37°34′37″N 122°0′23″W / 37.57694°N 122.00639°W / 37.57694; -122.00639
31-670: Quarry Lakes Regional Recreation Area is a regional park located in Fremont, California that is part of the East Bay Regional Parks system. Before being converted into a park, the site was used as a gravel quarry . When water purchased by the public for groundwater recharge of the Niles Cone flooded the gravel pits, the gravel harvesters began to daily pump the seeping water down Alameda Creek into San Francisco Bay . The Alameda County Water District acquired
62-883: A government unit like a U.S. state. Distinguished from National Parks in the Republic of Ireland , which are owned and run centrally by the state's National Parks and Wildlife Service , Ireland's regional parks are managed and operated by individual local authorities in Ireland . Examples include Ballincollig Regional Park (managed by Cork City Council ), Millennium Regional Park ( Fingal County Council ), and Malahide Demesne Regional Park (also Fingal County Council). A law to establish regional parks in Lithuania took effect in 1992. As of 2022, there were 30 such regional parks ( regioniniai parkai ). In New Zealand , regional parks are administered by regional councils rather than
93-632: A maternal call to call the chicks out. Wood duck nests are over water to brace the fall when the chicks jump they can jump from as high as 50 feet. The mother calls them to her and guides them to water. The ducklings can swim and find their own food by this time. Wood ducks prefer nesting over water so the young have a soft landing. Wood ducks feed by dabbling (feeding from the surface rather than diving underwater) or grazing on land. They mainly eat berries, acorns, and seeds, but also insects, making them omnivores . They are able to crush acorns after swallowing them within their gizzard . The population of
124-647: A mile away from their water source as a result. Females line their nests with feathers and other soft materials, and the elevation provides some protection from predators such as raccoons, owls, and hawks. Unlike most other ducks, the wood duck has sharp claws for perching in trees and can, in southern regions, produce two broods in a single season—the only North American duck that can do so. Wood ducks typically lay their first eggs from February to April. Females typically lay seven to fifteen eggs which are incubated for an average of thirty days. However, if nesting boxes are placed too close together, females may lay eggs in
155-630: A rate of five million gallons a day, enough to continuously supply 30,000 people. In 1972, the Niles Sand and Gravel Company sued the Alameda County Water District , arguing that its groundwater recharge program constituted a damaging of their ability to use the quarry. After finding that the replenishment program served a beneficial purpose in combating seawater intrusion from the San Francisco Bay and that
186-406: A white eye-ring and a whitish throat. Both adults have crested heads. The speculum is iridescent blue-green with a white border on the trailing edge. The male's call is a rising whistle, jeeeeee ; the females utter a drawn-out, rising squeal, do weep do weep , when flushed, and a sharp cr-r-ek, cr-e-ek for an alarm call. The birds are year-round residents in parts of its southern range, but
217-473: A wingspan of between 66 and 73 cm (26 and 29 in). The wood duck's weight ranges from 454–862 grams (16.0–30.4 oz). This is about three-quarters the length of an adult mallard . It shares its genus with the Asian mandarin duck ( Aix galericulata ). The adult male has stunning multicolored iridescent plumage and red eyes, with a distinctive white flare down the neck. The female, less colorful, has
248-550: Is a partially migratory species of perching duck found in North America . The male is one of the most colorful North American waterfowls . The wood duck was formally described in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Anas sponsa . Linnaeus based his account on the "summer duck" from Carolina that had been described and illustrated by
279-641: Is an area of land preserved on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, recreational use or other reason, and under the administration of a form of local government . A regional park can be a special park district covering a region crossing several jurisdiction boundaries, or a park system of a single jurisdiction, such as a province, county, or city. There are 101 regional parks in Saskatchewan. All parks are operated by volunteer boards. Regional parks in Italy are administered by each region in Italy ,
310-475: Is not allowed. Two additional unnamed lakes are closed entirely to the public for use by the ACWD. Quarry Lakes is home to over fifty species of wildflower , as well as a rare fruit grove on the peninsula of Horseshoe Lake, which contains both native and exotic trees and shrubs. At the south end of the park is a sizeable grove of bald cypress . In 2010, a demonstration garden of native and drought resistant plants
