Marine life, how close it is.

Have you ever visited a saltwater marsh and explored its marine life? There is one nearby at the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. Life will begin here for many sea creatures and it will also be the destination of many birds on their seasonal migrations. Salt marshes are an ecosystem that are essential to oceans, the creatures within and all creatures that take advantage of this bounty. This transition zone is where fresh water mixes with salt water and the land meets the sea. You will find naturally protected waters filled with new life that are a part of this oceanic nursery and its cycle of life.

Pacific Ocean is not an aquarium.

Some fortunate visitors may find some of the ocean’s sea creatures on their visit, if they open their senses and carefully observe what is around them. Fish and creatures of the ocean can not always be easily observed as in an aquarium. We can not guarantee what you will experience and see, therefore watch our video clip. Now, we welcome you to come and find some of the elusive marine life of the salt marsh at the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge. Public tours are available on the last Saturday of the month.

Eyes on the Colony

Least Tern Monitoring at Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge:

By Carolyn Vance, USFWS Volunteer, Seal Beach NWR

Volunteers Needed

Eyes on the Colony (EOTC), the California Least Tern predator monitoring program, needs your help! Last year was not as successful as it could have been with no more than 16 fledglings ever seen at one time out of 120+ chicks.

This was primarily due to all the predation by Peregrine falcons and Red-tailed hawks. After battling Great-horned owls and Kestrels the last couple of years, and having a great 2016 year, we are dismayed with last year’s results.

Documentation

We need to document any predation to the terns. Permitting standards require that we thoroughly document and identify avian predators which are taking Least terns before requesting their removal. So, the Refuge needs more help observing avian predators at times when they are active.

Observers

If you can commit to a minimum of 4 hours a week to EOTC, or just want more information, please contact Refuge Manager Rick Nye via email at: Richard_nye@fws.gov. Historically, we have watched in four hour shifts from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Apply quickly, the season is just starting, and you will not want to miss the opportunity. California Least tern nesting season, will begin now and continue into early summer. You must obtain a badge from the Navy to access the Refuge by filling out some background paperwork and must be a U.S. Citizen. Training and equipment is provided.

Fringe Benefits

I adore doing EOTC! A car is the best birding blind, and besides watching our wonderful Least terns going back and forth, you will get up close looks at Belding’s Savannah sparrows, swallows, and all the other birds and critters that call the Refuge home and/or breed here. See the Birds Photo Gallery for additional views of Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge’s winged visitors.

They’re Here!

Its mid-November and all of Orange County’s Most Wanted birds, except for the Nelson’s Sparrow, are at the Refuge. Here is a recap of birds and what all I’ve been seeing this month:

Wanted Birds

Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) – This adorable little owl with the long legs is still in the same place and several times I’ve seen him standing outside his hole.

Prairie Falcon (Falco mexicanus) – Showed off his speed and agility on our Special Birding Tour for Santa Monica Audubon by chasing after a bird at 70+ mph! He landed on a pole, with empty talons, but we all got good looks, as he turned this way and that, showing the brown, narrower face stripe that distinguishes him from a peregrine.

Peregrine Falcons – Speaking as peregrine, as I wrote last month, we have a banded, Migrant Peregrine falcon hanging out on the poles on Signal Rd. On a beautiful, warm November day, our Resident female Peregrine flew in to a nearby pole on Signal, next to our Visitor. They eyed each other, then our Resident went screaming at her. I got to see, and hear, an incredible aerial battle between two top, and really, really, fast, predators! They flew at each other, locking talons, upside down, all the while screaming their displeasure. Right in front of me. Our Resident finally chased the Migrant away then claimed her perch.

Waterfowl – While we have had Canada geese flying in, not nearly in the numbers we have had in prior years. Our duck populations are also low – once again, just a few each of Northern Pintail, Ruddy duck, American Wigeon, Bufflehead, Mallard, and Lesser Scaup. However, there are plenty of

Western Grebes, a favorite of our resident Peregrine Falcon. I finally saw a Brant in 7th St. Pond, as I have only been seeing them out towards Alamitos Bay in the water.

