Photo by: Ponders, White-faced Ibis in the Grand Valley (Audubon)

Resources & Publications

Everything you need to understand and take part in BirdReturns — program flyers, management guides, maps, and species references.

BirdReturns Program Resources

PDF BirdReturns Brochure How BirdReturns works across farmland, wetland, and crane habitat programs — timing, habitat types, and seasonal options. View → PDF Central Valley Shorebird Management Guide Science-based guidance on water depth, timing, and field conditions for shorebird habitat. View → PDF Farmlands Field Mapping | Requirements and Examples Guidance and examples on how to submit maps for Farmlands applications. View → PDF Farmlands Field Mapping | Accepted File Types File types accepted for application field maps. View → PDF Farmlands Field Mapping | Field Distances and Clustering Guidance on field per field distances and how to cluster them together View →

Program Maps

PDF BirdReturns Program Regions See the five Central Valley regions where the program operates. View →

External Resources

PDF California Rice Commission Incentive Programs Schedule Conservation Incentive Programs: Calendar and Opportunities in the Central Valley Download ↓

End-of-Year Reports

PDF 2025 BirdReturns | Year in Review 2025 program results for BirdReturns wetland and farmland programs View → PDF 2024 Summer Wetlands Program Results Program results and stats for the 2024 Summer Wetlands Program. View page →

Publications

See full list of publications →

Know your waterbirds

Visual references for the birds you’ll see on BirdReturns fields.

Shorebirds of California’s Central Valley

Can’t find what you need?

Read our FAQs or reach out and the team will send additional materials.