Wetland wildlife is most abundant in winter, when birds such as cinnamon teal and northern pintail use the refuge.

It was a northern pintail!

There are also very large seasonal concentrations of northern pintails, loons, grebes, swans and cranes.

Waterfowl associated with the state's aquatic areas include northern pintail, mallard, America wigeon, redhead and wood ducks as well as Canada and snow geese.

Black ducks, mallards and northern pintails are common winter visitors.

Among them particularly numerous are tufted ducks, pochards, and northern pintails.

A special emphasis is placed on providing shallow flooded rice; native moist soil plant fields preferred by northern pintails.

Sharon Marino, the deputy refuge manager, said green-winged teals, hooded mergansers and northern pintails are seen at this time.

In the 1980's, some of the most common duck species, such as mallards, blue-winged teals and northern pintails, declined sharply.

The birding season begins in early February with the arrival of northern pintails and large flocks of snow geese and tundra swans.