Valley of the Ducks

The distant Sutter Buttes mountain range is framed in a gentle backdrop of fall and winter colors. Quacks, whistles and wings fill the air overhead. There’s no question where you are: in the center of the Sacramento Valley and the heart of the Pacific Flyway . . . the Butte Sink.
All eyes are on guard, never knowing what may plummet in next—zipping green-winged or cinnamon teal, curious mallards, elegant northern pintails and everything in between. A potpourri of waterfowl. Never should you relax . . . .
The word is given—“Take ’em”—and you rise out of the barrel like a jack-in-the-box. The moment of truth.
Sometimes the results are better than could be hoped for: a banded greenhead!
Countless flights of sprig jostle with mallards, gadwalls and others over flooded rice and marsh. Nature, beautifully engineered, in flight and in hand.
As the day draws to a close, you pause to admire. Celebrating moments and memories that will last a lifetime. A magnificent bouquet of variety, color and beauty that could be found only in California’s Sacramento Valley. The Valley of the Ducks.

Editor’s Note: Bill Gaines, president of the California Outdoor Heritage Alliance, and photographer Lee Thomas Kjos were guests on the television show “Benelli on Assignment,” which airs on the Versus channel.