Ridgway’s Rail – the Rail count done in early November tallied 98, down a bit from prior years. However, one rail was heard calling from the north side of Bolsa, so they may be expanding their range. Our Refuge Manager, Rick Nye, is considering adding more nesting platforms for them in that area.

Green Sea Turtles – Since early September, turtles have been seen in Perimeter Pond and Case St. Pond, in addition to 7th St. Pond. We have been seeing them more and more in the other ponds, and less and less in 7th St. We think we may know why. It was discovered that the eel grass, which the turtles eat, is mostly gone from 7th St. Pond. There are on a very few, small patches left. Seems they’ve eaten themselves out of house and home. What will be done about this is still up for discussion.

This Report as of November 20, 2017.

Special Birding Tours Start

Our 2017-2018 Special Birding Tours at the Refuge started off with Santa Monica Audubon Society. This Chapter hasn’t been out here in many years, so it was a pleasure to show them around again.

Refuge Manager Rick Nye plus Volunteers John Fitch and Carolyn Vance helped guide SMAS to a whopping 70 species seen during their four-hour Tour.

Bird Report

The usual shorebirds, seen across from the Nature Center, were Long-billed Curlew, Willet, Marbled Godwit, Western & Least Sandpipers, Red Knot, Dunlin, Long-billed Dowitcher, and Black-bellied Plovers, but the lone Pacific-golden Plover previously reported seen was a no-show.
Hog Island gave them Large-billed Savannah Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, White-crowned Sparrow as well as our resident Belding’s Savannah Sparrow. We also had a far-away view of the White-tailed Kite that has been here since end of September, Surf Scoters and Forester’s Terns out in the bay, but no Light-footed Ridgeway’s Rail came out or called. The Nelson’s Sparrow hasn’t arrived yet, either.

Raptors included several Red-tailed Hawks, fleeting looks at the Ferruginous Hawk and male Northern Harrier (we did get better looks at a couple of female Harriers), two Peregrine falcons, American Kestrels, a couple of Osprey, one eating a fish just across from the Nature Center, and an up-close look at the Burrowing Owl, who was standing completely out of his hole. The Prairie Falcon came zooming in (John estimated 70+ mph) after a bird, missed, and sat on top of a pole for a good look.

Surprisingly, we only had a small flyover of Canada geese (6) and one Brant in 7th St. Pond. Duck numbers were low also, but we did see Mallard, American Wigeon, and a pair of Northern Pintail.
The reported Lapland Longspur wasn’t with the Horned Larks, but we had lots and lots of Killdeer in that area as well as Mourning Doves. All in all, a good day birding.
Stay tuned for more reports, as we have 7 more trips schedule for this season!

Fall Migration is Here!

Carolyn Vance

 

Fall Migration is on and birds are flying south to spend the cold winter months at our Refuge! Every day is a treat to be out seeing what new birds have arrived that day. Here are some of the birds seen so far.

September and October Birds:

 

White-tailed Kite – we are up to four of them. Note their bright yellow legs and feet. They love this antenna pole as it has a panoramic view of open fields, looking for mice and insects.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Burrowing Owl – so far only one has shown up. This guy is sticking out of squirrel bolt-hole in an agriculture field known for its mice and insect population. This field is also a favorite with our resident coyotes and I have seen them dig out mice on several occasions.

 

 

Peregrine Falcon – while we do have a pair, or three, who are residents, this bird has bands on both of her legs.

I say “her” because this is a big falcon and female raptors are bigger than males. She also has rusty-brown chest and thick moustachial stripe (what we would call “sideburns”) leading me to think she is of the anatum subspecies. She likes to perch right up against the middle of the phone poles overlooking most of the marsh. Swallows and eared grebes have been her meals of choice, so far.

 

 

Red-tailed Hawk – these are the Refuge’s iconic hawk and in winter can be seen from just about every other pole. While we do have two breeding pairs, I saw a darker bird today hanging out by NASA Island, our Least Tern nesting area.

 

Cassin’s Kingbirds – a pair was seen on the very southern border on our high-tide count.

 

Ruddy Ducks – a pair was seen only one day in late September in Case Pond, then moved on. More will be down to spend the winter.

 

 

 

 

This report is as of October 8, 2017.