What a day at Coal Oil Point! Whales and octopus and plovers, oh my!

from marinebio.net by Genny Anderson

Sparklin' day at Coal Oil Point last Thursday - starting with the two gray whales breaching just beyond the kelp forests off the point!   At this point the gray whales are migrating north, back to the Bering Sea where they spend the summer.  Check out SBCC prof Genny Anderson's site for information about the gray whales and their journey past our coast.






Thanks to Zeke for finding our first octopus!  Again, some great info about this and other "treasures" we spotted, like the sea hare, I recommend Genny's site.  This is the page to read about low intertidal organisms.

We saw some of the sandy beach denizens.... those beach hoppers under the drying kelp wrack are so crucial to maintaining the bird diversity we saw.  Here is a nice page by UCSB researcher, Jenny Dugan, about the role of beach wrack and comparisons of "groomed" vs ungroomed beaches.

And finally, if you'd like to read about the snowy plover program (and perhaps even volunteer to be a docent)  click here!

from http://coaloilpoint.ucnrs.org/SnowyPloverProgram.html

Chaparral at "Lizard's Mouth"

Beautiful afternoon at "Lizard's Mouth" in the Santa Ynez Mountains!  We came to this site to see chaparral - the natural community that dominates the slopes facing Santa Barbara.  We saw great examples of some of the plant species' adaptations to our Mediterranean climate, including manzanita, chamise, bush poppy, and chaparral yucca with their tough water-conserving leaves.  Also in bloom was snowdrop bush, which manages to survive much of the drought (perhaps due to deep tap roots) but drops it leaves (deciduous) by the fall, and only grows new ones when the rainy season begins.

Bush poppy

Chamise

California scrub oak

Snowdrop bush

Manzanita

Chaparral yucca

But really... we also came to enjoy the rock-hopping and great views.  Even though it was a bit overcast, so we couldn't get a great ocean view, it was still pretty spectacular.

Carpinteria Bluffs Reserve

Nice walk to Carpinteria Bluff Reserve this week!  There have been fewer harbor seal pups born this year according to the docents at the overlook, who said ~75 have been recorded as compared to the past few years when ~100 were born.  There were several at the site when we visited, though they are now getting fairly big!

Some previous posts from this site are here.

This year we continued our walk along the bluffs beyond the pier, heading west to Tar Pits Park.  There we could see one of the places along the beach where the asphaltum bubbles out forming a mound from the bluff onto the sand.   Looking west we could see a bit trickling out from the rocks down toward the beach, too.

Tar pits park - looking west

Tar "sliding" down the rocks

You may want to read more about Carpinteria's Tar Pits, which are pretty cool!  In our book (Lentz 2013) see pp 57-60.  There is also information about the site on these pages:
from carpinteria.com,   caopenspace.org,  and parks.ca.gov 

From the latter: 

“The Carpinteria Tar Pits once bubbled up near the state beach. Spanish explorers noted that the Chumash caulked their canoes and sealed their cookware with the asphaltum. Around 1915, crews mined the tar, which was used to pave the coast highway in Santa Barbara County. In order to dig the tar, workmen had to heat their shovels in a furnace; the smoking tar would slice like butter with the hot blade. Long ago, the tar pits trapped mastodons, saber-toothed tigers and other prehistoric animals.”

New Guide to the Natural History of the Santa Barbara Region

We’re using a new book for Walking Biology this year!  Published just recently is the natural history guide just for us – all about Santa Barbara and its surrounding area.  It is written by long-time resident and natural historian, Joan Lentz, who has also written field guides on Southern California birds (and led many local birdwatching classes).  It is available from Heyday Books (the publisher) and other retailers.

Read more about author Joan Lentz on her website: http://joaneastonlentz.com/

And if you'd like to read reviews of this book from our local press, here is an article from the SB Independent, and one from noozhawk.com

Joan Easton Lentz. 2013. A Naturalist’s Guide to the Santa Barbara Region.  Heyday Books, Berkeley, CA

Field Notes on Science and Nature

You all might enjoy this book (published in 2011 by Harvard Univ Press), which compiles accounts by notable natural historians writing about their experiences in recording their observations in the field.  This is a celebration of the field notebook, and includes examples of some amazing journals and illustrations.  The book is edited by Michael Canfield, who writes, “The tradition of field notes that grew into its own genre over the past three centuries is still relevant to anyone who studies nature... Although the diversification of field pursuits and the complexity of their studies have expanded the scope and methods for field documentation, the basic role and importance of field notes are unchanged."

Several nice reviews are here: Betsy Mason (Wired.com) and John Anderson (Natural HistoryNetwork).

Start of Walking Biology 2014!

Welcome to our blog for spring 2014!  Our first walk was a short one - to campus lagoon - just to get a taste of what's to come.  Feel free to post photos or writings about our walks here.  Each week I'll also add some information about the places we've visited so you can learn more about them on your own.

For example...  in case you are interested here are some good resources with information about UCSB's campus lagoon, from CCBER (The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration):

http://ccber.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/lagoon_overview.pdf
http://ccber.ucsb.edu/ecosystem/habitats-wetland/lagoon
http://ccber.ucsb.edu/ecosystem/management-areas/campus-lagoon