accompanies the experience. Built for Visitor Centers & Recreation Services slinking through narrow passages in dense Common vegetation, rails are deep-bodied but nar- ARDENWOOD HISTORIC FARM row birds with amazing flexibility. Seldom Fremont (510) 796-0633 seen, Virginia and sora rails become more [email protected] Marshbirds visible as seasonal marsh ponds shrink in BLACK DIAMOND MINES of the size in late summer. Rails will move away Antioch (925) 757-2620 from the protection of dense cattails to [email protected] East Bay Regional Parks forage at water’s edge to take advantage of the food available in remaining pools. COYOTE HILLS REGIONAL PARK Look for the short yellow bill and black Fremont (510) 795-9385 [email protected] ©Jim Dunn face and throat of the sora and the longer MARSH WREN (juvenile) bill and rusty breast of the Virginia. Both CRAB COVE at CROWN BEACH Cistothorus palustris species possess long thin toes for gripping Alameda (510) 521-6887 L 5" WS 6" vegetation, short chicken-like tails, and [email protected] bright red eyes. A diminutive brown bird, clinging near SUNOL REGIONAL WILDERNESS the top of a cattail stem with its tail held Sunol (925) 862-2601 stiffly vertical while producing a fussy, As you study and enjoy the fascinating [email protected] buzzing song may be your first lucky birds of the freshwater marsh ecosystem TILDEN NATURE AREA/EEC glimpse of the marsh wren. More than please help us continue to protect this and LITTLE FARM likely, however, you’ll hear the chatter- rare habitat. Always remain on marked Berkeley (510) 525-2233 ing call of this somewhat elusive bird trails and don’t disturb or collect plants or [email protected] before you see it. The industrious male wildlife. wren builds up to four nests each spring AQUATICS UNIT eagerly awaiting an approving female (510) 544-2517 [email protected] to select her favorite. When the finicky Text: Jan Southworth shopper has made her choice the couple Cover photos: top, snowy egret by OUTDOOR RECREATION UNIT lines the nest with plant down and pro- Don Jedlovec & bottom, Virginia rail by Distict-wide programs (510) 544-2512 ceeds to raise one or two broods each Jim Dunn. [email protected] breeding season. Males and females Regional Parks Botanic Garden look alike. Adult birds have bold white c/o Tilden Regional Park, eyebrows and white streaking on the Berkeley, (510) 841-8732 back and a thin, slightly re-curved bill. FURTHER READING: [email protected], www.nativeplants.org The Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western SORA & VIRGINIA RAIL (Virginia rail This brochure is provided as a public service of the shown on cover, bottom) North America, David Allen Sibley, IBSN Interpretive and Recreation Services Department Porzana carolina Rallus limicola 0-679-45121-8 of the East Bay Regional Park District. L 8.75" WS 14" L 9.5" WS 14" Birds of Northern California, David Fix EAST BAY REGIONAL PARK DISTRICT Rails, by far, are the most secretive birds and Andy Bezener, ISBN 1-55105-227-X 2950 Peralta Oaks Ct., P.O. Box 5381 of the marshland environment. When Oakland, CA 94605-0381 you finally glimpse one, feel privileged Water Birds of California, Howard L. Cog- (510) 635-0135 and enjoy the rush of excitement that swell, ISBN 0-520-02699-3 TRS Relay for the Hearing Impaired: 711 East Bay Regional Park District www.ebparks.org 6/07 www. ebparks.org reshwater marshes are rich, vibrant saturated with abundant food resources in tilt bottoms-up to extract seeds, insects, when it notices you. Like other grebes, F habitats that have received an unde- the form of insects and vegetation, worms and other organisms from the mud. Diving this species nests on floating masses served bad reputation. Often thought of as and other invertebrates, fish, and crusta- birds like grebes and ruddy ducks disap- of vegetation and frequently carries its swamps and “bottomlands,” many people ceans all supported by dense vegetation. pear, “swim-flying” long distances through young on its back. The raucous chimp- think of marshes as dangerous wastelands, Although reduced by more than 75% today, dim water to deftly capture fast-moving like call of the pied-billed is a memora- mosquito-infested cauldrons of murky these food-rich marshland habitats con- fish. ble component of the marshland spring water where humans invariably have mis- tinue to provide the critical “wayside rest- chorus. adventures. During the last two centuries stops” along this aerial highway. According to California naturalist and this view and the ease with which shallow birder Arnold Small, “No other birding wetlands can be filled in for commercial The East Bay Regional Park District has experience can equal that of a spring dawn and agricultural development have led to been successful in its work to preserve in a freshwater marsh.” It may be time to their widespread destruction within the spectacular examples of this increasingly