Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve for kids
The Marsh Where Birds Rest. The true story of Palo Alto Baylands Nature Preserve, near East Palo Alto, CA, told for kids.
Read along
Look out the window toward the bay! See that wide, flat, grassy land? That is the Baylands, and it is a bird hotel! It covers 1,940 acres, and people say it is one of the best places on the whole West Coast to watch birds. Many are shorebirds that fly a long, long way and stop here to rest and snack, like a family on a road trip.
So the marsh is a highway rest stop, with feathers! Splish, splash, peep, peep! And here is a secret. Part of this marsh is kept a couple of feet below the sea. It soaks up extra water like a giant sponge, so the town nearby stays dry in a flood.
Now it is your turn! Look out the window and spot a bird. Can you see one flapping, or one standing on skinny legs?
Quiz the back seat
What is the Baylands marsh like for birds that fly a long way?
Show the answer
A rest stop. A rest stop! Birds stop there to rest and eat before they fly on. No pizza, though!
Fun facts
- The Palo Alto Baylands is the largest tract of undisturbed marshland remaining in the San Francisco Bay.
- It is an important habitat for migratory shorebirds.
- The preserve covers 1,940 acres.
- The flood basin is kept a couple of feet below sea level to catch floodwater.
For grown-ups
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