Last Saturday was my turn as docent at the marsh, but as sometimes happens at this time of year, no one showed up for the tour. Which was a shame, because it was a really nice day for a walk in the marsh, so I gave myself a tour and snapped a few photos.
It had rained the night before, and was near a max high tide (+5.9), so the basin next to Ash Avenue was full of water, with lots of ducks feeding in the inundated pickleweed. There were mallards (Anas platyrhynchos), blue-winged and green-winged teal (A. discors and A. carolinensis, respectively), and a single female northern shoveler (A. clypeata). In one group of green-winged teal a male was doing a really cute courtship display for the benefit of the nearby females; I’d never seen that before.
A branch of the big arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis) near the amphitheater had blown down in the wind during the night:
Here’s a shot I took of the Franklin Creek bridge. If you’re used to the bridge’s appearance at an average tide, it’s really noticeable how high the tide is here:
Not far away, a good-sized raccoon (Procyon lotor) had left a trail through the mud:
All in all, a really nice walk at the marsh.