Take in wild sights and sounds as swans, waterfowl return to Marysville rice fields ahead of tours

Sacramento Valley farmers have joined with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to offer free swan tours near Marysville on Saturdays through January.

To get an idea of what you can see on the tours, Sacramento Bee photographer Hector Amezcua captured the amazing sights and sounds of the swans in a video at sacbee.com.

The naturalist-led tours will focus on tundra swans in one of the premier viewing locations for viewing swans in all of California. Ducks, geese, ibis, shorebirds, herons, egrets and raptors are also commonly seen in the area, which contains 23,000 acres of rice fields, along the Pacific Flyway.

Tours are held on Saturdays from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 3 p.m. The driving tours also involve walking a short distance. Carpooling is encouraged.

Pre-registration is required at www.wildlife.ca.gov/regions/2/swan-tours , or call (916) 358-2869. Up to 30 people can register for each tour.

This story was originally published December 7, 2018 at 12:10 PM with the headline "Take in wild sights and sounds as swans, waterfowl return to Marysville rice fields ahead of tours."