Many Sandhill Cranes and Geese Wintering on Staten Island Preserve in California

田園 成千上萬的野雁。

Huge number of geese  busily eating fresh green grass on the farm field on Staten Island Preserve in the heart of Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta in California on January 9, 2022. These geese may include Aleutian cackling geese, greater white fronted geese and Ross geese. 

I zoomed in and took a movie clip of one of many groups of geese in the air in action on Staten Island as shown in the following YouTube website:

https://youtu.be/IdqgFrD2mk0

These geese in the air were hundreds of yards far away. The beginning of this movie clip shows that I had to zoom in greatly in order to see them well. With such big zoom on free hand (i.e., without a tripod), the picture and the movie taken were very sensitive to any tiny hand shakes. 

用起長焦距（鏡頭）想把很遠的鳥拉近，鳥就在相機的觀景窗裡不止晃啊晃的，還晃進晃出的，這對攝影者是一個很嚴重的挑戰和考驗。

I did not use a tripod because these birds in action in the sky come and go very fast. By the time the tripod and the camera are set up properly for stability, those birds in action in the sky are gone and disappeared already.

 On January 9, 2022, we left Fremont in San Francisco Bay area at about 11:30 AM and drove northeast for about one hour and 20 minutes following GPS navigation to arrive at N. Staten Island Rd on Staten Island in Walnut Grove in California to enjoy watching huge number of geese, sandhill cranes, shorebirds, and other kinds of birds and ducks in action. 

遠處一大排的雪雁，還有很多水鳥在水面上飄啊飄著，嬉水、覓食，千姿百態，招引四方遊人爭相觀賞。

There were also many white colored snow geese, brown colored geese, and several kinds of waterfowl on the flooded crop field on Staten Island. The controlled flooding of some of the farm fields in the winter season provide (1) desirable habitat for huge number of migratory birds, sandhill cranes, egrets and other waterfowl to feast on invertebrates, amphibians, snails, etc.,   and (2) protection for safe evening roosting for huge number of migratory birds against many predators (such as cayotes, wolves, lynx, bald eagles, etc.) at night. Sandhill cranes prefer to stand in shallow water at night to sleep.

I zoomed in and took a movie scan of the huge number of snow geese, brown colored geese, shorebirds and other waterfowl on the flooded farm field as shown in the following YouTube website:

https://youtu.be/WTZLJUfD2wY

There are at least 200 islands in Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta where Sacramento River from north and San Joaquin River from south merge at this large Delta wetland area, then flow west into San Francisco Bay. The elevations of many of these islands, including Staten Island, are below sea level, and hence, below the river water level. These islands and their huge farm fields are, therefore, surrounded by many miles of levees to keep the river water out of these islands and farm fields. Therefore, these islands surrounded by the levees in this Delta region have a nickname of California's Holland.

I also took a movie clip of huge number of snow geese in the air in action on Staten Island as shown on the following YouTube movie:

https://youtu.be/lSGbqdLeteY

田園 丹頂黃鶴仙姿， 亭亭玉立， 神采飄逸，幾聲清脆悅耳的鶴鳴聲。

Zoom in on two of thousands of magnificent red crowned sandhill cranes （丹頂沙丘鶴 或 丹頂黃鶴）  wintering on Staten Island.

Every winter, millions of migratory waterfowl including ducks, geese, swan plus thousands of red crowned sandhill cranes (丹頂鶴) migrate south from arctic areas (northern Canada and Alaska) and arrive to winter in the Sacramento–San Joaquin-River-Delta （兩大河會流的三角州濕地）in California Central Valley as shown on this map here. These two major rivers merge through this Delta area, then flow into San Francisco Bay. 

Thousands of sandhill cranes arrive in California's Central Valley each September after breeding in Alaska, Canada, and the Pacific Northwest. In addition to that, a smaller group of cranes breed and nest in northeastern California in high mountain meadows of the northern Sierra Nevada and Cascade Ranges and large high-desert meadows of northeastern California. 

Every November, the sandhills crane season is celebrated with the Sandhill Crane Festival in Lodi, California.

Red-crowned cranes (丹頂鶴) are highly revered big birds in China, Korea and Japan for their elegance symbolizing beauty, harmony, auspicious (吉祥), grace and longevity (壽). Red-crowned cranes often appear in many artistic paintings, poetry, songs, silks and sculptures in China, Korea and Japan. Japanese people consider the red-crowned cranes as the Japanese sacred national bird.