look more closely at your local marsh. contiguous United States. rare habitat within the Bay Area. One of You’ll discover that it’s not a wasteland but these is among the top-rated birding areas a natural treasure full of intricacy and the Because water is essential to the survival in western North America—Coyote Hills power to delight, an ecological masterpiece of every living organism, aquatic habitats Regional Park. Other fine examples of well worthy of protection and study. So are home to a vast diversity of living freshwater marshland habitat may be found grab your binoculars and take a bird walk things, and freshwater marshes are no at Martinez Regional Shoreline, Hayward in the marsh soon. Described and pictured exception. Far from a wasteland, a healthy Regional Shoreline, Waterbird Marsh Pre- below are a few of the many intriguing marsh is a biological soup full of the very serve, and Big Break Regional Shoreline. marshland celebrities to entice you. “liquid of life.” Swamps and freshwater marshes, however, are different wetland Of all California bird habitats, freshwater habitats with two basic features in com- marshes have one of the highest percent- mon—they are both filled with shallow ages of species exclusive to the intricate ©Don Jedlovec standing, not running, water and they marsh environment. Divers, dabblers, GREAT BLUE HERON foster an abundance of plant life. Freshwa- gleaners, probers, long-legged waders, and Ardea herodias ter marsh vegetation is composed of grassy songbirds, the avian inhabitants of the L 46” WS 72” sedges and reeds like cattails, tules, and marsh display myriad adaptations for bulrushes whereas swamp ecosystems are feeding and nesting within this ecosystem. By far the tallest bird seen in our bay actually wetland forests, vegetated with Red-winged blackbirds, marsh wrens, and area marshes, the great blue heron has trees and shrubs—typical of the Southeast yellowthroats find easy concealment for a six-foot wing-span. With its harsh United States. their nests and protection from predators squawking call and lumbering flight, among the tangled marsh reeds. Rails and ©Jim Dunn this species conveys strong hints at the When the first Europeans arrived in the bitterns, the most elusive birds of the reptilian ancestry of birds. Flying low PIED-BILLED GREBE 1700s, San Francisco Bay was rimmed by marsh, glean seeds and stalk aquatic over the marsh, this heron resembles Podilymbus podiceps a vast system of fresh and saltwater marsh- invertebrates, silently squeezing between the pterodactyl of your childhood dino- L 13” WS 16” es which stretched from the south end plant stems and melting away at the slight- saur collection. Remarkably, the great along both sides of the Bay all the way to est hint of danger. Egrets and herons stand This small, plump, brown bird with a dark- blue, like the great and snowy egrets, is the Golden Gate. These marshes existed motionlessly and ever watchful in marsh banded bill shaped like that of a chicken colonial, nesting in groups on large twig along the route of an ancient “sky-high- shallows, ready to snatch unwary fish, is an inconspicuous but intriguing inhabit- platform-nests high in trees sometimes way” known as the Pacific Flyway, a frogs, and crayfish as well as rodents like ant of the marsh. The secretive pied-billed several miles from the marsh. may slowly submerge, like a tiny feathered distinct flight path for millions of migratory mice and muskrats. Resident dabbling L = Body length from bill tip to tail tip birds. Bay Area marshlands are literally ducks like the pintail, mallard, and shoveler submarine, leaving only its head exposed, WS = Wing span ©Don Jedlovec ©Jim Dunn ©Don Jedlovec ©Jim Dunn SNOWY EGRET GREAT EGRET RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD CINNAMON TEAL Egretta thula Ardea alba Agelaius phoeniceus Anas cyanoptera L 24" WS 41" L 39" WS 51" L 8.75 " WS 13" L 16" WS 22" The National Audubon Society, formed In 1886, while taking two walks down Scarlet shoulder patches bordered with a The brilliant rusty-red plumage and in 1888, ushered in the bird conservation the streets of New York, naturalist Frank band of yellow against satin-black wings bright ruby eyes of the male cinnamon movement, adopted this species as its Chapman recorded sighting 40 differ- and body provide the eye-catching and teal is an unmistakable and striking symbol and helped save it from extinc- ent species of dead birds and bird parts unmistakable diagnostic markings of sight. This species is known to nest tion. Feather hunters in the 19th and adorning women’s hats. During the hey- the male red-wing. These striking physi- locally and, unlike many other ducks, early 20th centuries killed birds by the day of the plumage trade for the Victo- cal features combined with a loud raspy male and female remain together as a thousands at nesting sites. Elegant egret rian fashion industry, many