Elfin Forest Activities

By Jean Wheeler

Weed Warriors
November 2  

The volunteer work party will meet from 9 am to about noon.  Anyone is welcome to join in and work on projects to restore vegetation and reduce erosion. Wear comfortable shoes, long pants and sleeves, and park at the north end of 15th Street in Los Osos, avoiding driveways and mailboxes. Leader Ron Rasmussen rewards his warriors with his delicious homemade cookies!

Third Saturday Walk
November 16:  9:30-11:30 a.m.  Reptiles

Join Cuesta College biologist Robb Tibstra as he tours the Elfin Forest in search of the Coast Horned Lizard and maybe the Southern Alligator Lizard.  We'll be sure to find some Western Fence Lizards sunning themselves on the boardwalk rails.  Since most of the Forest's reptiles and amphibians are hard to find, Robb will bring reptile skins and perhaps a live critter or two so walk participants can see what some of those small and retiring Forest inhabitants look like.  Learn how these elfin creatures behave, survive, and protect themselves from predators.

Coming Up in the Elfin Forest

November can be minimal in colorful flowers, but heavy fogs and a very light rain in mid-October are greening up the Elfin Forest shrubs and trees for our autumn enjoyment.  It's a good season to admire some of the well over 50 types of lichens that have been identified in the Elfin Forest. The best known is the lace lichen dangling in curtains from the oaks. A few species which normally do continue to show some blossoms in November are California asters (pinkish lavender to white petals around yellow central disks), coyote brush (white male and yellow female flowers), and seaside golden yarrow. If we have a decent rain or two in late October or very early in November, by the end of the month our spectacular winter blooming season could be presaged by early opening flowers on buck brush (aka California lilac). 

By the end of November the estuary seen from Bush Lupine Point Pt. or Siena's View will appear nearly covered with shore and water birds. Several species of grebes arrive in September or October and can be seen floating in mixed flocks. Dabbling ducks to look for include Mallards, Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, American Wigeons, Northern Shovelers, Teal (Blue-winged, Cinnamon, and Green-winged), and Scaup (Lesser and Greater). Diving ducks to enjoy include Ring-Necked, Canvasback, Surf Scoter, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Merganser, and Ruddy Ducks. Brant Geese usually arrive around the end of November, some en route farther south and many to spend the winter feeding on eel grass in the bay. Shorebirds like Sandpipers, Dowitchers, and the American Avocet also reach peak populations in winter, locals joined by others of their species arriving from shorelines farther north that won't support them in winter.

Morros with Black Sage and Dune Buckwheat with Their Dried Flowers in the Foreground

The Elfin Forest also plays host to brush or woodland birds migrating through or wintering. Fox, Lincoln's, and Golden-crowned Sparrows join our year-round White-crowned Sparrows until March or April and Ruby-crowned Kinglets also settle in for the winter. American Robins and Hermit Thrushes replace our summer Swainson's Thrushes. Yellow-rumped Warblers peak in winter and Say's Phoebe joins its year-round relative, the Black Phoebe, for a winter visit. Passing through in small flocks are Cedar Waxwings, Western Tanagers, and Pine Siskins. And, of course, our year-round birds are still active. Watch for small flocks with mixed species of birds flitting through the bushes such as Bushtits, Blue-gray Gnatcatchers, and Chestnut-backed Chicadees.

On Thanksgiving weekend, we can be thankful that dedicated nature lovers have acquired and continually work to protect such valuable and beautiful habitats as the Elfin Forest and Morro Bay National Estuary.

Sleeping Ducks from Siena's View