Park Wavelengths - Tuesday, February 2, 2016
Tides again move through seasonal highs of 6 feet and over as the moon wanes through the first week of February with highs before noon. Watch for high surf advisories as Chinese New Year approaches on February 8—the Year of the Monkey!
As the entries from the Lighthouse 1885 Log book report, "Fog, fog, and nothing but fog." Viewing whales has been challenging this year. A tanker [milk truck] off the road last week curtailed most of the travel on a clear day, followed by windy, whitecapped days. Hopefully weather will cooperate as whales finish their southern migration at the end of January. Perhaps more will be seen in the return migration.
Reminders of how the seasons move at their own pace—wildflowers! Four-petaled white with rose-tinged milkmaids are blooming, as well as pink-flowering currant shrubs!
From the park's Fisheries Biologist: "The Rain Arrived and So Did the Salmon - After several years in a row with below average rainfall during the typical coho spawning period, this year has finally delivered some much needed rain. Monitoring crews have observed an increase in coho activity in Olema and Cheda Creeks compared to the last time this cohort returned to spawn in 2012–2013. Cheda Creek, a small tributary of Lagunitas Creek, has 5 coho redds, 8 live coho, 5 coho carcasses. Olema Creek has 50 coho redds, 85 live coho, 28 coho carcasses, which is the largest coho spawning run observed in Olema Creek for over a decade."