The creek environment is comprised primarily of riparian woodland species. The Willow and Sycamore are typical trees of this community. The banks of the Los Gatos Creek are home to a wide variety of waterfowl including, the Mallard, the Great Blue Heron, and Egret. Visitors to the creek area may also see a Western Pond Turtle or Bullfrog sunning themselves on a floating log.

Visitors to Vasona Park will appreciate the large Oak population which includes such varieties as the Valley Oak and Coast Live Oak. Other types of trees found within the park are the Coast Redwood, the Willow, and the Sycamore. Scrub Jays, Redwing Black Birds, Mourning Doves, and Pied-billed Grebe are among the many birds who make their home in Vasona Park.

Colonies of California Ground Squirrels can be seen near their burrows, and occasionally, a Muskrat family can be observed swimming near the shoreline.

One of the park's defining characteristics is its large geese and duck populations. Both native and domestic varieties of this waterfowl live in the park - preferring the two small islands in Vasona Lake as their home. Many park visitors do enjoy feeding the geese and ducks; however, they cannot digest most "human" food properly.

Waterfowl Management Program

As of May 15, 1997 park visitors will no longer be able to feed the ducks at Vasona Lake County Park. The Department is attempting to regain a natural habitat for native ducks and other wildlife at Vasona Lake, and we ask that you please resist the temptation to feed ducks and other wildlife. Food sources, such as bread, popcorn, and potato chips are an unnatural food source and are unhealthy to a duck's diet. Unfortunately this type of unnatural feeding also increases the population to a level that cannot possibly be sustained by the park's natural food sources.

Help keep the park's habitat natural and wild. Please don't feed the ducks and other wildlife.

How does feeding harm the ducks?

1. NON-MIGRATION
   Waterfowl migrate to search for food and a more moderate climate. Park visitors have encouraged waterfowl to remain due to abundant, unnatural feeding, causing overpopulation.
2. OVERPOPULATION
   A concentrated population of domestic waterfowl competes with natives for the natural resources and causes damage. The crowded conditions promote avian diseases.
3. AVIAN DISEASES
   Crowded conditions support the transmission of disease, primarily duck viral enteritis, fowl cholera and botulism. While on migratory layover, wild fowl risk contracting localized disease. When they fly out, they can spread disease to previously unaffected areas.
4. INTERBREEDING
   When feral, domestic fowl commingle with the native population, hybridization occurs. The genetically altered offspring are often flightless, contributing to non-migration and overpopulation.
5. PHYSICAL DAMAGE
   Domestic gees are primarily grazers. Due to their large numbers, portions of the lawns and shrubs have been sheared to the roots, leaving unsightly landscape problems. The lawns, paths, docks, picnic tables and reservoir are also contaminated with feces, which is costly to remove.
6. WATER QUALITY
   Each goose produces one pound of feces every day. The accumulation of waste matter in the reservoir has created unpleasant odors and diminished oxygen levels, reducing the viability of aquatic live in the water.
7. PUBLIC HEALTH RISKS
   Duck feces and its potential salmonella content brings hazards to the public. Geese are prone to aggression and have been known to bite children and adults.

Please join us in our mission to provide, preserve and protect regional parklands for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations.

How Vasona Got Its Name

The origin of the name "Vasona" has its roots in local folklore. Frazier O. Reed II, great-grandson of the co-leader of the Donner Party, said his maternal grandfather, Albert August Vollmer, was the man who put the name on the area before the turn of the century, long before there was a Vasona Lake County Park.

Albert Vollmer moved his family from Michigan in 1887, and brought them to the Santa Clara Valley. The Vollmers settled on a 46-acre prune ranch on Pollard Road about three miles from Los Gatos.

The oldest of the Vollmer children, Agnes, worked in San Jose for the Sunset Telephone and Telegraph Company (which became the Pacific Telephone Company in 1907) and she commuted by train from Los Gatos. Every morning her father took Agnes to Los Gatos in his buggy and every evening he picked her up. Since the train passed about a mile from the ranch, he asked the Southern Pacific Railroad if a flag stop could be established.

The Southern Pacific agreed, telling Vollmer he could name the stop because he had requested it. That stop became the "Vasona", named after a pony Albert August Vollmer had as a child.