Point Reyes Weekend

You Mon Tsang September 9th, 2008

The 9/9/2008 Park Wavelengths newsletter points out that the recent warm weather means you may be able to catch breaching minke and humpback whales, dolphins, and porpoises from Limantour Beach.  Get out there!  Here is the rest of the newsletter:

The full moon rises on September 15 at 2:13 am.  This moon brings some very high afternoon daylight tides between 5.7 and 6.3 feet so plan beach excursions early in the day.  The autumnal equinox follows on the next Monday, August 22nd as we begin to lose a few moments of daylight each day.

Warm weather had created excellent marine mammal viewing from Limantour Beach.  Breaching minke and humpback whales, dolphins, and porpoises were observed across the weekend from the beach along with many loons and common murres.  It is possible some type of ‘bloom’ of food associated with warmer water temperatures is drawing in the feasting crowds although we often see humpbacks and blues at this time of year.  Large numbers of Sooty Shearwaters are feeding off Abbots Lagoon.   On Tomales Bay, a die off of moon jellies has washed in many blobs of clear jelly with the trademark white crescents.  These are a favorite food for sea turtles.  Unfortunately, plastic bags in the water can mimic the drifting jellies and are eaten by turtles.  The indigestible bags block absorption of nutrients and food and can cause malnutrition and death for the turtles.  A reminder, the brown colored Lions Mane jellies can cause an allergic reaction if you brush against; a sting was reported from Drakes Beach last Saturday.  Avoid them on the beach!

Snowy Plovers hung in there this year, final numbers approximately 16% survival rate; 33 birds hatched and five fledged.  Some of the nesting area was disturbed by clean up for a shipwreck that washed ashore at Kehoe Beach; cautious Dad Plover managed to shield the last three from this disturbance.

Excellent year for berries all round, the latest fruit is Blue Elderberry, large dusky dark purple-blue clusters are draped over Bear Valley Road and Sir Francis Drake Boulevard especially in the San Geronimo Valley.   Buckeye nut pods are appearing as the leaves are dropped, the green balls can be seen on the trees.

Coastal Clean Up Day is coming up on Saturday, September 20th.  Meet at Limantour Beach at 9:30 am to clean up trash and enjoy the day.

A permit has been issued for September 14th for the annual “Piper On the Ridge” event on Mount Vision Road;  The annual event features a bagpiper greeting the rising full moon and begins approximately 7:00 pm.  Free, but no dogs permitted:  check on whether extreme fire danger may close the road.

PG + E will be working in the pastures off North Beach for the next few weeks, restringing lines over the fields; no affect on services or traffic is expected.

• NPS , Nature , Whales
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You Mon Tsang September 8th, 2008

A terrific shot of the Tule Elk at the Point Reyes National Seashore.

Photo by Jerry Ting

• Photos , Tule Elk
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You Mon Tsang September 5th, 2008

I love visiting Point Reyes and Tomales Bay (as well as most of Northern California) in September. The crowds are thinner and the weather is warmer as the fog doesn’t dominate nearly as much as in the early summer.

Check out our weather page and plan to come out!

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You Mon Tsang August 26th, 2008

The National Park Service publishes a newsletter about events, closures, natural history, and cultural history at Point Reyes.

Very High FIRE Danger for Marin County through Friday, August 29th.  Double check on whether Mount Vision Road will be open and if beach fires are permitted. Fire danger rating is calculated from air temperature, projected wind,  and fuel moisture (dryness of grass and ground vegetation).  Stinson Beach continues closed through August 29 due to a reported shark sighting Monday.

A new moon rises on Saturday August 30, with higher than usual tides from 5.4-5.7 feet high, the beaches will seem smaller in mid day!
A very high tide mid-day (5.7 at 1:05 pm)  will make visiting the annual Sand Sculpture contest on Sunday, August 31st best early in the day.  Registration for this event  begins at 9:00 am and judges will be on Drakes Beach at 12:30 sharp.

The berry season is being followed by the development of tree nuts - look for bright yellow-green ‘mini-lemons’ on the California Bay Trees; the outer covering will dry off to reveal a brown shelled round edible nut.  Coast Miwok fire roast and eat the nuts.  Buckeye trees are dropping their leaves along with brilliant yellow Big Leaf maples; gray squirrels are chewing up fir and pine cones to get at the seeds - all signs of the approaching autumn.

The tule elk rut continues - volunteer docents are on hand weekends with spotting scopes and have reported watching a  dominant male with a 30 cow harem under his care; bachelor herds lingering around!  Sparring and boxing elk may be seen during this busy time.

Permits have been issued for picnics at Bear Valley on Saturday, August 30; parking congestion expected.  All park visitor centers are open on Monday, September 1st, Labor Day holiday.  Coast and Sky Camps close September 2-11 for rehabilitation.

