Natural History Journal

It's an unlikely spot, I'll give you that much.  It often smells of low tide, the restroom situation is iffy, and broken glass sparkling on the sandy roadside shoulder is evidence that car break-ins can and do occur.  The two towers of the Moss Landing Power Plant rise across the harbor where fishing boats lay at anchor in the quiet waters, protected by rock jetties bespangled with bird droppings. A romantic seaside destination it is not. And yet, this place holds a profound romance, an appeal, an irresistible draw all of its own. At least, it does for me. Situated directly off of California's scenic Highway 1 just north of the mouth of Elkhorn Slough  and the tiny fishing village of Moss Landing, Jetty Road is among the top birding destinations along the central coast. The entire Monterey Bay area is one of our state's finest jewels, and little Moss Landing Harbor is one of its most dazzling, if humble, facets.   From the turn off of Highway 1,...

Having grown up not too far from the breath-taking rugged coast of Central California, I will be forever loyal to the west.  From the rocky, fog-enshrouded coast of Washington's Olympic Peninsula and the deserted beaches of the Redwood Coast, to the turquoise inlets of the Monterey Bay, the mild, Garibaldi-spangled waters of San Diego, even the tropical sands of Hawaii, I have swum, snorkled, camped, birded, hiked, rode horseback, collected shells, explored the magical worlds of tide pools, and wandered blissfully - usually barefoot - up and down miles and miles of western beaches.  The Pacific is in my blood. My first experience of an Atlantic beach, at South Carolina's beautiful Huntington Beach State Park. Only recently, I had the privilege of visiting South Carolina and experiencing my first taste (quite literally) of the Atlantic.  Slipping off my sandals and wading out into the sea for a swim, I was pleasantly surprised by the comfortable temperature of the w...

Fall is not exactly peak wildflower season.  Most of us have our hopes set on brilliant fall foliage this time of year, while simultaneously peering beyond to the hints of a wintery wonderland and snowy pines just on the horizon.  But California's seasons are unique, due to its Mediterranean climate, and even during this quiet season of senescence, a few flowers are still blooming along the coast. Seaside daisy ( Erigeron glaucus ), pictured above and below, is a hardy perennial at home on the dunes and cliffs up and down California's rugged coast.  These beautiful little daisies are also excellent plants for a low-water native garden, and are commonly available at nurseries that sell native plants. Coastal weather in the fall is often sunny and clear - ideal for strolling along the winding pathways that lead from Monterey, around Point Pinos and south to Asilomar State Beach.  This two or three mile stretch is just about one of my favorite walks anywhere! ...

In some parts of the world, magical places really do exist.  Glittering snowcapped peaks ,  oasis pools of turquoise  and ferny fairylands are all out there, just waiting to be discovered!    A couple of weeks ago while exploring the Morro Bay area with my mom (visiting that part of the state for my cousin's wedding), we came across an enchanted place unlike any other: El Moro Elfin Forest.   The Elfin Forest While there are no actual elves, fairies, pixies, dryads, or other small woodland folk inhabiting this forest (that we saw), the miniature woodland is certainly possessed by its own type of botanical enchantment.  The landscape is filled with an abundance of flowering jewels (wildflowers and flowering shrubs), fluttering gems (butterflies and birds)... and beautifully sculpted dwarf trees, for which the forest is named.  Though the graceful forms of dwarfed Coast Liv...

The summer camping season is well underway, and what better way to escape the heat of California's Central Valley than to head for the north coast?  The northern "Redwood Coast" of California offers a cool, foggy, forested respite for those of us who reside in the warmer and drier parts of the state.  Redwood National and State Parks offer a selection of campgrounds and a network of hiking trails to suit all types of outdoorsy folk, from tent campers and backpackers to day hikers and sightseers.  If you're into rugged coastline, lush redwood forests, wildflower meadows and herds of roaming elk, then Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, located about an hour north of Eureka on Highway 101, is the place for you. During a recent trip, Eric and I spent several days at Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park, hiking and observing the local  flora and fauna.   We camped for two nights at Gold Bluffs Beach campground and two nights at Elk Prairie campground, both ...

Western Snowy Plovers ( Charadrius nivosus nivosus ) are small, sparrow-sized shorebirds, found up and down the Pacific coast in decreasing numbers.  They are cryptically colored and easy to overlook, as they blend in perfectly with the sand and bits of driftwood and sea wrack of their beach habitat.  Like other plovers, Western Snowy Plovers belong to the family Charadridae, along with our more familiar and conspicuous Killdeer ( Charadrius vociferous ).  I personally think Snowy Plovers are one of the cutest birds around.  Ranging from Washington to Baja California, Western Snowy Plovers forage on beaches and foredunes for very small crustaceans, invertebrates and insects.  The breeding season lasts from March through September, which unfortunately coincides with the period of heaviest use of beach habitat by tourists.  These diminutive shorebirds nest on sandy beaches and shores, at stream mouths and on coastal dunes, l...

Visit a beach in California, particularly in the northern half of the state, and you are likely to come across stands of European Beachgrass ( Arundo arenaria ).  It looks so innocuous, picturesque even, waving in the Pacific breeze and blurring the line between land and sea.  But this grass, a plant you've probably never thought twice about, is much more than it seems.  Innocuous it is not.  European Beachgrass is one of California's most wanted offenders: an introduced, aggressive invasive species. This picturesque photo of the California's Pacific Coast has a secret...  Most people won't notice that the grass seen here is an imposter; it's not native to the area, but a species that doesn't belong in this ecosystem. The main crime this grass is guilty of is being too good at its job.  In 1869, European Beachgrass was planted around Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and since 1900, it has been int...

Much like California's deserts, a cursory glance at our coastal dune ecosystem - by the untrained eye - shows little more than a barren, windswept, lifeless place.  But the concept of coastal dunes as lifeless is far from the truth.  In fact, the unfortunate truth is that much like deserts, coastal dunes have been written off time and time again as areas in need of "improvement."  As a result, nearly all of California's coastal dune systems have been severely degraded.  Restored dunes at Moss Landing State Beach Highways cut through the dunes, housing developments and condominiums perch on top of them, mining operations remove sand entirely.  Invasive plants have been introduced to "stabilize" the soil: most notably, iceplants ( Carpobrotus chilensis and Mesembryantheum crystallinum ) and Eruopean Beachgrass ( Ammophila arenaria ).  These plants have been wildly successful, covering extensive dune systems to the exclusi...