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Tuesday, February 22, 2011 Subject: Annual Seal Protections Tuesday, March 1st begins the annual seal protection closure measures at Point Reyes National Seashore. Drakes Estero and South Blue Gums Beach on Tomales Bay are closed to boating/landing through June 30. The protective closures allow harbor seals to deliver their pups and rest. Often a parent may go off to forage in the water and leave their pup unattended on shore—the parents will return! Do not try to pick up an animal or wrap it in blankets; pass on sightings to park staff at the visitor centers. Tuesday, February 22, 2011 A new moon rises Friday, March 4 with a regular rhythm of tides fluctuating about 4 feet; no dramatic highs or lows until the spring equinox in March. Jupiter is the bright planet seen over Inverness Ridge as you descend into Olema Valley in the early evenings. Northern elephant seals are at the most active time of the year! Chimney Rock is excellent viewing: silvery gray weaned pups are moving away from the breeding action into pods on the west side of the colony; males of all sizes and shapes are wrestling and sparring, and swimming offshore and blowing bubbles. The overall annual numbers are declining as more and more females return to sea. There was plenty of sand-flipping in the warmer temperatures last week to cool off. Spring teasers: the Great Blue Heron is back hunting gophers at the Bear Valley picnic area; a Douglas iris poked up at Chimney Rock; cottontail bunnies scooting across the Earthquake Trail; lots of Milkmaids in the shade of Bear Valley Trail. Plenty of tiny white flower spikes on wild cucumber vines are also appearing. Rough-skinned newt newts with orange bellies are also in shady moist areas along Bear Valley Trail. Backhoes in the fields near the old radio station off Sir Francis Drake are part of the coastal dune restoration project. They are removing European beachgrass and creating better habitat for snowy plovers. Tuesday, February 1, 2011 Prize winning entries from the California Coastal Art & Poetry Contest are on display at the Bear Valley Visitor Center. Poetry includes the following poem by 3rd grader Jonathan Cole of San Francisco:
Daylight low tides return on Valentine's Day!
Agate Beach County Park at the end of Elm and Overlook in Bolinas is a low, flat, shale reef that is good for tidepooling! Pupping season is about over at the northern elephant seal colony; pups are still nursing. This year, the Drakes Beach colony of females and pups was much larger than the original outer peninsula group. As the pupping season ends, mating season begins, so watch for more sparring and activity among males! The southern migration of gray whales is tapering off but both minke whales and harbor porpoises have been making regular appearances at the Lighthouse. West Marin continues its own spring season with the first daffodils appearing along Coast Trail in the old flower farm area and petite pink bells flowering on manzanita shrubs! This shrub is called "eye" by Coast Miwok who used the wood for arrowmaking; Spanish saw the small red berries and called it "little apples" or manzanita. Marin County Parks and Open Space rangers lead a walk to look for early flowers at Chimney Rock on Wednesday, February 16 from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. Meet at the Chimney Rock parking lot. Would you like to learn more about mushrooms? The Red Barn Conference Room at Bear Valley will have a display of labeled mushrooms on Saturday, February 12 from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. as part of the annual Point Reyes Fungus Fair. Free and open to the public. Tuesday, February 1, 2011 Forwarded to Park Wavelengths Email List
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Last updated: February 28, 2015