Bolsa Chica Conservancy

Meme Monday! If you have any friends or family who love the Bolsa Chica Wetlands as much as we do, consider doing your holiday shopping with us and buying some BCC merchandise! We have butterfly and buckwheat, plankton, and Canada goose shirts, as well as 2021 calendars in stock. Stop by the BCC to buy your gift today!

Heads up, California Naturalist Program registration closes TOMORROW! Don't miss out on this limited opportunity! https://bolsachica.org//calfornia-naturalist-certificatio/

Here are some fascinating facts about this bird species that lives in the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus)! -Ospreys can have a wingspan of up to a whopping 5 feet and 11 inches! -They can fly up to 161 miles in a single day -They can spot fish they are hunting from a distance of 100 meters (328 feet) ... -Female Ospreys are 20% larger than male Ospreys : Joe Chandler

If you're looking for some gifts this holiday season, Pacific Candle Co. is the place to go! Pacific Candle Co. is currently running a 15% sale through the end of the year on all of their products! Pacific Candle Co. makes hand poured 100% soy wax candles in scents like Apples + Maple Bourbon and White Birch. Pacific Candle Co. is a Huntington Beach-based small business run by Halie Molino. Her fragrance candles are vegan, cruelty-free, and made of 100% domestically-grown soy wax and cotton wicks. Pacific Candle Co. also generously donates to the Bolsa Chica Conservancy on a monthly basis based on their sales! You can find more information about Pacific Candle and Co at their website, https://www.pacificcandleco.com/. which will also be linked in our Linktree in our bio! Check out their Instagram: @pacificcandleco

Evacuation à la Finding Nemo this morning at BCC! For an unknown reason, the chiller in our touch tank dropped ~20 degrees overnight, prompting an emergency evacuation (in sandwich bags) to a warmer tank for acclimation. What a start to a Tuesday morning!

Meme Monday! While hiking along the trails of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, always remember to keep personal belongings like face masks and car keys with you. Lost items like keys and jackets can be turned in at the Bolsa Chica Interpretive Center, however, personal items such as face masks will be disposed of for health and safety reasons. If you have lost something while visiting Bolsa Chica, please call us at (714) 846-1114 to see if your lost item has been found!

Today is National Art Day! Art and science are surprisingly close subjects, even though it doesn't always seem that way. Creativity is necessary to furthering scientific understanding and finding breakthroughs in how we understand the world around us. Art is frequently an expression of scientific knowledge and is used to demonstrate an understanding of said science. Even a simple photo taken on your phone is considered a scientific field observation! Show us your Bolsa Chica art in the comments!

Happy Friday everyone!!! If you make your purchases with Amazon Smile, Amazon will donate an amount of money that is equivalent to 0.5% of your purchase to a charity of your choice, without charging you anything extra! If you'd like to donate to us, use this link https://smile.amazon.com/?_encoding=UTF8&_encoding=UTF8 to set the Bolsa Chica Conservancy to your charity of choice (this link can also be accessed through the Linktree in our bio) and then continue to make your purchases with no extra cost to you!

It's National Make a Difference Day! However big or small, all of our efforts to make the world a better place are important. The Bolsa Chica Conservancy is passionate about protecting coastal wetlands and their inhabitants, which are affected by climate change. Climate change leads to rising tides, which will directly affect the animals living in Bolsa Chica. Some things you can do to fight climate change are -carpooling or using public transportation (when the pandemic is over) to decrease greenhouse gas emissions -decrease your energy usage (turn off lights in rooms you aren't in!) -raise awareness about climate change! What are some other ways you make a difference, comment down below! : Rebecca May

A softshell turtle was spotted at Bolsa Chica's Ecological Reserve! It looks like it might be a Texas spiny softshell turtle (Apalone spinifera emoryi), which are non-native to California. Unlike their hardshell counterparts, softshell turtles have leathery upper shells. These soft shells allow them to swim through muddy water easier and walk on land faster. If you spot a softshell turtle at BCC, comment down below or tag us in a picture! : Rebecca May

Double news! -- First, want to announce that virtual tours are now available! If you want to learn more about Bolsa Chica from home, these tours are for you! If you would like to know more, contact Whitney Thompson at [email protected], or at (714)846-1114. -- Second, we're having a clearance sale! With our building move approaching and the addition of new, exciting merch, we're blowing out our Canada Geese shirts! The shirts are marked down to $8 each, and are available in tank tops, t-shirts, and long sleeves (black only), and come in teal (tank top only), green, blue, and black. We already have limited stock, and supplies won't last, so come get your Christmas done early and pick up a couple shirts!

Lizards, snakes, turtles, oh boy! Today we celebrate our cold-blooded friends because it's National Reptile Awareness Day! We first thought this was a Western Fence Lizard, but it’s actually a Western Side-Blotched Lizard (Uta stansburiana). Western Side-Blotched lizards’ diets consist of spiders, insects, and sometimes scorpions! Their main predators are roadrunners and larger lizard species. What's a reptile you love? Comment down below! : Rebecca May

Spooky Skulls! For the month of October, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy challenges you to identify animal skulls found within the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve! This large wading bird is well known for nesting in the leftover palm trees near the center of the reserve. Their bills grow to be about 8 inches long, and are very sharp - perfect for catching fish and other prey. What animal does this skull belong to? Let us know what you think in the comments below!

Meme Monday! We've always struggled with keeping the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve clear of trash and debris, especially since we are next to PCH. In recent months, the Bolsa Chica Conservancy and its many volunteers have picked up hundreds of face masks, cigarette butts, food wrappers, and more from along trails and off the side of the neighboring roads. If you're visiting Bolsa Chica, remember to properly dispose of your trash at the designated cans and dumpsters. You can help keep Bolsa Chica clean!

Happy Hatch Day to our oldest swell shark Charm! She hatched 1 year ago and came to us from the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium while still in her egg case. Swell sharks grow in an egg case called a mermaid's purse, for 9 - 12 months. The mermaid's purse has thick leathery walls to protect the growing shark along with string-like attachments called tendrils to attach to kelp. Kelp forests provide protection through camouflage and temperature regulation needed for these sharks to grow up big and strong!

Unfortunately, due to wetland destruction and pesticide use, the white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) population in North America is decreasing. Because of this, white-faced ibis are relatively rare sights at Bolsa Chica, but beautiful to see if you get lucky! Fun Fact: a group of white-faced ibises are called a "wedge!" : Rebecca May