Start the new year with Jan. 1 walks at Arcata Marsh
Friends of the Arcata Marsh will kick off the New Year with one of its free Saturday tours of the Arcata Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary starting at 2 p.m. Jan. 1.
“January 1 just happens to be a Saturday in 2022,” said Friends of the Arcata Marsh treasurer and newsletter editor Sue Leskiw. “FOAM regularly leads tours every Saturday at 2 p.m., so this time around, it’s not a special New Year’s Day walk like we have hosted in the past when NYD is not on a Saturday.”
Everyone will meet at the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center on South G Street in Arcata. The walk — which takes place rain or shine — will be led by Ken Burton.
“Ken is a frequent FOAM tour leader and also is in charge of Saturday Audubon bird walks at the Arcata Marsh. He has expertise in several areas, not just birds,” Leskiw said.
Saturday’s walk will look at a variety of topics, said Burton, who has lived in Humboldt County since 2005.
“My FOAM walks are pretty unfocused,” he said. “I talk about history, general ecology and wastewater treatment. … It’s not a bird walk, and I really don’t want to present it as one.”
According to the Friends of the Arcata Marsh website (https:// www.arcatamarshfriends.org/) the Arcata oasis is a “307-acre mosaic of freshwater and saltwater marshes, brackish ponds, tidal sloughs and mudflats, grassy expanses and wooded areas.”
For those who’d like to explore the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary earlier in the day on Jan. 1, the Redwood Region Audubon Society is offering a free guided New Year’s Day field trip from 8:30 to 11 a.m.
There are more than five miles of trails at the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary, which makes it a favorite spot for walkers, and, according to the FOAM website, eBird has listed the Arcata Marsh as the best birding spot in terms of avian diversity in the entire Pacific Northwest north of Point Reyes, with more than 330 species sighted within its boundaries. The Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary is also home to the city of Arcata’s innovative wastewater treatment facility.
If volunteer staffing is available, the Arcata Marsh Interpretive Center will be open on Jan. 1. Face masks are required inside the building, and everyone is asked to bring mask to the walk to comply with current county COVID-19 safety protocols for outdoors.
For more information about the Friends of the Arcata Marsh walk, call 707-826-2359.
Another Jan. 1 walk
For those who’d like to explore the Arcata Marsh and Wildlife Sanctuary earlier in the day on Jan. 1, the Redwood Region Audubon Society is offering a free guided New Year’s Day field trip from 8:30 to 11 a.m.
Participants can meet leader Michael Morris at the end of South I Street (Klopp Lake) in Arcata to view a variety of birds that might include sandpipers, pelicans, godwits, curlews, gulls, harriers and ducks. Bring binoculars for this morning of birding.
Visit www.rras.org for COVID-19 participation guidelines. To RSVP for the Audubon walk, text Ralph Bucher at 707-499-1247, or email thebook@reninet.com with the walk date and name, email and phone number for each participant.