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The Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival 2026, November 6, 2026

Sandhill Cranes in California: Where and When to See Them

4 viewing sites, the months their managers name, and today’s sunrise and sunset at each.

Sep to Mar
Months at the sites
as the site managers print them
4
Viewing sites
4 on the map
786
Reports, last 12 months
iNaturalist research grade
Winter

How sandhill cranes use California

Sandhill cranes, Canada geese, snow geese, tundra swans, and many other birds use Woodbridge Ecological Reserve as their fall and winter home.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

One subspecies is named in these sources: the greater sandhill crane.

Where to go

4 places to see sandhill cranes in California

Woodbridge Ecological Reserve (Isenberg Sandhill Crane Reserve)

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, state wildlife area, Lodi

Cranes Oct to Feb
Family-oriented tours are available during the Sandhill Crane wintering season, which starts in late September.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“Tours occur the first three weekends of the month during October through February”
Where to stand
“Please know you can view cranes any evening at the South unit of the reserve and reservations are not required, yet a Lands Pass is still required.”
Time of day
“Tours usually conclude a half hour after sunset with the anticipated fly-in of the cranes at the North Site where a viewing shelter allows us to be hidden from the incoming birds.”
Tours
“Tours meet 90 minutes before sunset at the South Site where docent guides meet attendees and give a presentation.” Tour page
Hours
“Hours: South Site is open to the public at all times; North Site is only open to docent-led tour groups” Source
Festival
The Lodi Sandhill Crane Festival 2026, November 6 to 8, 2026. Organizer’s page

October 8, 2026 at this site, PDT

Sunrise
7:08 AM
Sunset
6:38 PM
“a half hour after sunset”
7:08 PM
“90 minutes before sunset”
5:08 PM

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026

Merced National Wildlife Refuge

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, national wildlife refuge

Cranes Sep to Mar
Each autumn as many as 20,000 cranes and 60,000 arctic-nesting geese terminate their annual migrations from Alaska and Canada to make the refuge their winter home.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source
When
“Sandhill cranes are abundant on the refuge September through March.”
Where to stand
“Wildlife are showcased from an auto tour route and 4 nature trails, which are open daily throughout the year for visitors.”

October 8, 2026 at this site, PDT

Sunrise
7:04 AM
Sunset
6:35 PM

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, read October 8, 2026

Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge

US Fish and Wildlife Service, national wildlife refuge

The refuge is also a fall staging area for 20 to 30 percent of the central valley population of sandhill crane.
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

October 8, 2026 at this site, PDT

Sunrise
7:12 AM
Sunset
6:36 PM

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, read October 8, 2026

Pixley National Wildlife Refuge

US Fish and Wildlife Service, national wildlife refuge

Cranes Sep and Jan
Cranes begin arriving from northern nesting grounds in September and numbers may peak at around 6,000 birds by January.
US Fish and Wildlife Service, Pixley National Wildlife Refuge, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

October 8, 2026 at this site, PDT

Sunrise
6:59 AM
Sunset
6:31 PM

US Fish and Wildlife Service, Pixley National Wildlife Refuge, read October 8, 2026

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On the map

California crane sites by month

Style
Layers

2 of the 4 mapped sites name October. A pin is colored only when the refuge or agency that runs it prints that month. The shaded grid is where people have logged a verified sandhill crane on iNaturalist in October, in any year, brighter where more have been logged; it maps reports, so it thickens where observers stand.

Festivals

Sandhill crane festival in California

Through the year

When people report sandhill cranes in California

More reports come in November than in any other month. The tally runs from October 8, 2025 for the twelve month figure; the bars combine every year on record.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
5,373 research grade records from California, every year combined, by the month they were made. Most are logged in November. A record is a person’s photograph confirmed by others, so the bars count sightings rather than birds.

786 research grade sandhill crane reports from California in the twelve months to October 8, 2026.

Reading the last thirty days of reports from iNaturalist.

California sandhill crane questions

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Sandhill cranes in other states

Sandhill cranes in every stateThe map of where the cranes are this month, the gatherings and the festivals.Fall migration in CaliforniaThe geese, swans and cranes staging this fall, site by site.Eagle watching in CaliforniaThe winter eagle sites and the months to visit them.Snowy owls in CaliforniaWhere the winter owls are reported in the state.Duck migration reportThe waterfowl counts the refuges publish each week.
About seventy grey sandhill cranes standing in shallow open water and on a strip of tan grass in front of a green tree line
Cranes standing in shallow water in October, the habitat every site on these pages shares. The water keeps them safe overnight; the harvested fields around it feed them through the day. “Flock of wading sandhill cranes”, USFWS Pacific Southwest Region, Public domain

Every fact about California’s cranes links to the refuge, agency or festival page it comes from, each read October 8, 2026. Tour loops, platforms and festival programs change between seasons and close for weather and work, so check the site’s own page before you drive. Sunrise and sunset are computed for each site’s coordinates. Report tallies are iNaturalist research grade records, which count sightings, not birds. Every state is on the sandhill crane migration hub.