Mooney Island
Map SatelliteMooney Island lies to the west and south and across the Sacramento River from Todd Island. It supports a good example of the valley riparian community. Portions of the island are densely covered with cottonwood, Populus fremontii, Oregon ash, Fraxinus latifolia, and various willows, Salix lasiolepis, Salix gooddingii ssp., and Salix hindsiana, and a thick understory.
Birds, mammals and various invertebrates are abundant including the river otter, Lutra canadensis. There is a heron rookery here and the rare yellow-billed cuckoo, Coccyzus americanus occidentalis, breeds here.
Integrity: Portions of the island flood during high water.
Use: Research, educational, observational, except during breeding season of the cuckoo. Portion private.
Ref: Gaines, David, 1974. Distribution, Density, and Habitat Requirements of the California Yellow-Billed Cuckoo in the Sacramento Valley; 1972-73. California Department of Fish and Game, Sacramento. Mimeo. 20 pp.
September 1975
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman