Litter in Bittern's Habitat at Casey Forebay

Litter in Bittern's Habitat at Casey Forebay

The purpose of this page is to point out a habitat problem and to propose an easy solution. At the end of Terminal Boulevard in Mountain View, California there is a spot that has been the most reliable in the South Bay to observe the American Bittern, an uncommon and secretive species of Heron. Unfortunately, this bird's favorite spot collects litter as it flows downstream into the Slough. We will propose a simple method of solving this problem.

Here is a link to a YouTube video showing this often photographed American Bittern in his home in the slough at the end of Terminal Boulevard. He is often visible from the footbridge. There is no litter visible in this video, since it was taken before the recent rains. Video credit: fishfingus.

The popularity of this spot is due to the fact that the Slough has Crayfish. Here is a Kingfisher that has caught one. Photo credit for all photos: Kathi Bump. Click the photo for a larger image.

The following image shows the Kingfisher's tree. (Kingfisher is circled.) Note the trash in the slough. The trash appeared after heavy rains in November 2014 and subsequently. The location of the trash is more or less the Bittern's favorite spot. There are bottles, all kinds of trash, and even a soccer ball.

A closeup of the trash. The bird in the picture is not the Bittern: it is a Green Heron, a bird much smaller than the Bittern.

Trash buildup in the Slough at this point could be prevented by putting a screen over the Culvert below the footbridge. A biologist would need to be consulted on the design of the screen, to find the right size of mesh to allow smaller fish and crayfish to pass through, but to trap litter before it reaches the sensitive habitat. Undoubtedly it would need to be cleaned after a storm.

Here are two images of the Culvert, from upstream, and from downstream along the slough.

Here is a map, showing the location of the footbridge at the end of Terminal Boulevard, with the large culvert underneath. Photo credit: Google Maps.

This slough drains a tiny watershed wedged between the Adobe Creek and Permanente Creek watersheds. The area that drains into Casey Forebay is a rectangle bounded by San Antonio Road, Rengstorff Road and Central Expressway. It includes Google and Costco, and residential areas.

Here's one more crayfish lover a Great Egret photographed at the same location.