BAHIA, HORSESHOE POND & RUSH CREEK

Birding in Marin, Season 7-Trip 12

Saturday, December 3, 2022

8:30 AM to 3:00 PM 

With Jim White and Bob Battagin 

Registration opens on November 24 at 8 AM. Trip limit is 15 participants. No drop-ins, please. 

MAS acquired and restored to tidal action the diked bay lands around the residential Bahia neighborhood. As the ebbing tide exposes the mudflats to thousands of shorebirds, while on the flood tide hundreds of ducks and some gulls float, forage and loaf about. The oak-wooded ridge stretching from Hwy 101 to Bahia, also saved from development by MAS, holds Oak Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatch, Hutton’s Vireo, at least four woodpecker species and many sparrows in the winter. 

Homeowners Lagoon at the southeast end of Topaz is a great place to look for wintering ducks. Goldeneyes, Scaup, Canvasbacks, Buffleheads, and Mergansers seem to like it and it has been Marin’s best place for Barrow’s Goldeneyes the last few years. 

After lunch we plan to look at the nearby Rush Creek area from the Airport Rd which parallels Hwy 101 north of Atherton. 

DIRECTIONS: From 101 in north Novato take Atherton Avenue east, take the Y left onto Bugeia which becomes Bahia Drive, near the end at the bottom of the hill take a right onto Topaz, follow Topaz to its end and park. 

Become a chapter supporting member of the Marin Audubon Society starting at $35 a year, or RENEW your membership today! Your membership helps to fund important efforts such as our ongoing habitat restoration projects, the Monarch Rescue Project, and our Northern Spotted Owl Outreach program. We cannot do these important projects, along with our many other efforts, without the support of our dedicated members!