Visitors to California go for various reasons but tourism officials have come up with a new rationale many of us may have overlooked: seeing wildlife in their natural setting.
“Whether out on a backpacking excursion in the middle of the wilderness or strolling through one of the state’s largest cities, California affords visitors the opportunity to see a broad variety of wildlife, many of which are specific to the Golden State,†said Caroline Beteta, president and chief executive officer for the California Travel and Tourism Commission (CTTC).
Just a few examples cited by the CTTC:
- The winter and spring months are the most dramatic seasons to visit Huntington Beach, part of the Orange County Region because the city lies within the famous Pacific Flyway, a corridor extending from Alaska to Patagonia that serves as a pathway for millions of migrating birds, of which 70 species can be counted in one month.
- Located 18 miles west of Delano and just north of Bakersfield in the Central Valley Region, the Kern National Wildlife Refuge offers nearly 11,300 acres of pristine grasslands and marshes, along with the endangered Buena Vista Lake shrew, San Joaquin kit fox and blunt-nosed leopard lizard.
- The Wind Wolves Preserve, 30 miles south of Bakersfield, is the largest non-profit preserve on the West Coast with its 97,000 acres, and is home to 200 tule elk.
- In Yolo County, tens of thousands of waterfowl and shorebirds can be seen resting and feeding during the winter and spring migration months (October to April) at the Yolo Bypass Wildlife Area, one of the country’s largest public/private restoration projects, where 16,000 acres of land have been restored to wetlands and other associated habitats.
- In the Southern California mountains, Lake Arrowhead, part of the Inland Empire Region also boasts a wide variety of bird species, including year-round populations of waterfowl along with migratory birds seasonally. The area’s mixed conifer and deciduous forest is also home to a myriad of woodland bird species.
- In the North Coast Region, Mendocino County is one of the best spots in the world for whale watching. The migrating whales pass by once going south between the months of November and February, and again heading north between February and June. Visitors can often observe the gentle giants of the Pacific right from shore, while pods nestle in Mendocino’s tame coves – especially Point Cabrillo, under the lighthouse – to feed their young and rest.
Report by David Wilkening
