Bird Island on Almaden Lake

Burgeoning bird populations of black-crowned night herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, common merganser and mallard ducks and geese have overtaken Almaden Lake Island—and our wildlife biologists couldn’t be happier.

Located in Almaden Valley, Almaden Lake Island, or Bird Island as now commonly referred to by some water district staff, is a results of several years of work to remove the invasive Arundo donax weed along with revegetation efforts to plant native species of trees and plants in its place. The 14,000 square foot island, or one third acre of land, was once a large clump of Arundo, or giant reed. Although it provides some shelter for wildlife, Arundo is a fast-growing bamboo-like weed that is known to overrun other native plants by spreading easily, sucking up large amounts of available water, and clogging waterways.

Water district staff determined that the overrun island was a good fit for the district’s Arundo Control Program which requires removal of 125 acres of Arundo weed through the district’s Stream Maintenance Program. One requirement of the program is to revegetate the area with native species of trees, shrubs and plants so that the Arundo weed does not come back but the natural habitat remains intact for wildlife. Native plant species that have taken over since being planted on the island include black cottonwoods, western sycamores, willow, box elder, mulefat and elderberry, making the island a perfect home for the many birds now found nesting there. On a recent visit, biologists counted dozens of eggs of various species and several hatchlings.

The success of the project depended on close collaboration and coordination between Arundo Control Program staff and contractors, district biologists, and revegetation program staff. San José parks staff have also been very helpful and cooperative in the project.

For more details on this successful project and bird footage, check out this edition of "The People Behind Your Water."