Pacheco Pond Bird Walk

This walk has been CANCELLED due to weather. In addition to the possibility of direct rain, parts of the trail have been inundated, the remainder is quite muddy, and the high water levels have resulted in many ducks moving to other nearby, seasonally-inundated areas. Look for another Pacheco Pond walk next fall, before winter rains give the ducks so many choices!

Join Jack and Tacy from Wild Birds Unlimited for this walk at Novato’s Pacheco Pond. This less-visited neighbor to the Hamilton Wetlands offers habitat for a variety of winter ducks and year-round waterbirds that prefer vegetated fresh-to-brackish water. The first category includes shovelers, canvasback, ruddy ducks, mallards, gadwall, bufflehead, and more. The second category offers us a variety of herons and egrets, kingfishers, gallinules, Virginia rails, and soras. This is also a potential spot to see terns and peregrine falcons at any point during the year. For more on the birds you can expect here, see our profile of Pacheco Pond or check recent sightings on eBird.

Directions to Pacheco Pond:  According to Google, 700 Bel Marin Keys Boulevard in Novato seems to land you right in front of the pond, though the pond itself doesn’t really have a numbered address. To get there, take the Bel Marin Keys exit from Highway 101 and travel east on Bel Marin Keys Blvd for two miles, passing through the commercial/industrial section and then arriving at a small parking area on the right, facing the pond.

Header image: White pelicans at Pacheco Pond by Mark Gunn.