Bolsa Chica Afternoon and Coastal Clean Up Day is Saturday Sept 20

It's been awhile since I've posted to the blog, so hello again. I was out at Bolsa Chica yesterday afternoon and while most of the terns have gone south, the shorebirds are back from their northern breeding grounds. Pelicans and cormorants were busy fishing, and there were round rays hunting in the mud by the foot bridge.

Next Saturday the Bolsa Chica Land Trust is participating in Coastal Clean up Day at Bolsa Chica State Beach from 8-11 AM. Admission to the beach is free for those coming to help clean the beach, and you are welcome to stay all day. You need to bring shoes, work gloves, a hat and sunscreen. There is also a form to fill out which you can download by clicking here.

Round rays are related to sharks, but have flattened plate like teeth instead of the sharp teeth sharks have. Rays use these teeth to crush the clams, mussels, and other shell fish they prefer as food. 

When you visit the Aquarium of the Pacific be sure to go to the downstairs exhibit about Oceans on the Edge. There is an area where you can touch the round rays, and the success of groups such as the Bolsa Chica Land Trust is celebrated in a display about how Bolsa Chica was saved from the devastation that would have come from the construction of 4,884 houses that at one time were planned for this area. 

Cormorants prefer fish to clams. This one was feeding, successfully as you can see, by the footbridge.