San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary

Though in the middle of a business center, tucked in beside a university and a water treatment plant in a busy city, the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary has a surprising sense of stillness. The smells are of the woodlands and the sounds are the rustling of willow, alder and cottonwoods.

The paths are wide and level, there are strategically placed benches, and restrooms at the parkng lot and at distant points on the trail. The trail map bears a distinct resemblance to the actual trail, which is not always the case, so getting lost is entirely voluntary. The area covers natural and rehailitated wetlands, and man-made ponds, and the trail system is a series of increasingly larger loops.

The fog didn't make for great images.

Bird list:

California Thrasher (Pictured above)

Spotted Towhee (Pictured above)

Yellow Warbler

Red-Winged Blackbird

American White Pelican

Brown Pelican

Black Phoebe

Savannah Sparrow

MacGillivray's Warbler

Anna's Hummingbird

Allen's Hummingbird

Black-winged Stilt

American Avocet

Great Blue Heron

Snowy Egret

Great Egret

Mallard

Black-necked Grebe

Pied-billed Grebe

Northern Shoveler

Ruddy Duck

Green-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Greenshank

Forster's Tern

Mourning Dove

Osprey