In Taoism, the red-crowned crane is a symbol of longevity and immortality. In art and literature, immortals (神仙) are often depicted riding on cranes (仙人駕鶴西去). A mortal who attains immortality is similarly carried off by a crane （仙鹤）. Depictions of the crane have been found in Shang Dynasty tombs and Zhou Dynasty ceremonial bronzeware.

在神話的傳說中，丹頂鶴是神仙的坐騎，故也稱仙鶴，浩瀚碧藍的天空，仙人駕鶴西去，優雅浪漫。有的專家認為，因愛屋及烏、慕鶴至仙，鶴受到神仙的蔭護而被認為有千年的壽命，因此“鶴齡”、“鶴壽”常被稱為髦耄之年的恭祝詞語。

15 percent of all Greater Sandhill Cranes in California Central Valley winter on Staten Island, and more than half of Greater and Lesser Sandhill Cranes in the North Delta winter on Staten Island. 

這三角州濕地 （Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta) 正因為生態豐富，各種食物資源充足， 因此吸引了無數丹頂黃鶴 ， 是丹頂黃鶴冬季的聚集地， 南下過冬的時節， 南歸丹頂黃鶴多宿於此區。

仙鶴的優美風姿。

Zoom in even more for closer view of the red crown of the sandhill cranes（丹頂沙丘鶴 或 丹頂黃鶴）. 

The greater sand hill cranes stand at about 4 to 5 feet tall with wingspan of 7 to 8 feet. Such wide wingspan is comparable to those of bald eagles and golden eagles (金鵰). Therefore, these greater sand hill cranes are very large birds. Seeing one or two of such large birds is already very exciting. But we can see thousands of such large birds in Staten Island in the winter season and it is quite a treat of sight and sound.

During daytime, these sand hill cranes spread out searching and eating foods (e.g., seeds, grains, insects and small animals ) in the farm fields in Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta.

These sandhill cranes are mostly hundreds of yards away on the farm field and required a good telescope or a super-zoom camera in order to see them well by visitors on the N. Staten Island Road.

I zoomed in and took a movie clip of some of these sandhill cranes busily poking, digging and eating something on the farm field as shown in the following YouTube website:

https://youtu.be/cac-4H7ysG4

Zoom in for closer view of many snow geese and brown colored geese on the flooded farm field.

灘頭水畔，鴨歌雁舞。

Notice many smaller shorebirds behind the white colored snow geese  and before brown colored geese in this view. There are also other waterfowl on the flooded farm field.

整個水面潔白一片的雪雁， 好像懶洋洋安詳寧靜的地在睡覺。

Zoom in even more on the snow geese on the flooded farm field

Some waterfowl upside down busily eating something in the flooded farm field.

成群結隊的雪雁 高飛，在歡叫聲中振翅飛翔，翻飛群舞，天空鳥陣如雲，長空雁鳴聲 ，沖霄高天去 ,，連場精彩好戲，看得心花怒放。

Zoom in on many snow geese in the air in action on Staten Island Preserve.

集合成群，氣勢瀟灑的飛翔隊伍， 遨翔碧空。

百雁群舞, 自由地翱翔，天空鳥陣如雲，非常壯觀，令人興奮不已，令人有一種想飛的衝動，  這是賞鳥者和攝影者夢寐以求的特殊生態奇觀， 心花怒放，好不激動， 迫不及待地拿起相機開始猛拍。

Many snow geese were descending and landing on the flooded farm field

成群雪雁 遨翔碧空。

A large group of snow geese in the air far away and behind this tree.

I have also seen huge number of snow geese in action in the air at several different places as shown on my websites here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

More photos of snow geese on Staten Island Preserve taken by other bird watchers can be seen here, and here. 

空中不時有大群的野雁飛過。

Many brown colored geese in the air far away

天高雲淡，成群結隊，奮飛碧霄而去。

Zoom in on many brown color geese in the air

大群的野雁 密密麻麻 滿天飛。

大群的野雁輕舒兩翼，鼓羽亮翅，漸漸輕盈地 降落草地。

Many brown colored geese in the air were descending and landing on the farm field. Many white colored dots on the levee in the background may indicate more white colored birds on the levee.

