Sandhill Crane’s in Lodi, CA

 

If you are like us and you love the sight of hundreds of cranes then you’ll want to visit Lodi, California during the crane season.

Cranes love spending their winters in the California Delta region because Lodi is surrounded by nature preserves.

Cranes fly with their necks outstretched and not pulled back.

They are opportunity feeders, meaning that they will change what they eat according to the season. Their diet consists of small rodents, amphibians, fish, insects, grain, and berries.

They make their nests in shallow water and lay up to two eggs. I love that both of the parents help care for their young until the following breeding season.

 

Cosumnes River Preserve

Cosumnes River Preserve is a place where we went to see sandhill cranes and we definitely found some. This preserve has 46 thousand acres and houses many migratory birds. Here we saw dozens of different birds in a wetland habitat which looked absolutely beautiful. Hundreds of birds were found in the sky while many in the water as well. There is a nice boardwalk on part of the preserve which allowed for us to be above the wetlands rather than looking at them from the distance. This is a good place to visit in the fall.
Located at 13501 Franklin Blvd, Galt, CA 95632.

 

The Woodbridge Ecological Reserve

Woodbridge Ecological Reserve is another place to find sand hill cranes. As soon as we got there we could see them from the parking lot. So we got to view them there for a bit before going to the intended viewing area. While there isn’t as many birds here as the previous preserve we mentioned in this post, the birds here were closer to us and the percentage of sandhill cranes was significantly larger.

Located at 7730 W Woodbridge Rd, Lodi, CA 95242.

 

Sandhill Crane Festival

Sandhill Crane Festival is a good place to go to see people celebrating the existence of sandhill cranes. There is an art gallery with photos, paintings, and a variety of other art pieces here. We could definitely see the effort the people who had made the pieces had put into them. The also had an exhibitor area in which we found crane preservation groups, binocular salesmen, photographers, and artists. There were not many booths but all of them are able to hold the interest of anyone interested in cranes. Both indoors and outside you can find information on sandhill cranes. And in various places here we found crafts to participate in. This is a really neat festival to attend and I love that the main focus was about cranes.

Located at Hutchins Street Square, Lodi, CA.

World of Wonders Science Museum

World of Wonders Science Museum is like many others we have visited but different in many ways. First of all there are a lot of puzzles here from digital ones like tentris to physical ones like one where there are two horseshoes connected by chains with a loop around the chains which you have to remove. They also had the typical bubble activity and a handful of other attractions. The one that got our attention was an exhibit in which machines assist so that you stay in the air longer. The idea is that it is calculated so that you can move similarly to how it would occur on the moon. This exhibit is one that only operates for certain periods of time. Most people who went on it didn’t do very well. Only a handful moved at a decent speed. It sure was fun to watch. Walking on the moon is way harder than it seems.

Located at 2 N Sacramento St, Lodi, CA 95240.

Pondl Winery

Lodi has many wineries to choose from but we wanted to go somewhere that was more quiet and hidden. We believe tasting wine should be a relaxing experience and that is exactly what you will get here. This winery can seat six people indoors. We took our wine and went outdoors. They have three picnic tables to choose from.

Tasting fee is $5 per person but if you purchase one of their wines then you’ll get a refund.

We enjoyed the 2017 Chardonnay which is known as “The Lady” as well as their 2917 Sympothy known as “The Playboy.”

Located at 665 W Turner Rd, Lodi, CA 95242.

 

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