Marshlands Nature Walk
At the bottom of the incline away from the bear habitat is the shore
of the lagoon, with the Santa Ynez mountain range rising steeply in the distance.
The train gives a good view, but when you hike along the path in the marsh you'll have closeup
views of shoreline birds: great blue herons, ruddy ducks. snowy egrets, belted kingfishers,
swimming and feeding and flying among water hyacinth and duckweed and sedge. Frogs and turtles and crayfish live here too.
It's a natural ecosystem in action; the animals are free and unconfined.
The marsh nature path won't be hard to construct. All we plan to do here is
shape the perimter banks and trim some vegetation, and put in a hidden barrier: we'll dig a six-foot
trench and put a six-foot fence in it, then plant shrubs and vines in the trench.
It's highly effective
in containing ground animals, doesn't interfere with the mobility of the wild birds, and is virtually
invisible to the visitor. The effect is unfettered freedom for the animals.
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Flamingos feed by filtering water and mud through their highly specialized bills,
which strain out algae, crustaceans, worms, and other small animals.
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