We'll repeat a trip to Pacheco Pond for our first Thursday of the month walk in December. It's hard to compete with Las Gallinas, but Pacheco Pond has provided a reasonable substitute location for our usual Las Gallinas walk. The area provides habitat for a variety of ducks, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Common Gallinule, Sora, and Virginia Rail. The adjacent non-native eucalyptus provides additional habitat for both songbirds, egrets, and a number of raptors including Peregrine Falcon. Thank you, Bob and Sande, for continuing as our competent and friendly guides on this popular monthly walk. We welcome bird enthusiasts of all levels and help each other to find and identify the birds. The area around Pacheco Pond is mostly flat, but we will be walking across some rocky, uneven surfaces. Dress in layers and bring binoculars, scopes, and water. Heavy rain cancels. Directions: Take the Bel Marin Keys Blvd exit from Highway 101. Travel east on Bel Marin Keys Blvd for 2 miles passing through a commercial/industrial section until arriving at a small parking area on the right, which faces the pond. We will meet in the parking area and walk to the trail a short distance up the road.

Please meet at the foot (east end) of Bahia Drive in Novato where Marin Audubon has completed a large restoration project. Shorebirds, ducks, herons, swallows, and rails will be reaping the benefits here for years to come. After viewing the birds and the restoration area, we intend to walk the trail along the edge of the mixed oak woodland. We then plan to drive around to the end of Topaz Street to view the Horseshoe Pond where some diving ducks, including a few Barrow's Goldeneyes, like to winter. During the day we may practice some bird counting to help prepare for the upcoming Christmas Bird Count season. After lunch we will take a look at two nearby areas-Rush Creek and the Rowland Avenue wetlands. Heavy rain cancels. Directions: From Hwy 101 in North Novato, take the Atherton Avenue exit east about 0.9 miles, then turn left onto Bugeia Lane, which becomes Bahia Drive. Follow it to the end where there is street parking. No restrooms available here.