Park Wavelengths - November 2008

2008 Archives

January	February	March	April	May	June
July	August	September	October	November	December

 

November 26, 2008

What’s Happening at the Giacomini Wetlands This Week (Week of November 24- November 28, 2008):

• Restoration Update: Look in the immediate future for a new web page that will highlight recent photos and information from post-restoration monitoring and surveys, as well as having information on future field seminars and volunteer opportunities. Remember, the project may be coming to a close, but the process of restoration is just beginning!

• Hauling Completed: Hauling from the East Pasture has been completed as of Friday, November 19, 2008.

• East Pasture Construction Continues, but Trail has limited Re-Opening for Thanksgiving Weekend: The contractor is still working on several restoration and public access components in the southern portion of the East Pasture, including recontouring of the Dairy Mesa.

The newly realigned Lagunitas Creek trail (formerly known as the Levee Trail) will re-open for limited access effective Thursday, November 27, 2008, on Thanksgiving. Not all of the construction and revegetation activities have been completed, so please be aware that you will need to share the trail with trucks and construction and revegetation employees and that, at times, the trail may be closed during the work week for construction.

PLEASE RESPECT THE RESTORATION PROCESS AND DO NOT WALK IN THE TRAIL’S FORMER ALIGNMENT. SMALL, YOUNG PLANTS ARE BEING PLANTED BY LOCAL SCHOOL GROUPS, VOLUNTEERS, AND CONTRACTORS, AND THESE PLANTS ARE HIGHLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO TRAMPLING.

• Come Be Part of the Restoration Process: The Park and PRNSA want to thank all the children and adults who have come out to help us plant. Volunteer effort has resulted in more than 1,000 plants being planted, and there are still three more school groups coming out.

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November 19, 2008

The new moon arrives on Thanksgiving Day with some extreme low daylight tides:

Monday, November 24	3:04 pm	-0.2 feet
Tuesday, November 25	3:45 pm	-0.5 feet
Wednesday, November 26	4:19 pm	-0.6 feet

Puma, Cougar, Mountain Lion, this animal is the biggest neighbor on the block. Various colors - greyish, tawny red, yellow brown these solitary cats are rarely seen, resting in trees, traveling and being most active at night. They harvest about one deer per week and cover the remains of their meal with branches and leaves. Like domestic cats they bury their fur filled scat. They breed about every two or three years and the population appears to be rising due to the abundance of deer and a ban on sport hunting in 1993.

Popping sounds in the early morning? Duck hunters are out over portions of Tomales Bay, especially in the early mornings.

The weather cycle of heat and moisture has been fruitful for mushrooms. Marin County Open Space rangers lead a Mushroom Walk at Tomales Bay State Park from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, November 26. Meet at the Jepson Trailhead, just south of the park entrance (on Pierce Point Road).

Reminder: The 1913 era Marconi Wireless transmitting station at the Marconi Conference Center State Historic park off Highway 1 in the town of Marshall is open to the public this Saturday, November 22 and operators will be sending messages via Morse code. The station logs here record an important moment from December 7, 1941 - "Air Raid Pearl Harbor This is no drill commence war plan 23 against Japan". This message was the first transmission received in the continental US of this tragic time. Complete information on the open house is at radiomarine.org

Park visitor centers will close early on Thanksgiving Day at 2:00 p.m.

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November 5, 2008

Park Wavelengths Correction! Sharks at the BARN

The November 20th Shark Talk is at the Red Barn Classroom at park headquarters NOT the Dance Palace as noted yesterday in Park Wavelengths.

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November 4, 2008

A lesser known meteor shower, the Taurid meteors, are present November 5–12. They are not known for the multitude of falling stars (5–8 per hour) but for some really big ones—fireballs after midnight. The full moon rises on November 12 with some afternoon daylight low tides for exploring tidepools:

Tuesday, November 11	3:25 pm	-0.6 ft
Wednesday, November 12	4:08 pm	-1.2 ft

Surveys are beginning for coho salmon and steelhead trout in local streams following the first heavy rains of the year. the fish have been massing in Tomales Bay waiting for the first flush of freshwater out of the creeks to begin their travels up the watershed. No numbers yet.

If you haven't seen the new boardwalk at Abbots Lagoon it is well worth a stroll for good winter birding—the usual suspects grebes, terns, all kinds of sea ducks are plentiful. Annual request from the trail crew as we enter the winter season: Please report downed trees to park visitor centers or by phone [phone]. To assist a quicker response, the following information is needed: the type of tree (bay, oak, fir, etc.) the diameter of the tree, (how big around); a good location description; and whether a hiker or horseback rider can get around it.

Boaters be advised that the restrooms on Tomales Beach are closed for the winter; the service road becomes too muddy for them to be reached for pumping and cleaning. They typically re-open the weekend before Memorial Day in the spring. Marshall Beach restrooms remain open throughout the year.

West Marin children's artwork abounds in the park with a display of racoon drawings at Bear Valley Visitor Center from Inverness School along with ceramic bird nests from Papermill Creek and Shoreline Acres PreSchools. New specialized displays for kids on the Earthquake Trail include artwork completed by West Marin School upper graders.

All park visitor centers are open on Tuesday, November 11, Veterans Day.

Mark your calendars: "A Conversation On Sharks" is slated for November 20 from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Dance Palace Community Center with Ron Elliot and Scot Anderson; interesting footage from the Farallon Islands. Free and open to the public as part of the ongoing ocean education outreach program.

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