User: | Open Learning Faculty Member:
I have selected to make observations at the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge in San Jose, California. It is a 30,000-acre wildlife refuge that sits on the southern end of the San Francisco Bay, and is an oasis for millions of migratory birds and endangered species. About 37% of the refuge consists of salt marsh, brackish marsh and freshwater marsh. The rest of the refuge is mainly made up of ponds and mudflat, which houses plenty of shorebirds, fish and zooplankton. Specifically, I chose to make observations at one of the pond areas of the refuge, which was made up of shallow, brackish (or maybe fresh) water and a muddy, grassy shore. I visited this sight at 4:15pm on January 16, 2020. When making observations, it was 12 degrees celsius and cloudy outside, with some sunshine peaking through the cloudy sky. Based on my observations, these are three questions that I find interesting.
- I observed a group of nearly 100 American Avocets standing and resting in a group, with each individual in very close proximity, in the shallow water of the pond. I wonder if they rest in close proximity to maintain their body temperatures, avoid predation or for another reason?
- I observed Black-necked Stilts and American Avocets (both are shorebirds) in the pond, near the shore. I wonder how different regions of the pond or perhaps, different ponds of the refuge with varying environmental characteristics (plants, buildings etc) effect shorebird species richness?
- I wonder if shorebirds (or one of these particular shorebird species) prefer to forage close to the shore or at increased depths, further out into the water.
