Come pick up litter with us on April 20, so otters like this one don't have to live in trash. Photo by Michael Yang.

This April we have some great events lined up:

On April 20 we'll be picking up trash near roads and waterways to keep wildlife safe and Elkhorn Slough clean. By picking up trash today we keep it out of the Marine Protected Sanctuary tomorrow, and out of the paws of baby otters like the one above. Come out and make a difference!

On April 28 we will have our first ever Edible Plant walk with guide Keith Rayburn. Keith will help you spot plants that not only taste great, but have great medicinal uses. Learn how plants in your own back yard were used by the Ohlone people centuries ago.

Whether you are looking for cool plants, birds, or people, we have you covered. You can sign up for all of our events on our website.

A paper recently published in Estuaries and Coasts by the Reserve's Kerstin Wasson, Andrea Woolfolk and Carla Fresquez (pictured) describes changes in the transition between land and slough.

When you move from one kind of habitat to another, the transition area is called an ecotone. Ecotones are usually narrow bands of land, and here in Elkhorn Slough researchers have been studying the ecotone between marshes and drier upland habitat for more than a decade. The results of this study were just published in the scientific journal Estuaries and Coasts.

Kerstin Wasson, Andrea Woolfolk and Carla Fresquez looked for changes in these transition zones and found that they've shifted inland by a meter over a ten-year period. Considering that these zones are typically only three meters wide, this is a significant location change!

The migration appears to be caused by increased time spent underwater, when plants are inundated by tides. But while the plants have migrated, their composition has remained fairly consistent over time, indicating that these ecotones are resilient in the face of changing tidal inundation. This ability to react dynamically to this environmental change makes them a good indicator of climate change.

This is just one part of what researchers have learned from their data - the full story has more to tell. You can learn more about ecotones and read the full paper on our website.

American dog ticks don't carry Lyme disease, but they can still be a nuisance.

It's that time of year when things start to warm up and our insect friends come out to play. Tick season is starting, and with a few simple precautions, you can keep these critters off of you when you visit the slough.

• Stay on trails and don't walk through vegetation where ticks may hop from grasses onto you.
• Wear light-colored clothes to make ticks easier to see.
• Use a spray-on tick repellent.
• Check yourself thoroughly for ticks when you get home.

By following these safety measures you can avoid these blood-sucking parasites. However, if you find a tick on you, check out our Slough Tips web page to learn how to remove them safely.

A rare visit from a Sandhill crane, photographed by Cortland Jordan.

We've had some rare bird sightings lately at the slough. A recent flock of turkeys made it onto our Facebook page, as did footage of a sandhill crane, and even baby great horned owls! If you missed any of these sights you can find photos (and even video) on our website, on Facebook, and on our Sightings blog.