California Ricelands and Waterbird Habitat
- Part I:
Overview of Ricelands and Waterbird Habitat - Part II:
Overview of Waterbird Ecology and Conservation
Goals/Needs - Part III:
Sacramento Valley Species Snapshot - Part IV:
Riceland Shorebirds - Part V:
Riceland Wading Birds - Part VI:
Riceland Marsh Birds - Part VII:
Riceland Waterfowl - Part VIII:
Cooperative Partnerships to Enhance Ricelands Habitats - Part IX:
Riceland Waterbirds Future Vision - Part X:
Technical References
Part V: Riceland Wading Birds
Whether they are foraging in flooded or dry conditions, herons and egrets stalk their prey from above, and with a fast grab, snatch crayfish, frogs, snakes, lizards and small mammals. Other wading birds, such as ibis and cranes, forage on invertebrates and seeds on the soil surface or by probing soft substrates. All wading birds are fairly large with long legs and bills.
Wading birds use a diverse range of habitats including open water, wetlands with vegetation, or flooded fields containing growing rice or (after harvest) rice stubble. Herons and egrets breed in trees along rivers but ibis nest in stands of tules or cattails in marshes. Most species are colonial, meaning that many pairs may nest together; often multiple species nest in the same colony. Wading birds do not breed in rice but use rice fields to find food year round.
Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets and Great Blue Herons forage along the internal field levees and water-boxes looking for crayfish and in growing rice fields year round. These species prefer water depths between 3 and 6 inches.
Sandhill Cranes are here only in the winter and eat waste grain and invertebrates in post-harvest rice fields. They prefer harvest-only fields (no mechanical decomposition applied) but sometimes forage in disked or burned fields that are not flooded.
White-faced Ibis nest in emergent vegetation of wetlands, but rice is a key agricultural habitat in the state for foraging during breeding, migration, and winter. This species made a great comeback in the 90’s from very low population numbers in the 60’s and 70’s. The exact reason for the population increase is unknown, but habitat quality improvement is a sure factor. Managed wetlands (for nesting) together with rice fields (for foraging) are important contributors to good habitat for ibis in the Sacramento Valley.