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» Merced National Wildlife Refuge
» Southeast Platform
The Southeast Viewing Platform
This platform is in prime sunset-watching territory facing west across the waters at the southeast end of the driving tour (see the green balloon at lower right on the trail map). Geese often gather in truly enormous quantities just to the north of here, steering a bit clear of the platform itself, which they've noticed seems to draw humans, but there are generally lots of other waterfowl dotting the water nearby. The photo below points in a bit more southerly direction and includes the platform's picnic table, which, combined with the one at the main entrance, gives the refuge a working capacity of two picnics. No bathrooms at this locale, though. These photos tend to understate the numbers of birds you can see here in the winter, both because the birds begin clearing away for their overnight roosts around sunset and because the long exposures used here render invisible any birds that aren't keeping absolutely still.
Also the Southeast Viewing Platform