Field Journal Entry 9
Date & Location
November 8, 2023
Pacheco Pond | 38°04’36.5″N 122°31’51.6″W | 476 ft
Site Description
Pacheco Pond is a freshwater pond with muddy flats, located across Marin County in Novato, CA. It’s located between residental and industrial areas but it’s a great birding site! The pond is mostly flat with a few rolling hills as the trail continues down. There are a variety of habitats like wetlands, grasslands and coastal scrubs. Some key bird species found here are Mallards, Mute Swans, Black-necked Stilts, American Avocets and Marsh Wrens. Although we went here mainly for Shorebirds, because of the diverse habitats, we saw Songbirds, Raptors and Accipters as well!
Species Account
Ruddy Duck | Oxyura jamaicensis
Ruddy Ducks are small, diving ducks with a big, scoop-shaped bill and a long tail that holds upward. Males have a black cap with a white patch on their head along while females are mostly brown throughout their body with a dark brown cap. Some male ducks, depending on the season, have a chestnut-colored body and blue bills! These ducks are native to North America but they are successful colonizers so they can be found in other parts of the world. Ruddy Ducks are typically found in flocks in freshwater marshes and ponds, which is where we found a large number of them towards the end of our trip. Since they are diving ducks, they like to eat aquatic plants and seeds for their herbivorous diet and small invertebrates on occassion. Ruddy Ducks are monogamous and males find their mates by a series of displays like flicking their tail or bobbing their head — this is intersexual selection since females are being choosy!
Narrative
Starting off at Koret like usual, we left at 8:25 am, which is a little later than usual because Fiza was late and we almost ditched her! The drive to Pacheco Pond wasn’t bad but we saw a Peregrine Falcon perched on a pole while we were driving. We arrived at around 9:00 am and started walking along the pond to get a good look at the shorebirds. It was a little chill but it started to get warm as time passed by. As we continued to walk, we saw a couple of Acorn Woodpeckers and European Starlings and we were able to distinguish them based off of sound. We stood in one spot for some time because there was a lot of bird activity and so we were able to get some good looks at waterfowls and shorebirds. Sadly, we weren’t able to see a Bald Eagle but I was able to spot us a Red-tailed Hawk towards the end of our trip since Dr. Paul was shocked that it took us a while to see one. We saw a lot of species and beat our class record so overall, it was a good day!
Sources
¹ California State Parks, S. of C. Pacheco Pond. CA State Parks. https://www.parks.ca.gov/?page_id=560
² Ruddy duck – eBird. https://ebird.org/species/rudduc
³ Ruddy duck overview, all about birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Overview, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology. https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Ruddy_Duck/overview