bird species song and an aggressively pugnacious couple throughout much of the nest- nuptial plumes were sold for up to 80 suffered steep declines in population. manner allow the polygynous male to ing season. The mottled brown female dollars per ounce (three to four times the Egrets were prime targets for the millinery defend a large nesting territory, chasing lays 7–12 eggs in a grassy cup-shaped price of gold at the time). Thankfully, in trade because of their delicate pure-white even raptors away and attracting several nest. Like other "dabbling ducks" the later decades, the snowy egret popula- nuptial or breeding plumes. Today, thanks mates each breeding season. Females cinnamon teal feeds an aquatic plants, tion made a successful comeback. Today to conservation efforts, the sight of an el- are mottled brown with dark streak- seeds, snails, and insects. Also like it is not uncommon to see dozens of egant great egret high-stepping gracefully ing on the breast and faint rust-brown other "dabblers" this distinctive duck egrets in local marshes. In spring, a fully about the marsh or deftly impaling a fish shoulder patches. Both seed-eating and can explode out of the water into flight bedecked snowy, adorned with gossamer is a common birding experience. While insectivorous, red-winged blackbirds when alarmed. In flight, look for a light nuptial plumes on head, neck, and back, common in marshlands, this tall bird will feed their young a strictly insect protein blue patch in the upperwing feathers. is a glamorous sight to behold. Unlike also hunt in open fields, particularly in diet. Redwing flocks are a common sight the great egret that stands motionlessly agricultural areas. It also nesta and roosts in most cattail and tule marshes and for long periods waiting patiently for colonially high in tree tops. Notice the usually nest exclusively in freshwater unwary prey to approach, the snowy black legs and bright yellow bill. marshes. pursues its prey by scuffling along in the shallows, agitating the mud with its feet. Notice its black legs and “golden slip- pers” or bright yellow feet.
©Jim Dunn ©Jim Dunn ©Jim Dunn ©Don Jedlovec NORTHERN SHOVELER NORTHERN PINTAIL RUDDY DUCK AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN Anas clypeata Anas acuta Oxyura jamaicensis Pelecanus erythrorhynchos L 19" WS 30" L 21–25" WS 34" L 15" WS 18.5" L 62" WS 108" Abundant on the marsh from September Your first sight of the pintail may well be a Recognized most of the year as a small, Among the most massive of North to May, flocks of northern shovelers are rear-end view. This duck is a dabbler ex- plump brown duck with a distinct stiff American water birds, a flock of Ameri- easily recognizable by the large white traordinaire, feeding by tipping bottom-up up-tilt to its tail, the male ruddy in can white pelicans flying overhead or areas on the breast and under the tail and paddling furiously to stay in position, breeding plumage becomes one of the team-fishing in the marsh is a truly of the males. Shovelers are known by scooping sedge seeds from the mud. Even most striking and easily identified ducks spectacular sight. Dramatically unmis- hunters as the “spoonbill” because its in this postion the male is easily identi- on the marsh pond. His gray cheek takable, these heavy-bodied birds with bill is wider at the tip than in the middle fied by the black patch under its tail and patch turns pure white while his body a wingspread of 9 feet are abundant and fringed along the edge. Armadas of by its long tapering tail feathers. When color brightens to a rich chestnut red on local marsh ponds from late August shovelers with the colorful males and viewed upright, the cocoa-brown head, and his bill turns a gaudy sky blue. The until early spring. Feeding in teams, mottled brown females are often seen pure white bib and gray body complete flamboyantly plumaged male flirts with white pelicans swim in formation, swimming along with heads beneath the the picture of the dapper male. Female potential mates by fanning his upturned herding fish into dense groups where water surface using their spatulate bills pintails are a soft mottled brown with a tail in a jaunty sexual display and swim- they can be easily scooped up in enor- to strain food from the muddy shallows. slightly elongated tail. ming circles around a bevy of subtly mous orange bills. Captured fish are re- Occasionally, as they dabble, you may colored females until he attracts their in- tained within the leathery bill pouch as catch a glimpse of their bright orange terest. Ruddies are diving ducks capable water drains out, then swallowed with legs and feet. of covering long distances in underwater a back tilt of the head. This synchro- pursuit of fast moving prey. nized team-fishing behavior creates a fascinating and graceful avian water- ballet which should not be missed.
L = Body length from bill tip to tail tip WS = Wing span