Mendota Wildlife Area (11,825 acres) in the central San Joaquin Valley, CA

www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/articles/mendota01.html

Birding:
There are more than 165 species and sub-species known to occur or reside on the area, including shorebirds, songbirds, raptors, waterfowl and wading birds.

Mammals commonly found on the area include coyotes, muskrats, beavers, minks, raccoons, weasels, black-tailed hares, cottontail rabbits, spotted and striped skunks, and ground squirrels.

Habitat management included the identification and management of wetland and upland habitats critical to many species.

Of the many species supported and encouraged by DFG's management activities at Mendota, the white-faced ibis showed one of the most significant responses through increased nesting activity.

In 1978, white-faced ibis established a rookery that has since occurred each year along with black-crowned night herons and snowy egrets. Prior to 1978, no record of nesting by white-faced ibis had been recorded in the San Joaquin Valley for about 20 years.

Since 1978, the white-faced ibis breeding population at Mendota Wildlife Area has expanded from four breeding pair in 1978 to 7,120 ibis counted during the annual fly-out survey conducted as they left the rookery in 2001.

The initial decline of white-faced ibis nesting throughout the 1950s was caused by changes in land use and loss of nesting habitat throughout the San Joaquin Valley. DFG credits the increase in semi-permanent wetlands and the irrigating of uplands which commenced in 1992.

Over the years, not only white-faced ibis have increased at Mendota. Great-blue heron numbers have increased and now Mendota Wildlife Area has five rookeries.

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Mendota Wildlife Area (11,825 acres) in the central San Joaquin Valley, CA

www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/articles/mendota01.html

Hunting and fishing:
Game species include ducks, geese, snipes, coots, doves, pheasants, cottontail rabbits, black tailed hares and raccoons. The 600 acres that make up the Fresno Slough offer the angler a chance to catch crappie, catfish, bluegill, carp, and black and striped bass.

The use of firearms is limited to shotguns only. The area is open 24 hours a day for all recreational use from the close of waterfowl season in January to Sept. 16, though one portion of the area is closed to dog training during nesting season from April 1 to June 30. The area is open to fishing 24 hours a day, but only by boat during the waterfowl-hunting season.

Mendota annually accounts for approximately 10 percent of the ducks harvested on California’s 40 public waterfowl hunting areas. Over 9,000 acres are open to hunting, the largest allotment of public hunting land on any single wildlife area or refuge in the Central Valley of California. Thanks to the vast size of the hunting area, Mendota accommodates over 10,000 hunter days per year and, amazingly, never seems crowded.

A key element of hunting Mendota is finding where the birds are feeding. The bulk of the feed comes from two marsh plants — swamp timothy, a low-growing annual that produces lots of seeds and provides sheet-water conditions when flooded; and watergrass, a robust-seed producing plant that can be chest-high during the fall.

© All Rights Reserved

Mendota Wildlife Area (11,825 acres) in the central San Joaquin Valley, CA

www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/articles/mendota01.html

Mendota annually accounts for approximately 10 percent of the ducks harvested on California’s 40 public waterfowl hunting areas. Over 9,000 acres are open to hunting, the largest allotment of public hunting land on any single wildlife area or refuge in the Central Valley of California. Thanks to the vast size of the hunting area, Mendota accommodates over 10,000 hunter days per year and, amazingly, never seems crowded.

A key element of hunting Mendota is finding where the birds are feeding. The bulk of the feed comes from two marsh plants — swamp timothy, a low-growing annual that produces lots of seeds and provides sheet-water conditions when flooded; and watergrass, a robust-seed producing plant that can be chest-high during the fall.

© All Rights Reserved

Mendota Wildlife Area (11,825 acres) in the central San Joaquin Valley, CA

www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/articles/mendota01.html

Mendota annually accounts for approximately 10 percent of the ducks harvested on California’s 40 public waterfowl hunting areas. Over 9,000 acres are open to hunting, the largest allotment of public hunting land on any single wildlife area or refuge in the Central Valley of California. Thanks to the vast size of the hunting area, Mendota accommodates over 10,000 hunter days per year and, amazingly, never seems crowded.

A key element of hunting Mendota is finding where the birds are feeding. The bulk of the feed comes from two marsh plants — swamp timothy, a low-growing annual that produces lots of seeds and provides sheet-water conditions when flooded; and watergrass, a robust-seed producing plant that can be chest-high during the fall.

A Hunter's View:
"It was January and the teal were predictably abundant by this point in the season, so we made a late decision on Friday to go duck hunting the next morning. With two dozen decoys and minimal preparation, we made the slow jaunt through the fog from Jon’s place near Madera to the entrance to the wildlife area at the Mendota Slough, arriving less than an hour before daylight.

The first-half hour was interesting with teal zipping in and out of the fog, widgeon and shovelers floating overhead, and the occasional grunt of a pair of mallards. Shots rang out in the distance as other hunters undoubtedly whacked away at the frenetic flights of greenwings, but we had the wetland unit to ourselves so we let the morning unfold at a gentle pace.

Soon a group of teal were headed our way, their beep-beep shrill growing increasingly loud. Blowing hard on the teal whistle, I shuffled my feet and got ready. At last, they materialized out of the fog and flared straight up in classic fashion. We each dropped a drake and missed our second shots as they curled away. Moments later, it was the same drill, then again shortly thereafter. We missed a couple easy chances, but connected more regularly than usual and by 10:00 the mat in tules behind our duck stools was adorned with a harvest of nine greenwings, mostly drakes.

After a lull in the action, Jon broke the green-wing flush with a nice drake cinnamon teal. Finally, as if on cue from the memory of the days of my youth, we got some interest from a small group of pintails. The sprig circled overhead, whistling, and floated by the first time, just out of range. We whistled and waited patiently as the episode played out three times, slightly long on each pass. Finally, they locked up on the decoys in that beautiful cup. We rose up and each crunched a drake, and Jon’s young Lab made successive nice retrieves.

Back in the blind, we warmed the soul with a hot cup of coffee and talked quietly. It didn’t really matter if we filled out the limit or not. The day was rich beyond words already, and there was no place else we’d rather be on a Saturday morning in January.

Twenty minutes later, another flock of teal decoyed perfectly and we stoned our final two birds. It was a classic late-season Mendota duck hunt, the kind that makes for a long wait between February and Thanksgiving each year."

Dave Smith, Dec.5, 2011
www.gameandfishmag.com/hunting/duck-hunting-mendota-wildl...

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Mendota Wildlife Area (11,825 acres) in the central San Joaquin Valley, CA

www.dfg.ca.gov/lands/articles/mendota01.html

Birding:
There are more than 165 species and sub-species known to occur or reside on the area, including shorebirds, songbirds, raptors, waterfowl and wading birds.

Mammals commonly found on the area include coyotes, muskrats, beavers, minks, raccoons, weasels, black-tailed hares, cottontail rabbits, spotted and striped skunks, and ground squirrels.

© All Rights Reserved