Waterbird Regional Preserve
Waterbird Regional Preserve is a regional park located in Contra Costa County, California, adjacent to the city of Martinez. It is part of the East Bay Regional Park District (EBRPD). It primarily consists of an area known as McNabney Marsh, which lies alongside Interstate 680 near the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and between two large and active oil refineries. The marsh drains into Suisun Bay via Peyton Slough. The area provides habitat for a wide variety of waterfowl and shorebirds for resting and feeding. History McNabney Marsh existed here before the area was visited by European explorers and missionaries in the early 1800s. A group of about 200 indigenous people known as Chupcans lived around the marsh and its related uplands. A major railroad line was constructed through this area in the 1880s. Two chemical companies, Peyton Chemical Company and the Mountain Copper Company, to build plants at the mouth of Peyton Slough. An upland area on the eastern border of the marsh was covered with eucalyptus and pepperwood trees, which provided the wood to build workers' houses. The pepperwoods line an old road running through the area In 1988, an oil spill contaminated many wetlands in this area, including McNabney