Yesterday, we spent the morning checking out birds at the Arcata marsh. This is an amazing community resource, used by students and Audubon club members for education and recreation.
The creation of the marshes is an interesting story. In the 1970s, under new environmental regulation, the city of Arcata was faced with the issue of treating their wastewater before sending it into the ocean. Rather than spending millions of dollars on a wastewater treatment facility, two professors from the university designed, tested, and proved a marsh system as an acceptable treatment for the city's wastewater. Now the four marshes serve as the perfect habitat for migrating and resident bird species.
Yellow-rumped Warbler, Black Phoebe, Ruby-crowned kinglet, White-crowned Sparrow, Lesser Goldfish, House Finch, Great Egret, Northern Pintail, Great Blue Heron, Snowy Egret, Black-crowned Night Heron, Mallards, Golden-Crowned Sparrow, White-Crowned Sparrow, Common Merganser, Eurasian Wigeon, ,