Leaders: Rich Nicholson and Vicki Robinson
field trips AT ohloneaudubon.org

Part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge complex, the Environmental Education Center in Alviso is the gateway to salt ponds that in winter fill with waterfowl and shorebirds.  Commonly seen are avocets, stilts, egrets, pelicans, cormorants, and wintering ducks along Coyote Creek, but rarities also turn up here, such as Ruff and Black Tern.  Last year we had 63 species on this field trip, including baby Barn Owls near the visitor center! We could find a Burrowing Owl in the nearby fields or a Peregrine Falcon on a power tower.  If time allows, we’ll also visit the marshland and salt ponds of Alviso Marina County Park.  We’ll walk a few miles on boardwalks and flat, paved and unpaved levee paths.  It can be cold and windy.  Heavy rain cancels. Pre-registration is not required, and all are welcome.  To reach the EEC, exit I-880 south at CA-237 and go west towards Mountain View.  Take the Zanker Road exit and keep right at the fork, following signs for Waste Disposal Facility.  Turn right onto Zanker Road.  Continue onto Los Esteros Road.