Sign Up  /  Login

Marbled Godwit at the Arcata Marsh LbNA #68008

Owner:Adoptable
Plant date:Jan 5, 2015
Location: Arcata Marsh
City:Arcata
County:Humboldt
State:California
Boxes:1
Planted by:DorothyGayle
Found by: fleetwood7
Last found:Oct 25, 2015
Status:F
Last edited:Nov 1, 2015
The Marbled Godwit is a large shorebird with a long, upturned bill which breeds in the center of the continent and winters along the coasts. They are in Humboldt Bay by the thousands before they head off to their nesting grounds in the central US and Canadian prairies.
The City of Arcata started the Godwit Days Spring Migration Festival 20 years ago to focus the public's attention on the over 300 bird species who make their home or stop on their migratory flight at the Marsh. The Arcata Marsh system was developed as a way to reclaim lost wetlands and to treat Arcata's sewage using tertiary treatment. It has been a model of waste treatment for the whole country.
From the spot where the letterbox is tucked, we spotted approximately 30 Night Herons sleeping in the trees directly across the marsh.
To find the letterbox, follow Road I south across Samoa Blvd. to where it ends in the Marsh parking lot. There is a trail starting at the south end of the parking lot which traverses the edge of the bay. After a short distance there's a spotting scope on your left. Head down the steps by the scope. On your left there's a flat log and a large boulder. The box is hidden under the log behind 3 rocks.
Enjoy!
Well it was reported that this box went missing before it was ever found and then miraculously it has reappeared with a stamp that resembles a hawk I am told. So look for the marbled murelets in the marsh and the hawk letterbox near the spotting scope. Thank you to the mysterious planter.