The ponds are north of the slough (this view is looking south) and east of Highway 1. Water levels in these ponds are managed throughout the year to provide roosting and foraging habitat for migratory shorebirds. In early spring, water is released through culverts to allow some of the ponds to begin to dry. During a brief two week window in March or April, footprints and shovel relief can be created in the drying mud. From March through September, snowy plovers and other shorebirds (American Avocet, Black-necked Stilt, and Kildeer) will lay eggs and raise their young in the ponds, foraging on brine flies and other prey along the wet margins of the old borrow channels, which were created when the levees were built. Throughout the summer, seawater is periodically brought in through gated culverts, providing a mosaic of wet and dry areas to meet the needs of these breeding shorebirds.