San Pablo Creek Marsh
Map SatelliteLying to the north of Wildcat Creek Marsh and separated from it by a land-fill, this is one of the more extensive salt marshes on the east shore of San Pablo Bay. Offshore there is a tidal mudflat.
Vegetation in the marsh ranges from cord grass, Spartina foliosa, through pickleweed, Salicornia virginica, and salt grass, Distichlis spicata, to Baccharis sp. and Grindelia sp. on the higher, upper fringes of the marsh. Additionally, there is a small, brackish marsh with Scirpus sp. and Atriplex sp.
Migratory shorebirds and waterfowl rest and feed in the area. The short-eared owl, Asio flammeus, is frequently sighted here. Salt-marsh song sparrows, Melospiza melodia samuelis, are abundant. The rare salt-marsh harvest mouse, Reithrodontomys raviventris, occurs in the area.
Integrity: There are power lines passing through the area and a land-fill operation is immediately adjacent; however, the marsh is virtually undisturbed.
Use: Scientific, educational, observational.
November 1979
Inventory of California Natural Areas
Revision © 2009 Steven Louis Hartman