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Nature Sightings 2005-2006

6/02/2006 - We spotted a Red-shouldered Hawk behind one of our cabins this morning. There was a gang of Common Crows that were clearly very upset with its presence, and cawing madly. A minute or two later, the hawk dove and landed with a puff of feathers on a Northern Flicker on the ground. The hawk stood for a few minutes on the flicker, holding it down, then took off with it. Ten crows followed in hot pursuit.

5/25/2006 - Those of you who've been to camp know about Cricket's fascination with learning from dead stuff. Well, she had a first this week. Students found a dead rat on the volleyball court and, without much difficulty, convinced a naturalist to leave it in her mailbox. She was delighted, and a little disgusted, but agreed to perform a dissection during recess that day. Onlookers were able to determine a contributing cause of death: Liver Flukes! It was very exciting to finally have a dissection that wasn't road kill!

4/18/2006 - One of our groups was watching Barn Swallows while standing under the Hwy 1 bridge. All of a sudden, some kind soul tossed a dead Virginia Oppossum off the road and over the edge of the bridge. It landed about 15 feet from our group. Like a scene ripped straight out of "The God's Must be Crazy". A lovely dissection and anatomy lesson was had by all.

4/17/2006 - A day of fantastic San Simeon hike luck! In the morning, our group saw a Western Pond Turtle sunning in the rushes, Barn Swallows working hard on their nests under the Hwy 1 bridge, and dozens of sandpipers foraging along the beach. One of our intrepid counselors discovered a strange new worm that we have never seen before (we've since been told it is a Horsehair Worm). In the afternoon, students spotted Brush Rabbits, a Pacific Tree Frog hiding in the Poison Oak, a Coyote trotting through the horse pasture, and a Wild Turkey running down the trail in front of us.

4/12/2006 - We are once again seeing the vast amount of life that spring has to offer. In one day on Moonstone Beach, students saw a pod of Dolphins surfing the waves, two CA Gray Whale spouts, two Southern Sea Otters, 15 Harbor Seals resting in the tidepools, and a young Northern Elephant Seal. At night, we've been able to hear the CA Sea Lions that have hauled out on the rocks about 6 miles away.

4/09/2006 - The Monarch Butterflies have been reviving from their winter over the last few weeks. On our rare dry days, we spot them drinking from the abundant wildflowers that all the rain has brought.

4/05/2006 - We found a Bullfrog on Moonstone Beach! We know they don't belong on the beach, so we figure the heavy rains washed him downstream. He was pretty lucky to end up on the beach instead of the ocean. The frog is currently recovering in our Learning Center.

3/10/2006 - Buffalo and his group were hiking along the forest trail, when out of the grass came a Red-spotted Garter Snake. It slithered right across his foot and into his waiting hand. Cricket's group took a species sample of ticks along the trail and identified Black-legged, Dog, and Pacific Coast Ticks.

2/23/2006 - Just when Elephant Seal season starts to fade, Vernal Pool season picks up. The seasonal pools on the San Simeon hike are beginning to fill and their usual inhabitants are appearing. This week, we found Pacific Tree Frogs & their egg sacs, Whirligig Beetles, and Predacious Diving Beetles.

1/13/2006 - The Northern Elephant Seal Colony is out in full force this time of year. We've been taking students out recently to catch all the excitement. We've seen fights, births, and everything else you'd expect! And it's official, we had a confirmed Bald Eagle sighting on the bus ride up to the Elephant Seal colony today.

11/30/2005 - Bobcat seen at San Simeon running across the boardwalk with a mouse in its mouth!

10/26/2005 - We had our first suspected Bald Eagle sighting outside Harmony on Hwy 1! It looked very much like a juvenile in its third year. We are very excited about this and are looking forward to a second sighting so we can verify it.

10/13/2005 - Pod of Humpback Whales spotted off our lunch spot on Moonstone Beach. The whales were feeding on the same school of fish as a pod of Pacific White-sided Dolphins and California Sea Lions! Students got to observe bubblenetting and breaching, something we usually only see in books or on TV.

9/29/2005 - Over the course of half an hour, students on the Morro Bay hike watched a Southern Sea Otter and a CA Sea Lion each eating lunch just off the Belly Biology dock. A 4" jelly species we haven't seen before drifted by giving us quite a treat!

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