Bolsa Chica Land Trust

You can find this amazing shot, and many more, in our 2021 Wings Over Bolsa calendar. We are always blown away by the talented photographers who take these photos at Bolsa Chica. To see them all, get your copy on our website for a $15 donation (or 5 for the price of 4 - $60). Great Blue Heron fishing by Sean Cribbs Cover by Carol Calkins

Notes from the Mesa: Things that makes us scratch our heads. Sometimes there are mysteries on the mesa, and in the wetlands, of Bolsa Chica. Such as - why was there a deflated rubber boat near stuck under the bushes near the point where the inner and outer bays come together? We probably will not solve this mystery, but we did remove the boat to the trash bin. Another mystery - who is chewing through the covers over our plants? It is definitely not birds which we thought... were eating our seeds. This we may solve with some stealthy sleuthing. We certainly don't mind sharing our plants with the critters, but we would like to wait until they are grown and off the tables. We do hope to be planting soon, now that the weather is cooling and there is a small possibility of rain. The mystery there - will the gophers, squirrels, and rabbits eat everything, or leave some to continue to grow? (Yes, that California Cottontail is eating a cactus pad.) We always lose some, but the fire has changed some of the dynamics of where critters are living and foraging on Bolsa Chica. There are many more gophers around the edges of the mesa where most of our work has been concentrated. Will they move back to the burned areas as plants return this winter? Only time will tell. See more

The environmental protections over the migratory birds that flock to Bolsa Chica, the ocean which feeds our wetlands, and the health of our ecosystems are on the ballot. Please vote with the environment in mind. Birds can’t vote but you can.

This is not a snake. This is a legless lizard. Specifically the Southern California Legless Lizard (Anniella stebbinsi). How can you tell that this is a lizard? First, it has eyelids while snakes do not have eyelids. Second, like other lizards, it can detach its tail when threatened - something snakes can not do. It can be difficult to spot a Legless lizard at Bolsa Chica because this California protected species lives mostly underground, burrowing under sandy soil. Their... shovel-like nose and strong body helps them dig into the soil quickly. It forages for a variety of bugs and larva by hiding in the loose-leaf litter under bushes and ambushing its prey. It is most active in the mornings and evenings. We occasionally find them when digging holes during restoration work, and they always excite us. In the photos are a small juvenile (silvery colored) and an adult, which can be from 4 to 7 inches long, showing its distinctive yellow side stripe. Photos: BCLT Stewards

The Pacific Ocean is the heart of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve pumping life-supporting tidal influence to our salt estuary. Besides sea level rise, Climate Change is intensifying ocean stratification in which the layers of warm water and cool water don't mix well. The lack of circulation in the world's waters, which carries crucial nutrients and oxygen, threatens the survival of the ocean's diverse ecosystems and wildlife. And that's just the 'tip of the iceberg'. https://buff.ly/3m5sLto

Some good news to start off the week

Notes from the Mesa: Over 1500! That's how many plants we have at the Growing Space, with room for a few more. It is very exciting (at least to me) to see the tables full of green plants ready to go into the ground to make Bolsa Chica's habitat a better place for all the critters who live there. We will begin planting soon - or as soon as we figure out how to keep the gophers from eating everything! What is also exciting is to see how the animals of Bolsa Chica use the na...tive plants. This week we noticed that the Coyote Bushes near the GS were blooming and attracting lots of little bugs. Those bugs attracted some endangered California Gnatchatchers to hang around while we worked on two separate days. Yay! Other birds I'm not so happy with currently. The sparrows discovered they can flit through the screens over our plants and raided several trays of newly seeded grasses. We had to devise smaller cages over the trays to keep them out. They are welcome to the seeds on the ground, but not in the trays. The Bush Tits, on the other hand, flit in to eat caterpillars off the Sages and Buckwheat plants, which has helped us have bumper crops of those this season (relatively speaking). Finally, you've seen a lot of Rattlesnake photos here, but on Friday we spied a baby King Snake! (okay, I do get excited about these things, and if you had seen me on the trail when I saw him you might have thought I'd found a pot of gold under the fog bow we had paused to admire.) Can you see his black and yellow stripes in the dry grass? Most also have red stripes, but the animal world is full of variations. See more

