By Jean Wheeler

When parking near the Elfin Forest while visiting, please avoid blocking driveways or mailboxes.

October 2

The volunteer work party known as the "Weed Warriors" will meet from 9:00 am to about noon.  Anyone is welcome to join in and help pull obnoxious invading weeds and work on projects to reduce erosion. Wear comfortable shoes, long pants and sleeves, and park at the north end of 15th Street in Los Osos.

October 9

Pre-Big Sit! Bird Walk:  At 8:30 a.m. Jim Royer, coordinator of the Elfin Forest Big Sit! will lead us on a bird inventory walk in preparation for Sunday's Big Sit! This is an international event hosted by Birdwatcher's Digest that pits participating groups of birders against one another to identify the most species in a 24-hour period. Our Big Sit! takes place at Bush Lupine Point. On Saturday, walk participants can join Jim in finding and identifying 60 or more species of birds throughout the Elfin Forest and in the Morro Bay estuary. This walk is for those who just enjoy looking at birds as well as for more experienced birders. You'll come away knowing more about birds, their calls, their habits and habitats.

October 16: 9:30 a.m.

Archaeology Walk:  Cal Poly anthropologist Dr. Terry L. Jones will help us to do some time traveling into the pre-Spanish past of Central Coast inhabitants, the Chumash and their ancestors.  Walking along the boardwalk, he will tell us the fascinating story of the ancient peoples who preceded the Chumash and explain how archaeologists can determine changes in the ocean's level by studying human habitations.  He'll show us examples of technology development through the ages and will give us a word image of everyday life in the Elfin Forest during the time of the Chumash. We'll learn about Chumash money, economy, and trade.  This walk will reveal a complex world of the Elfin Forest's past inhabitants, one that we would never suspect while walking along the boardwalk today.

Besides docent-led events, visit the Elfin Forest any day to experience the quiet natural beauty of this small wilderness area. Park at the north end of any street from 11th through 17th streets off Santa Ysabel in Los Osos and take a sand path to the boardwalk or the wheel-chair accessible boardwalk entrance at 16th Street.

October 16: 12 Noon:  SWAP Annual Meeting

The community, as well as SWAP members, are invited to the annual meeting of the Los Osos/Morro Bay Chapter of SWAP from noon to 2 pm at the el Morro Church of the Nazarene, located at the corner of Santa Ysabel and South Bay Boulevard in Los Osos (1/2 block east of South Bay Boulevard).

Guest speakers will be Anna Halligan, Restoration Ecologist, and Shari Sullivan, Education and Outreach Coordinator for the Morro Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP).  They will speak about how restoration of disturbed fields, stream banks, etc. is planned, implemented, and monitored, and how information about the projects is presented to the community. We will also celebrate our Chapter's 25th anniversary, celebrate our volunteers, elect board members (SWAP members only), hear reports from our treasurer and conservation chair, and have lunch together after the meeting (hosted by SWAP).  Please RSVP if you plan to stay for lunch, 528-0392. We look forward to seeing you!

Coming Up in the Elfin Forest

Well, we're coming to the end of our fantastic year of wildflowers based on the abundant and unusually well-spaced rains of last October through May.  Even now, at the most stressful driest season of the year, fall-blooming plants continue to display their response to the water and energy they stored during that marvelously beneficial rainy season.  They're assisted by recent heavy fogs and misty almost drizzles. 

The white flowers of the Dune Buckwheat Bush are mostly aging to soft pink or rust. California Sagebrush has white blossoms and California Asters are widespread with white to pinkish petals and yellow central disks.  I even enjoy the dead blossom heads on the Black Sage, now looking like black pompom balls heralding the approach of Halloween!

Let's hope the new rainy season starts soon and brings sufficient water often enough to take advantage of the good seedbed this past year's bounty has provided.

Meanwhile, the annual buildup to our spectacular winter ornithological extravaganza is under way! Some Northern Pintails, Gadwalls, and Northern Shovelers usually arrive in late August and September, but the main arrival month for most ducks is October, especially for Mallards, wigeons, teal, and Ruddy Ducks.  Canada Geese also begin showing up in October.  Horned, Eared, Pied-billed, Western, and Clark's Grebes will also be arriving and remain until March or April.  Shorebirds like sandpipers, dowitchers, and the American Avocet also reach peak populations before winter, with birds arriving from shorelines farther north that won't support them in winter.

Terrestrial species will also be settling into the Elfin Forest for the winter or migrating through on their way south. Fox, Lincoln's, and Golden-crowned Sparrows join our year-round White-crowned Sparrows from October to March or April. Ruby-crowned Kinglets settle in for the winter. American Robins and Hermit Thrushes replace our summer Swainson's Thrushes after those depart southward. Yellow-rumped Warblers populations peak and Say's Phoebe joins its year-round relative, the Black Phoebe, for a winter visit. A dawn or dusk walker in the Elfin Forest may be lucky enough to see or more likely hear a wintering Short-eared Owl.  Passing through in small flocks are Cedar Waxwings, Western Tanagers, and Pine Siskins.

Take an autumn walk in Elfin Forest.  Marvel in appreciation of our vegetation so well adapted to thrive in this most difficult season of a harsh environment.   Enjoy the everyday activities of our year-around resident wildlife as well as all the seasonal arrivals, departures, and passers through on their way to their tropical winter resorts.

Spotted Towhee image on banner by Jean Wheeler.