Field Journal Entry 3
Date & Location
September 13, 2023
Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District | 38°01’38.7″N 122°30’56.1″W | 5.2 ft
Site Description
The Las Gallinas Ponds are a part of Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District, located in the San Rafael Baylands, which is a wetland area adjacent to the San Pablo Bay, in Marin County. The topography of the Las Gallinas Ponds is relatively flat with low elevations ranging from sea level to about 10 feet. The general habitat of the ponds include wetland, salt marshes and agricultural fields, where we saw various types of birds like Cinnamon Teals, Snowy Egrets, Green Herons and Barn swallows. Although birds can be seen year-round, the best time to see birds here is during the fall and spring migrations! Common bird species that are seen at Las Gallinas Ponds are ducks, geese, herons, egrets and shorebirds.
Species Account
Red-winged Blackbird | Agelaius phoeniceus
Red-winged Blackbirds are among the most abundant and widely distributed birds in North America. They can be found in a variety of habitats, including marshes, swamps, meadows, fields and they can also be found in urban areas like parks, gardens and parking lots. Throughout our time at Las Gallinas Ponds, we saw numerous male Red-winged Blackbirds fly up and across us. The Red-winged Blackbird is a medium-sized songbird with a distinctive black and red plumage. Male red-winged blackbirds have glossy black feathers and bright red shoulder patches that are visible when they fly or perch in a conspicuous way. We saw many red-winged blackbirds fly across areas like wet meadows with tall grasses & reeds and agricultural fields with tall crops. These birds are omnivorous, meaning they eat both plants and animals, including seeds, insects and small animals. Male red-winged blackbirds are polygynous, which means that they mate with multiple females. In addition, they are very territorial where they will aggressively defend their territories from other males. On the other hand, females build the nests and raise the young alone. These birds are a beautiful, fascinating species and are a common sight in North America!
Narrative
At approximately 8:45 am, we arrived at Las Gallinas Ponds and started birding around 8:54 am. Right as we got there, it was sunny and warm with a slight breeze and stayed consistent as we left the site. We walked to a bridge after we got out of the cars and saw a couple of common bird species such as American Crows and a couple of Red-winged Blackbirds. Then, we walked to a pond where we saw numerous ducks such as mallards, Northern Shovelers and Northern Pintails. Frequently, there were a lot of Canada Geese and Red-winged blackbirds that flew over us. On the other side of the pond was an agricultural field where we saw a Northern Harrier. It was soaring in the air for a while as it was trying to hunt for prey! We kept walking along the pond and saw some egrets, herons and more mallards. As we continued walking, we saw a variety of bird species like Mute Swans, Snowy Egrets, Marsh Wrens and an American Pelican! The class saw some blackberries along the trail and picked some to eat because we got hungry and it was too tempting not to :’)
Sources
¹ Red-winged blackbird – eBird. (n.d.). https://ebird.org/species/rewbla
² Yasukawa, K., & Searcy, W. A. (2020, March 4). Red-winged blackbird (agelaius phoeniceus). Birds of the World. https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/rewbla/cur/introduction
