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Editor's note: In the Oct. 29 story about Crane Day at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, an incorrect location was given for the event. Crane Day will be held at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge on West Sandy Mush Road. The Sun-Star regrets the error.
The Merced National Wildlife Refuge said it would hold guided tours showcasing sandhill cranes Saturday, Nov. 7, at 8 and 10 a.m.
It's called Crane Day.
Merced Sun-Star photo by Marci Stenberg - Two sandhill cranes show their wings in the wetlands near Los Banos.
Refuge staffers will lead guided bus tours showing the Lesser Sandhill Cranes that make the refuge their winter home.
The refuge and nearby landscape are home to the largest winter concentration of Lesser Sandhill Cranes along the Pacific Flyway. Officials estimate that as many as 20,000 cranes spend the winter on the refuge.
The birds are 4 feet tall with 6-foot wingspans breed in northern Canada, Alaska and Siberia and mate for life.
Space on the tours is limited.
The first tour will leave at 8 a.m. and will last about 90 minutes. The second tour will leave at 10 a.m. Reservations are encouraged, and any seats left after reservations have been called will be filled on a first-come first-served basis.
You can make reservations by calling (209) 826-3508.
The refuge, under supervision of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, is on the south side of Sandy Mush Road about eight miles west of Highway 59.
If traveling from the south, take Highway 152 to Highway 59 north and turn left on Sandy Mush. If traveling from the north, use Highway 99 south and connect in Merced with Highway 59 south. Continue south on Highway 59 to Sandy Mush Road and turn right.
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