The ocean film series continues with a double feature on Thursday, August 28 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm  - Restoring Balance (Removing the Black Rat from Anacapa island and Returning Home (Bringing the Common Murre back to Devils Slide Rock)  Free and open to the public, bring your own popcorn.

Photographer Robert Campbell will be showing slides of his new book of aerial photographs on Saturday, August 30th at 12:30 pm at Bear Valley Visitor Center. Free!

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You Mon Tsang August 25th, 2008

A great white shark sighting off Stinson Beach has prompted the National Park Service to close Stinson Beach until Friday.  If no sharks are sighted the rest of the week, Stinson will reopen Friday afternoon or evening in time for the Labor Day weekend.

• Stinson Beach
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You Mon Tsang August 17th, 2008

This is how I like to experience Point Reyes!

Tea & Pt. Reyes, originally uploaded by Briana Robertori.

• Photos
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You Mon Tsang August 12th, 2008

The National Park Service publishes a newsletter about events, closures, natural history, and cultural history at Point Reyes.

The full moon rises on Saturday, August 16 - the “Collect Food for Winter Moon” for the Haida of the Pacific north coast.  A few daylight low tides arrive just before sunrise:

Saturday, August 16  5:21 am -0.3  (sunrise at 6:27 am)
Sunday, August 17  6:06 am  -0.2 (sunrise 6:28 am)
Monday, August 18 6:23 am  0.1 (sunrise 6:28 am)

The best window for tidepooling is an hour before and an hour after the low.

It is a great time for all species to be collecting berries for immediate consumption, jams and pies etal.  Berries of all colors sizes and shapes are ripe!  Not for humans - Snowberries (solid white) and clear pink jelly berries from the Honeysuckle vine are excellent bird snacks. Humans have huckleberries and various blackberries to pick - the tiny native California Blackberry; the larger Cut leaf and Armenian (formerly called the Himalaya berry) blackberries are all ripening along trails and roadsides.

The first signs of seasonal changes are here- brilliant splashes of scarlet Poison Oak vines along roadsides and the beginning of the Tule Elk rut at Tomales Point - bulls bugling and thrashing vegetation; large groups of females - harems have formed.

Activity continues in the Muddy Hollow Trail area; biologists are netting fish from the ponds in anticipation of the dam removal; historically these ponds were maintained as animal watering holes and stocked with bass

A busy calendar of free events in the park over the next few weeks:

Curious about the Giacomini wetlands project?  The contractor from Hanford will be on hand at 5th and C streets at 10:00 am on August 23rd to answer questions and lead a short walk through the site to explain the current state of the project.  This talk is the first in a series that will continue in the fall covering birds, fish, wetlands ecology, etc. Large amounts of levee removal debris is stockpiled off Sir Francis Drake Highway on the west side of the marsh; awaiting removal to quarry sites in the park.

A special booksigning and lecture on marine photography is scheduled for Saturday, August 16th at 12:30 pm at Bear Valley Visitor Center by Marc Shargel who will showing slides and signing copies of his new book “Wonders of the Sea, North Central California’s Living Marine Riches”

Also on tap the Fall 2008 Ocean Film and Lecture Series begins on Thursday, August 21st with “Papa Tortuga” a film about one persons efforts in Veracruz Mexico to help save endangered Lora Sea turtles.  It will be shown between 7:00-8:00 pm in the Red Barn Classroom at park headquarters.

Permits have been issued for a wedding at Limantour Beach on August 20th between 9:30am - 11:30 am and also on August 23 between 1:30pm and 3:30 pm.  Both are 50 or less people so no parking congestion is anticipated.

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You Mon Tsang August 10th, 2008

PICT1714 - Culture Can’t Swim, originally uploaded by H2ORANGE.

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You Mon Tsang August 5th, 2008

Point Reyes is a great place to end the summer, whether you are visiting locally or in town for the Slow Food Nation confab in San Francisco.  Besides the trails, beaches, camps and food, here are some things you can also do for Labor Day Weekend:

• Sand Castle / Sand Sculpture Contest at Drake’s Beach on Sunday, Aug 31.  Fun to do or to watch.  For details, check out the Point Reyes calendar of events for more information.
• Box Show at Gallery Route One in Point Reyes Station: 150 artists are each given a plain wood box; each donates time, materials and talent to create a unique art object. You’ll find every imaginable creation, from the sublime to the silly, from cleverly humorous to beautifully breathtaking, and each one started from an identical wood box.
• Farmers Market: Sat 9a to 1p at Point Reyes Station.  A small but terrific farmer’s market featuring local produce and entertainment.

• Summer
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You Mon Tsang August 4th, 2008

The folks at OpenRoad.tv do a compelling, peaceful one-minute video of the elephant seals at Point Reyes.

via blip.tv

• Elephant Seals , Nature , Wildlife
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