Self Guided Tour of Wildlife Preserves
Tecolote Creek flows into the inlet of Fiesta Island creating a small marsh
area where the river meets the Bay. Many species of duck are visible
during their seasonal migration. Some of our annual visitors include the
coot, ruddy duck, bufflehead, cinnamon teal, northern pintail, green-winged
teal, scaup and redhead. Loons inhabit this area year round.
The gradually sloping mudflats on Fiesta Island provide habitat for shorebirds
such as the ruddy turnstone, willet, and black-billed plover. The sandy
beach of the western shore is a nesting area for the snowy plover. Many
birds including the house finch, horned lark, western meadowlark and the
mourning dove nest on Fiesta Island in protected areas of coastal chapparal.
Fiesta Island has a large California least tern protected nesting site at
the northern tip of the island. The tiny elegant and lively least
tern is a familiar summer resident.
A portion of the Flood Control Channel is designated as the Southern
Wildlife Preserve. The preserve is a resting and feeding spot for over
one hundred species of birds migrating along the Pacific Flyway. This is
a perfect spot for viewing and photographing these birds. The osprey,
sometimes called the fish hawk, is a magnificent sight as it hovers
then plunges talons-first into the water to snatch out a fish. Osprey
are most commonly sighted from mid-September through November. Herons, egrets,
waterfowl, shorebirds, gulls, and terns are year round residents.
The thirty-seven acre Famosa Slough is a remnant of the once extensive
Mission Bay Wetland. Vegetation ranges from saltwater to freshwater
marsh species. Pickleweed dominates the salt marsh, bulrush grows in
the brackish water areas, and cattail is the predominant freshwater
plant. The Slough is a significant feeding and resting site for birds using
the Pacific Flyway. Dabbling ducks, including mallards, pintails, cinnamon
teals, and shovelers rest and feed in the shallow area of the Slough in the
fall and winter. California killifish and mosquito fish provide food for
the great blue herons, egrets, green-backed herons, and black-crowned night
herons. The Belding's savannah sparrow feeds on pickleweed in the Slough.
California least terns and shorebirds including avocets, black-necked stilts
and killdeer forage and nest in sheltered areas of the wetland. The
endangered light-footed clapper rail nest in the tall cordgrass.
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