Pacheco Pond
November 8, 2023
(38.07718° N, -122.5316° W)
Elevation = 476 feet
https://ebird.org/checklist/S154354785
Site Description:
Pacheco Pond is a pond located in Novato, and is managed by the Marin County Flood Control District and California Fish & Wildlife. It is a freshwater pond, and is filled with water birds. The area is majority flat, with a few tall trees filled with woodpeckers surrounding it. It was surrounded by plains, and was actually pretty close to civilization. There were cars driving past every 5 seconds.
Species Account:
Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)
The Snowy Egret is a heron found all over North and South America. It tends to live in marshes, and can be found stalking in order to catch fish, which make up its diet. They have white plumage with black eyes and yellow feet. Something interesting is that they often use their feet to herd small aquatic animals. Their plumes were once sought after by the fashion industry which made them endangered, but thanks to conservation efforts they are back and no longer endangered. I’m glad to hear this as this one of my favorite birds to see. In terms of what we learned in lecture today, both male and female birds take turns incubating their eggs and both continue parenting them together after the eggs hatch. A fun fact is that the oldest Snowy Egret on record is 17 years and 7 months old.
Narrative:
It was a 45 minute ride to Pacheco Pond, and on our way there we not only spotted a Peregrine but a Merlin as well. Once we got to the pond we walked along the road towards the side of the pond. The trees that were on the left of the pond were abundant with birds and I even saw a few Acorn Woodpeckers. I recognized their call, which did sound like a clown’s laugh. There was also a scrub jay there. It was cool that we saw the amount of the birds that we did, and I think we actually beat our field trip record. What I enjoyed was the swans and egrets. They’re some of my favorite birds, so it was just fun to see them move around the water and do their thing. The swans were amazing, and we got lucky and got to see a swan couple make hearts with their necks. I’ve only ever heard of this so it was so cool to see it happen in person. The terrain was mostly flat so it was much different from the hiking that we’ve been doing on our other trips.
Works Cited:
https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Snowy_Egret/overview#