{"id":111187,"date":"2026-02-20T15:13:41","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T23:13:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=111187"},"modified":"2026-02-20T15:16:41","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T23:16:41","slug":"one-bird-at-a-time-marin-audubons-monthly-nature-walks-mix-birding-banter-education","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/one-bird-at-a-time-marin-audubons-monthly-nature-walks-mix-birding-banter-education\/","title":{"rendered":"One bird at a time: Marin Audubon\u2019s monthly nature walks mix birding, banter, education"},"content":{"rendered":"
by WOODY WEINGARTEN, BAY CITY NEWS<\/strong><\/div>\n
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Birders observe a pair of mute swans during a field trip to The Ponds at Las Gallinas Sanitary District in San Rafael. The monthly nature walks are organized by the Marin Audubon Society and are open to the public. (Rosina Wilson via Bay City News)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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WORLD-FAMOUS FAIRFAX WRITER<\/strong> Anne Lamott turned \u201cbird by bird\u201d into a stylish phrase 32 years ago. Metaphorically, it suggested that folks should tackle major issues one step at a time.<\/p>\n

Nowadays, that\u2019s precisely how bird watchers handle the Marin Audubon Society<\/a>\u2019s monthly field trips at The Ponds at the Las Gallinas Valley Sanitary District<\/a> in San Rafael. One step at a time; one bird at a time.<\/p>\n

First, imagine the birders identifying a duck through their binoculars, then a Cedar Waxwing, then a hawk. Before long, they\u2019ve found 45 to 50 species in a morning\u2019s trek, including many migrants \u2014 birds that \u201cdon\u2019t really belong there.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Mark Clark leads birders on a walk at The Ponds on Sept. 4, 2025. The Novato retiree started bird watching 18 years ago and has been leading the nature excursions each first Thursday of the month since September 2024. (John Dahl via Bay City News)<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

That picture comes from Mark Clark, Novato retiree who started bird watching 18 years ago and has been leading the walks at The Ponds each first Thursday of the month since September 2024.<\/p>\n

He specializes in making the trips educational, convivial, and fun. \u201cIt\u2019s really a mix of ornithology and the banter of the Jungle Cruise at Disneyland,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re learning how birds get by on a daily basis, and we\u2019re carrying on the tradition of the Audubon Society of counting birds instead of a century ago when people shot them,\u201d he carries on.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe usually introduce a topic, such as breeding behaviors, set up scopes in the first pond, the nature pond, and see what\u2019s there. I always bring a scope, and there\u2019s always one or two more. We then move on to the second viewing point. There are usually one or two other experts who chime in and are good about finding birds.\u201d<\/p>\n

Good for beginners<\/h2>\n

The Las Gallinas walks interlock with the overall mission of the Audubon Society, which, according to its website<\/a>, is to \u201cconserve and restore natural ecosystems, focusing on birds, other wildlife and their habitats for benefit of humanity and the Earth\u2019s biological diversity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alison Pence, a Corte Madera resident and a Marin Audubon board member who\u2019s enjoyed the walk multiple times, reports that Clark is particularly \u201cgood with beginners. He\u2019s friendly and tells good jokes.\u201d When informed how she\u2019s described him, he quips, \u201cI am friendly \u2014 and handsome.\u201d<\/p>\n

Clark retired three years ago after working in hospice for a decade. Before that, he taught theater at Marin Community College and elsewhere, which helps bring \u201ca theatrical flair\u201d to the walks.<\/p>\n

The list \u201cfor The Ponds is 254 species,\u201d he says, \u201cand I believe I\u2019ve seen them all.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Some of the more than 250 species of birds that can be found at The Ponds at Las Gallinas Sanitary District in San Rafael. Top: A snowy egret, with \u201cgolden slippers\u201d on Feb. 17, 2024. Bottom: A red-tailed hawk perches on a tree branch, April 28, 2016. (Rosina Wilson via Bay City News)<\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n

