We arrived at Arcata Marsh at 7:45 am for the weekly Saturday at 8:30 Redwoods Regional Audubon Society led field trip. The temperature was a cool 52 degrees and the skies were deeply overcast. We found a Red-Throated Loon while waiting. It was far across the lake, and the dark skies made taking photos problematic, but the loon finally faced us long enough to see its red throat!
The history of Arcata Marsh is very interesting. The area became the docks of Arcata during the Gold Rush and then was used once the early folks decided to use the redwoods around them for lumber. Around the 1950's people recognized that the ocean was not the best place to dump sewage. This became especially critically important when people began to enjoy the oyster beds nearby!
At first a large pipeline was proposed to carry the offensive material to some far distant place. However, someone got the idea of setting up a series of ingeniously constructed oxidation ponds to treat the water naturally with less reliance on chemicals. This unique system has been the model for similar facilities world-wide. They continue to modify and make improvements to the entire system.
This has resulted in many types of habitats that appeal to many types of birds. There are
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| Freshwater Wetlands |
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| Grassy Uplands & Wooded Habitats |
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| Brackish Marshes |
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| Salt Marshes |
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| Intertidal Mudflats |
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| and Tidal Sloughs |
Fifteen very congenial folks joined the field trip and we enjoyed chatting with them along the way. Because the field trip happens every Saturday rain or shine, it is well advertised and there were a number of visitors from elsewhere, as well as local Audubon members. We walked paths between the various ponds.
Among the birders was Tom who we had met at a bakery in Crescent City several days ago. His wife noticed our birding shirts and we got into conversation. They told us about this field trip. Birders are the nicest people!
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| We saw a Greater Yellowlegs |
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| Long-billed Curlew |
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| Whimbrel |
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| Marbled Godwit |
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| Snowy Egret getting ready to take off |
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| and we enjoyed the scenery of a beautiful recovered marshland |
As happened yesterday, a huge bunch of dowichers settled in on the mudflat at high tide, among them a Western Sandpiper, a couple of Willets and two Semi-palmated Plover. Nice to have help with ID's. It was fascinating to watch many murmurations of dunlin in the distance and several groups flew in close enough to identify.
But the big thrill of the day was my number one target bird for the trip. A White-tailed Kite flew overhead hovering many times in midair while dropping its big, fanned white tail; then the wings rose up and you could see the black wingtips. I watched it for a good 5 minutes until it finally faded from sight. What a beautiful bird and extravagant show it put on for us! I did not take the photo below. I was too busy enjoying the show in front of me!!!!
After so many busy days in a row, we decided to take the rest of the day off. We were ready to warm up and rest a bit.
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