturalist and Sacramento Audubon member, leading birding and nature tours for Soil Born Farms and the Sacramento Audubon. When Cliff isn’t leading tours you can find him fulfilling his duties as the Vice President of the Central Valley Bird Club and acting Youth Scholarship Program. Cliff also helps manage the Sacramento Audubon Facebook presence and social media team for the Western Field Ornithologists.

Events: Birding at Bobelaine Sanctuary

Jonathan Munger

Jonathan (Jon) G. Munger is the Vice President of Operations with Montna Farms, in Yuba City, California. Montna Farms is a major grower of Japanese short grain specialty rice as well as a leader in working lands conservation. Jon has been with Montna Farms since March 2001. Jon’s current responsibilities include overall management of the rice farming and drying operation, financial, labor, legal, regulatory, water, land acquisition, administering the FSA, NRCS and Conservation programs on the farm, as well as managing several duck clubs

Events: Sunset, Swans and Rice at Montna Farms in Dingville

David Rosen

David has worked as an environmental educator, classroom teacher, park ranger, and naturalist for over 40 years. His degree in biology and natural resources and extensive field experience have given him an intimate understanding of, and love for, nature and wildlife. He’s passionate about sharing nature with others, especially kids, and he strives to make complex biological concepts fun, understandable, entertaining, and relevant to his audiences. His philosophy for outdoor science education is, “If folks are having fun, then learning will happen naturally!” He’s worked for Sacramento Splash, a non-profit, environmental education organization for 20 years, teaching hands-on science to elementary students throughout Sacramento County. David’s also a nature and wildlife photographer and his images have been published in magazines, books, postcards, calendars, and numerous other types of publications nationwide. David helped launch the very first CA Swan Festival in Marysville, CA in 2013 and he planned and coordinated all the field trips for the festival for 4 years. David’s never not birding!

Events: Sunset, Swans and Rice at Montna Farms in Dingville

Maureen Geiger

Maureen has been birding for almost 50 years and is a long-time field trip leader for Sacramento Audubon Society. A member of the Field Activities Committee, she has been birding at Bobelaine since the early 1980’s and will enjoy showing everyone the wonder of this Preserve.

Events: Birding at Bobelaine Sanctuary

Registration

Registration opens ahead of the festival. Tours have limited capacity and typically sell out, so early booking is recommended.

Registration opens

Opens Oct 12