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust has taken the first steps towards restoring the Tern Nesting Islands in Inner Bolsa Bay, a critical habitat for more than a dozen bird species. The Land Trust, in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, has secured funding and released a Request for Proposal for the initial phase of the restoration project. The two Tern Nesting Islands are critical habitat and serve 13 avian species including the endangered California Least... Tern and Western Snowy Plover. The islands are more than 40 years old and currently are degraded and under immediate threat of flooding caused by extreme tides and sea-level rise. The Bolsa Chica Land Trust is proud to be able to start the process of restoring these habitats to improve their resiliency in the event of flooding. These islands were some of the first restored habitats after the Ecological Reserve was created, and for decades have been a key stopover and nesting site along the Pacific Flyway. We are grateful that we can improve their condition to ensure that they remain in service to the wildlife species that need them. See more

Wings Over Bolsa 2021 is here! Congratulations to all the amazing photographers who’s beautiful photographs of Bolsa Chica’s bird, landscapes, and critters are featured in next year’s calendar. You made our job of choosing photographs especially difficult this year, in the best way. Get your calendar now for a $15 donation (or 5 for the price of 4). They make great holiday presents. https://buff.ly/379LEHy cover photo: Carol Calkins

This little bird is not a favorite of developers here in Southern California because its habitat is protected under the Endangered Species Act. The BCLT Stewards were thrilled to see the California Gnatcatcher return to Bolsa Chica after they began their habitat restoration efforts over 25 years ago. The California Gnatcatcher (Polioptila californica) is endangered because of habitat loss. They live only in Coastal Sage Scrub habitats in Southern California and into the nor...thern areas of Baja California, Mexico. That habitat has been depleted by 90% over the past 50 years and the remaining 10% is fragmented by coastal development (humans love to live near the ocean too). Bolsa Chica offers the CA Gnatcatcher an island of habitat in this dense suburban development. Coastal Sage Scrub consists of low shrubby plants such as California Sagebrush, Bladderpod, Coyote Bush, several varieties of Sage, Buckwheats, and many more. In this scrubby landscape, the CA Gnatcatcher lives, breeds, and forages for insects, rarely moving higher than the bushes it calls home. We grow many of these plants for our restoration work in the Growing Space. Look for these little gray-brown birds in, under, and around the bushes, especially ones covered with bugs. (Hint, the Coyote Bush is blooming and covered in bugs attracting these birds.) Fun Fact: These birds call can sound like a mewling kitten, so if you hear that while hiking look around for a Gnatcatcher - not a kitten. Photo: Mike Hodgson #BolsaChicaEcologicalReserve #WildlifeWednesday

Whether your getting some early holiday shopping done or buying something for yourself, when you shop Amazon Prime Day deals at smile.amazon.com/ch/33-0516059, AmazonSmile donates to Bolsa Chica Land Trust! It's a great two for one deal that helps support our work at Bolsa Chica. Happy Shopping! photo: Stephanie White #AmazonPrimeDay #AmazonSmile #BolsaChicaLandTrust #BolsaChicaEcologicalReserve #BolsaChicaWetlands

We honor the Native American people who were the first to inhabit and call Bolsa Chica home, and their descendants for whom this is a place of sacred connection to their ancestors to this day. #IndigenousPeoplesDay #Acjachemen #Tongva #BolsaChicaEcologicalReserve #Tovaangar

Notes from the Mesa: Here is a little reminder that spending time in nature is good for us. I know my time at the Growing Space with my hands in the dirt, smelling the sage scrub, hearing the birds, and seeing all the critters is one of my happy places. Sometimes I sneak out early, before volunteers arrive, to spend time alone with nature - and I've been known to talk to the plants and animals. (Shh, don't tell anyone!) I hope you have a chance to spend time with nature soon. (Photo: B Hansen taken early last Monday morning)

It's World Octopus Day! At Bolsa Chica you can find the Two-spotted Octopus (Octopus bimaculoides) in the salt marsh where it hunts crabs, mussels and small fish. The Two-spotted Octopus is named for the round blue eyespots under each eye. It is hypothesized that these spots are to fool predators into leaving them alone. Download our coloring book for free at www.BCLandTrust.org to color your own Two-Spotted Octopus! #WorldOctopusDay photo by Roy Holden, art by Annie Bou