Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge

The Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge covers 3,000 acres of salt marsh, mudflat, and wetland at the southern end of Humboldt Bay, about eight miles south of Eureka on Highway 101. It is one of the premier shorebird and waterfowl areas in California, with observation platforms, interpretive trails, and a visitor centre that explains the ecology of the Pacific Flyway. Peak birding is in autumn (September to November), when the migration is at its height, but the refuge holds resident populations year-round.

The auto tour route can be driven in about 40 minutes; the walking trails add another hour or two. Tule elk were reintroduced to the refuge and a small herd is often visible from the trail. The refuge is also an excellent place to watch the interaction between the tidal cycle and the bay's ecology — the mudflats transform completely between high and low tide, with a different cast of birds visible at each stage.

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A story
Humboldt Bay is a critical stopover on the Pacific Flyway — the migration corridor used by shorebirds traveling between Alaska and Central and South America. Up to a million birds pass through in a single autumn season. The bay's salt marshes and tidal mudflats are among the most productive shorebird habitats remaining on the Pacific Coast, which is why the federal government established the refuge in 1971 to protect what the cities around the bay had not yet consumed.