341-715: The Atlantic and Mississippi Flyways . However, for the 2008–2009 season, the limit was raised to three. The wood duck limit remains at two in the Central Flyway and at seven in the Pacific Flyway . It is the second most commonly hunted duck in North America, after the mallard. In 2013, the Royal Canadian Mint created two coins to commemorate the wood duck. The two coins are each part of
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#1732791335395372-577: The Department of Conservation or territorial authorities . In the United States, a regional park is sometimes referred to as a 'Metropolitan Park (Metropark)' or as an open space reserve . The terms region and metropolitan can have different meanings in U.S. local government agencies. Regional parks can be administered by a regional park board, a state , county or other units of local government . A special authority can be set up, under
403-548: The Isles of Scilly , which some observers consider may relate to wild birds; however, given the wood duck's popularity in captivity, it would be extremely difficult to prove their provenance. There is a small feral population in Dublin . Their breeding habitat is wooded swamps , shallow lakes, marshes , ponds and creeks in the eastern United States , the west coast of the United States, some adjacent parts of southern Canada , and
434-581: The San Francisco Bay Area , protecting habitat and offering recreation. In Scotland , regional parks are defined to co-ordinate the management of areas of attractive countryside that are of importance for recreation due to their proximity to population centres. The parks have been defined and are managed by local authorities . As of 2018, Scotland had three regional parks: Northern Ireland Lagan Valley Regional Park Wood ducks The wood duck or Carolina duck ( Aix sponsa )
465-760: The Three Rivers Park District in Minnesota . In Ohio, under Ohio Revised Code Chapter 1545, metroparks such as the Cleveland Metroparks Park District, Columbus and Franklin County Metro Parks have their own Police Departments with sworn police officers . The Toledo Metroparks , and Dayton Five Rivers Metroparks are also in the state. The East Bay Regional Park District and Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District have extensive parklands in
496-407: The 1920s. The erection of nesting boxes starting in the 1930s further assisted wood duck conservation. A synopsis of evidence from multiple studies performed by Williams et al. (2020) concluded that providing artificial nesting sites for wildfowl, including wood ducks, is beneficial. Wood duck boxes have been found to be less effective than natural, hollow, dead trees but remain overall beneficial for
527-524: The English naturalist Mark Catesby in the first volume of his The Natural History of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands that was published between 1729 and 1731. Linnaeus specified the type locality as North America but this has been restricted to Carolina following Catesby. The wood duck is now placed together with the mandarin duck in the genus Aix that was introduced in 1828 by
558-472: The German naturalist Friedrich Boie . The species is monotypic : no subspecies are recognised. The genus name is an Ancient Greek word for an unidentified diving bird mentioned by Aristotle . The specific epithet sponsa is Latin meaning "bride" (from spodere meaning "pledge"). The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck . A typical adult is from 47 to 54 cm (19 to 21 in) in length with
589-480: The gravel pits would have flooded naturally even if the program were not in place, the court ruled against the company, declaring its pumping to be an illegal waste of groundwater. Between 1975 and 1992, the EBRPD and ACWD purchased the land which would become Quarry Lakes. The two agencies began to convert the area into parkland in 1997, with the ACWD continuing to pursue restoration projects beyond 2017. Due to
620-546: The important role the lakes play in groundwater percolation, only Rainbow Lake and Horseshoe Lake are open to the public for water contact. These two lakes are stocked regularly with rainbow trout , largemouth and smallmouth bass , channel catfish , and other game fish. Fishing is allowed with a permit. Horseshoe Lake also includes a swimming complex and a pier for boating , although no gasoline motors are allowed to avoid water contamination . Lago Los Osos and Willow Slough are open to nature observation, but water contact
651-677: The joint jurisdiction of two or more government bodies or as an independent park district to administer parks. Individual parks may or may not cross governmental boundaries. The park district holds the authority, similar to fire protection districts, to manage and raise taxes to cover park acquisition and management costs. Examples of large regional park systems are the Cleveland Metroparks in Northeast Ohio, Huron-Clinton Metroparks in Southeast Michigan ; and
