Coppertone and I made a return visit to Hudeman Slough to map out a few more trail segments we missed the first time. But we also wanted to get a sense of the place with a bit more water in the "marshes". During our previous hike in October we still had not received any rain of note since last winter. Other than the two filtration ponds there was no water to be seen.
After some heavy rain in November we thought a return visit would be a refreshing change. We wanted to see ducks and shorebirds like we had seen elsewhere in the wildlife area nearer American Canyon. We did see a few more birds than during our previous visit here, but still not many. And although there was more water in the marsh area we didn't see a single bird on the water, just a few sheltering along the shore.
It was a cold and blusterly day, so maybe the birds had more sense than we did. Once we got moving long enough we were able to generate enough body heat to compensate.
For a good deal of the time during our hike we could hear a nearly constant volley of gunfire off in the distance to the east of Hudeman Slough. Given the frequency of discharges it just had to have been target practice.
We didn't see anyone else on the trails. The only people observed were driving or biking along the road. We finished mapping what we believe to be the remainder of the trail segments in this unit of the wildlife area and headed back to the car to warm up.
