Visitors to the 1,000-acre Martin Griffin Preserve can explore three ponds at the preserve using microscopes, nets, buckets, tubs, and field guides. Audubon Canyon Ranch (ACR) Ranch Guide volunteers will be available to answer questions about the diverse aquatic life living in the pond.

The ponds at the Preserve are full of life. During Pond Day, ACR biologists and volunteers encourage visitors to explore and discover the amazing critters who live there, and to get a deeper understanding and appreciation for them. When you look closely, you will be amazed at the number of critters who rely on the pond ecosystem.

In previous years visitors have seen:

•    Damselflies emerging from their juvenile exoskeletons to turn into winged adults

•    Giant toe-biter males with eggs glued on their backs

•    Waterboatmen, backswimmers, phantom midge larvae

•    Damselfly and dragonfly juveniles

•    Newts and larval newts

•    Tree frogs and tadpoles

Pond Day occurs during the height of the nesting season for Great Egrets at one of the most studied nesting sites on the West Coast, where the preserve averages 100 nests each year.

Admission to Martin Griffin Preserve is free of charge. A suggested donation of $15 is appreciated.

For more information call 415-868-9244 or visit www.egret.org