The Las Gallinas walks draw as many as 25 participants monthly, about half of them beginners, including many elderly. \u201cIt\u2019s a terrific walk for beginners,\u201d Clark explains, \u201cbecause it\u2019s flat and the birds are easy to see. After Point Reyes, it\u2019s the second richest birding area in Marin County and certainly easier to access.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rosina Wilson, who lives in Marinwood, not far from what she says was once called The Bird Ponds, is part of the ever-growing senior tsunami in Marin County. \u201cMost of us seniors walk slowly,\u201d she points out. \u201cMany of us use canes or walking sticks. I use a pair of trekking poles, which help me keep my balance and give me upper-body exercise and allow me to walk faster.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t walk very fast, don\u2019t rush,\u201d Clark elaborates. \u201cPeople who come late can catch up.\u201d<\/p>\n

A workout for the ages<\/h2>\n

Wilson contends that \u201cthis type of activity is a great brain-training tool. Learning the names of birds \u2026 plus their field marks (how you recognize them and differentiate them from similar species) can really give the mind an active workout while the body is enjoying the physical workout.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rosina Wilson, a Marinwood senior, takes part in a Feb. 5, 2026, walk at The Ponds. Every visit is different, she says, with a different cast of characters each time the seasons change. (Christina Gerber via Bay City News)<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

In truth, the age range is quite wide, she says. Though she\u2019s walked with many folks in their 80s, she\u2019s also viewed \u201ca two-year-old walking, a little boy who even had his own binoculars. He was adorable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilson\u2019s been a participant for years and, in fact, often walks there \u201con my own and with friends.\u201d Every visit, whether expert-led or solo, she indicates, \u201cis different, and there\u2019s a different cast of characters each time the seasons change. In the winter, there\u2019s a huge number of species of migrants, especially ducks, and we see many types of raptors, including hawks, falcons, and the occasional eagle.\u201d<\/p>\n

She\u2019s also spotted other wildlife \u2014 \u201cwhole families of otters, muskrats, deer, coyotes and foxes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pence, meanwhile, also enjoys Marin Audubon\u2019s other regular field trip, at the Rodeo Lagoon in the Marin Headlands<\/a>, with leaders William Legge and David Wiechers. Those outings, unlike the ones at The Ponds, are not<\/em> recommended for beginners, are limited to 15 hikers, and require registration (which opens 10 days before any given walk). Field trips at either location are free to Audubon members and<\/em> the public, but donations are appreciated.<\/p>\n

Asked to pick one highlight from walks she\u2019s been on, Pence cites a trek at Las Gallinas where she \u201csaw a rail, a shy bird that came out of hiding. It was foraging. You don\u2019t get to see them very often.\u201d<\/p>\n

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This article was first published on<\/i><\/strong>\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/span>LocalNewsMatters.org<\/b><\/a>, a nonprofit site supported by Bay City News Foundation http:\/\/www.baycitynews.org\/contact\/<\/b><\/a>.\u00a0<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Sherwood \u201cWoody\u201d Weingarten, a longtime voting member of the San Francisco Bay Area Theater Critics Circle, can be contacted by email at\u00a0voodee@sbcglobal.net<\/a> or on his websites, https:\/\/woodyweingarten.com<\/a>and\u00a0https:\/\/vitalitypress.com<\/a>. His books include <\/em>Rollercoaster: How a man can survive his partner\u2019s breast cancer<\/em>, aimed at <\/em>male caregivers;\u00a0MysteryDates \u2014 How to keep the sizzle in your relationship; The Roving I<\/em>, a compilation of 70 of his newspaper columns; and\u00a0Grampy and His Fairyzona Playmates<\/em>, a whimsical fantasy intended for 6- to 10-year-olds that he co-authored with his then 8-year-old granddaughter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

by WOODY WEINGARTEN, BAY CITY NEWS Birders observe a pair of mute swans during a field trip to The Ponds at Las Gallinas Sanitary District in San Rafael. The monthly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-111187","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-woody-weingarten"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"