A Bird's Eye View by Mike Stiles
I think I can safely venture that all but a very small minority of birders keep some kind of a bird list. Whether it's as simple as check marks and dates in the margins of their field guide or elaborate listing software on their computer, most birders keep a record of birds they have seen. My birding "career" started because of a list. In my first year of college, in 1973, our instructor, Bill Deneen, required we keep a list of birds seen that semester. Needless to say I was hooked, and I continue to add to that list today. Read More
A Sense of Place: State Parks by Mary Golden
This time of year, there are usually Black-crowned Night Herons hanging out in the trees. Read More
Elfin Forest Activities by Jean Wheeler
Animal Tracks: Join Evan Albright, an animal track expert, in learning who is "tracking up" the Elfin Forest. Evan will demonstrate how to tell which are the front feet or back feet of a raccoon, and what the difference is between coyote tracks and dog tracks. Visitors will learn to look for other signs that a wild resident of the Elfin Forest has passed that way, such as hairs on a fence or "scoot" marks where the animal squeezed through a fence hole. This walk will open up a complex world of the Elfin Forest's inhabitants, one that we would never suspect while walking along the boardwalk. Read More
Exploring the Coast by Ruth Ann Angus
It's nearly upon us – the 14th Annual Morro Bay Winter Bird Festival is taking place January 15th through the 18th, 2010. This is the most popular winter event in Morro Bay and more than 500 participants enjoy viewing the more than 200 species of birds that migrate through this Central Coast location. Located on the Pacific Flyway, approximately halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco, Morro Bay is recognized as a globally important birding area and typically ranks in the top five nationally during the Audubon Christmas Bird Count. Read More
Eye on the Estuary by the Morro Bay National Estuary Program
Streams and rivers support a unique and important community of plants that grow along their banks, and those plants in turn provide food and shelter for many animals. This narrow corridor of habitat is called the riparian zone, from the Latin ripa for river bank. Riparian vegetation depends on the water of the stream to sustain it, but it also helps protect the stream in several ways. Learn More
Let's Go Green by Lawson Schaller
In this New Year I am compelled to revisit and touch upon some of my past articles that relate to water, our carbon foot print, and growing our own food. Some laws and incentives have changed since those writings and will hopefully inspire you. Read More
Ocean Creatures
California sea otters eat, sleep, mate and are born and raised in the water. Bundled in dense fur, they live in the nearshore ocean or estuary during their 10-20 years of life. As such, they are exposed to many of the same diseases and toxins as humans. Therefore, their health is an indicator of how clean the water is while we surf, swim, and enjoy eating local seafood. Everyday chemicals like car oil and pesticides, as well as bacteria from cat feces are being found in otter tissue. The contaminants make their way into the otter diet through shellfish, which are filter feeders that soak up chemicals in the water. Read More
State Parks Events
TTrainers from the California State Parks Foundation will be in our area on January 5, Tuesday, to teach us how to gather signatures to get the California State Park and Wildlife Conservation Trust Fund Act of 2010. The meeting will be held at the Inn at Morro Bay, January 5, 6-8 pm. Statewide, we need to gather 700,000 signatures. See What Else Is Happening
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