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#1732791335395682-433: The nests of their neighbours, which may lead to nests with thirty eggs or more and unsuccessful incubation—a behaviour known as "nest dumping". The day after they hatch, the precocial ducklings climb to the opening of the nest cavity and jump down from the nest tree to the ground. The morning after hatching the hen will leave the nest to feed and also make sure it is safe for her chicks. When she decides its safe she uses
713-581: The northern populations migrate south for the winter. They overwinter in the southern United States near the Atlantic Coast. 75% of the wood ducks in the Pacific Flyway are non-migratory. Due to their attractive plumage, they are also popular in waterfowl collections and as such are frequently recorded in Great Britain as escapees—populations have become temporarily established in Surrey in
744-484: The past, but are not considered to be self-sustaining in the fashion of the closely related mandarin duck . Along with the mandarin duck, the wood duck is considered an invasive species in England and Wales, and it is illegal to release them into the wild. Given its native distribution, the species is also a potential natural vagrant to Western Europe and there have been records in areas such as Cornwall , Scotland and
775-423: The population rebound as beavers create an ideal forested wetland habitat for wood ducks. The population of the wood duck has increased a great deal in the last several years. The increase has been due to the work of many people constructing wood duck boxes and conserving vital habitat for the wood ducks to breed. During the open waterfowl season, U.S. hunters have been allowed to take only two wood ducks per day in
806-406: The population. Landowners as well as park and refuge managers can encourage wood ducks by building wood duck nest boxes near lakes, ponds, and streams. Fulda, Minnesota , has adopted the wood duck as an unofficial mascot, and a large number of nest boxes can be found in the area. Expanding North American beaver ( Castor canadensis ) populations throughout the wood duck's range have also helped
837-523: The quarry after the pumping was declared to be an illegal waste in 1976. The Park is located roughly between Centerville and Niles . It is bounded to the northeast by the train tracks of the BART system, and to the south and west by Alameda Creek . As early as 1912, the Niles Sand and Gravel Company operated a gravel plant along the south bank of Alameda Creek in Niles, processing gravel and sand from
868-404: The river bed for concrete production. In 1954, the company expanded into the area now in the park, acquiring an operation previously managed by Black Point Aggregates. By 1969, some of the gravel pits had been dug down to 120 feet below the surface, well below the water table . To continue extraction at this point, the company pumped the water flooding the pits out into adjacent Alameda Creek at
899-745: The west coast of Mexico . They get their name from being one of the only species of ducks who perch and nest in trees. In recent decades, the breeding range has expanded towards the Great Plains. Currently most breeding occurs in the Mississippi alluvial valley. They usually nest in cavities in trees close to water, although they will take advantage of nesting boxes in wetland locations. Other species may compete with them for nesting cavities, such as birds of prey , as well as mammals such as grey squirrels, and these animals may also occupy nest boxes meant for wood ducks. Wood ducks may end up nesting up to
930-711: The wood duck was in serious decline in the late 19th century as a result of severe habitat loss and market hunting for both meat and plumage for the ladies' hat market in Europe. By the beginning of the 20th century, wood ducks had become rare, almost disappearing in many areas. In response to the Migratory Bird Treaty , established in 1916, and enactment of the U.S. Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 , wood ducks finally began to repopulate. By enforcing existing hunting regulations and protecting woodland and marsh habitat, wood duck populations began to rebound starting in
961-552: Was started along Horseshoe Lake through a University of California extension. As one of few riparian zones in a near-natural state along Alameda Creek, Quarry Lakes serves an important role in harboring migratory birds. Thanks to restoration projects in the park, the area has attracted wood ducks , great blue herons , snowy egrets , and other water birds . Nesting boxes and berry planting have also brought smaller birds like tree swallows , northern flickers , and salt marsh yellowthroats . Regional park A regional park