Zoom in for closer view of a sandhill crane and two different kinds of brown colored geese on the farm field

More views of many geese on farm field. Again, one can see the levee at far side.

Zoom in for closer view of Aleutian Cackling geese. Their summer breeding ground is in Aleutian Islands in Alaska. In the winter season, they left Alaska and migrate south to winter in Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta with plenty of fresh green grass for them to eat.

大白鷺美麗的身影， 一派悠閒， 看看我的腿有多修長，細長的脖子、修長的雙腿，具備了模特兒高挑體型的必備條件， 流線型的身材，無「人」能及。

One of many egrets in Staten Island

More views of red crowned sandhill cranes poking, digging and eating something (waste grain, seeds, plant tubers, small rodents, invertebrates, amphibians, snails, worms, insects, grubs, small reptiles, frogs, grasshoppers, fly larvae, fish, etc. ) in the farm field in Staten Island. The large bills allow them to probe soft ground or pick up items ranging from grains to rodents.

愛侶臨風，朝夕相依，形影不離， 親密無間，仙鶴的神采， 氣宇軒昂，不同凡俗，神態安詳，充滿著快樂和恬靜的丹頂鶴， 清脆悠揚的鶴聲，讓人駐足聆聽，溫和的色彩和寧靜的意境，含情脈脈﹐相親相愛﹐演繹著動物世界的浪漫愛情故事， 感悟生靈與天地，令人好生羨慕。 丹頂鶴是像徵愛情專一忠貞的鳥，雌雄一旦結為伴偶，終生相隨。  

Some sandhill cranes on the corn field.

閑雲野鶴， 這是加州 丹頂沙丘鶴 的保護區，冬日的伊甸園，一陣陣歡快清脆悠揚的鶴聲。 

綠野田園仙姿。

This picture shows the real distance of many sandhill cranes very far away as viewed from N. Staten Island Rd. I had to use the 65X optical zoom of my camera to zoom in to get the closer views of sandhill cranes shown above. 

The far side beyond the sandhill cranes probably is the levee surrounding the Staten Island.

The northern 2 miles of N Staten Island Rd for bird watching is nicely paved. But the remaining southern 2 miles of N Staten Island Rd is unpaved dirt road.

A portable toilet room is available near the junction of N Staten Island Rd and Walnut Grove Rd at the northern end of N Staten Island Rd. This is provided by the Sandhill Crane Association in Staten Island-Lodi area. This picture also shows the paved northern 2 miles of N Staten Island Rd.

This is my first visit of the Staten Island Preserve. We stayed here for about 2 hours from about 1 PM to about 3 PM enjoying watching many birds in Staten Island Preserve. However, 1 PM to 3 PM is not the best time period for bird watching. During sunset time,  one can see group after group and wave after wave of fly-in of many sandhill cranes to their evening roosting place on the flooded farm field on Staten Island Preserve as shown here, and watch dancing of sandhill cranes here. The sky fills with cranes, swans, geese, and ducks.  Thousands of geese fly in, joining hundreds of cranes. Several Sandhill cranes fly right over your heads, giving you a sense of these birds’ grand size.

More photos of bird watching on Staten Island Preserve taken by other bird watchers can be seen here, here, here, and here. 

On Nov. 1, 2015, I visited Woodbridge Ecological Preserve in Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta during sunset time and saw the amazing fly-in of group after group of sandhill cranes as shown on my website here. Woodbridge Ecological Preserve (i.e., Isenberg Crane Preserve) is about 10 miles southeast of Staten Island Preserve.

So far, I have visited four locations for bird watching in Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta: (1) Woodbridge Ecological Preserve, (2) Cosumnes River Preserve, (3) Beckwith Wildlife Observation Area and (4) Staten Island Preserve.  My photos, movie clips and associated stories from these four locations are on my websites here, here, here and this current website for Staten Island Preserve.

In February 2006, I toured Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, USA and enjoyed fantastic views of many sandhill cranes in action as shown on my website here. I had also seen many sandhill cranes in several other places as shown on my websites here, here, here, here, here, and here.

I have also seen many red crowned white colored cranes (渾身潔白無瑕的 丹頂白鶴) in Texas as shown on my website here.

The index of all my Travelogue websites is here.