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2008
Least Tern & Snowy Plover Project
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| April
12 - A
message from Dave Pryor |
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Docents,
I spent some time on a final inspection of the Natural Preserve
today. The perimeter fencing has not looked so good in years.
We have new fence posts, cantilevers, topping mesh, and chick
fencing all around. All new wooden wind fencing for the front
yard. A new gate is on order and thats it- we're ready for
another tern breeding season. A big thanks to our Technical
Services Staff.
The Natural Resources Team has spent considerable time working
on the exotic invasives in and around the Natural Preserve.
The biggest threat?- Devil's Thorn, Emex spinosa. A nasty
thorny thing. Definitly not barefoot friendly, and we heard
a story recently of a young tern loosing a foot due to a thorn
that wouldn't dislodge from within its webbed foot. Another
good reason to rid our area of this species. In fact, we've
asked Earth Day volunteers to come out and help us with this
and other weeds on April 19th 0900-1200. We can always use
more help.
Within my tour today, I saw a Mourning Dove nest with 2 eggs
only 15 feet away from the bike path; a Killdeer doing the
broken wing dance (didn't see the nest); 16 Western Snowy
Plovers on the beach foraging; many Elegant Terns doing their
paired, synchronous flight over the area and being noisy;
sandpipers feeding along the shoreline- not the sandcrab probing
they do, but working the high water mark for the thousands
of wash-up lady bird beetles; a Snowy Plover eat some lady
bird beetles, then spit one out- it was a honey bee! There
are lots more observations, like small pismo clams, but we'll
leave some of the mystery for the rest of you when you visit.
We are in the declared breeding season for the Least Tern,
typically see birds by the 3rd week of April, and have active
nests by the first week or so of May. Activity really picks
up after that. Hope you can put yourself on the schedule and
use the excuse to come and visit this great slice of Orange
County wild.
Hope to see you all soon, at the slide show Wednesday the
16th, Earth Day the 19, or on your next shift monitoring Least
Lerns. And, bring a friend who might be interested.
—David
Pryor |
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