Slough Buzz
No. 132

  
Featuring...
Dune Restoration Update
2015 Elkhorn Slough Calendar Photo Contest
Whistlestop Levee Trail Reopened
Save the Dates
Camp SEA Lab Scholarships
Sightings: Whales and Otters
Find Out More
Join Our List
August 2, 2014

This is Slough Buzz, your email update from the Elkhorn Slough Foundation. We invite you to share this email with a friend by scrolling to the link at the bottom of this page.

 

Dune Restoration Update:

Moss Landing State Beach & Western Snowy Plovers  

 
A well-camouflaged Western snowy plover nest on the
Moss Landing State Beach dunes.

 

Just under a year ago, we began collecting native seeds to propagate for the Moss Landing State Beach dune restoration project, a partnership between Elkhorn Slough Foundation and California State Parks.

 

In January and February, more than a hundred volunteers came out to plant thousands of seedlings in the coastal dunes, which we reshaped and stabilized to limit the erosion of sand blowing on the roadway.

 

We've been monitoring the project site and have good news to report. The young plants are doing great and -- best of all -- Western snowy plover chicks have hatched from nests in the restored dune habitat! We can't imagine a better testament to the project's success!

 

Snowy plover nesting season runs through September 30. Whether you're whale watching, surfing, or just hanging out at the beach: don't be a dune stomper! Respect the signs and boundaries that protect the coastal dunes where snowy plovers nest and raise their chicks.

 

Give Us Your Best Shot!

2015 Elkhorn Slough Calendar Photo Contest 

Scott MacDiarmid won the 2014 contest with his photo of a Southern sea otter. Next year, the cover photo could be yours!




Calling all photographers! The 2015 Elkhorn Slough Calendar Photo Contest is underway. Grab your camera and capture the spectacular scenery, people, plants and wildlife that make Elkhorn Slough and its watershed such an amazing place.

 

Winning entries will be featured in our full-color 2015 Elkhorn Slough Foundation calendar.  The top two entries will win a private photo tour in Elkhorn Slough with Paul Zaretsky, a local professional photographer who has been photographing the slough and supporting the Foundation for more than 15 years. Two additional runners-up will win annual passes to the Reserve.

 

All proceeds of the calendar benefit ESF's work to conserve and restore the Elkhorn Slough and its watershed.

 

Deadline for entries is September 30. Visit our website for more information on rules, guidelines and details. Enter today!

 

Whistlestop Levee 

Trail to Hummingbird Island Open 

The improved Whistlestop levee trail to Hummingbird Island has reopened.


 

With the Whistlestop Levee now repaired, the trail to Hummingbird Island has been reopened. The new culvert, which doubles as a bridge, improves tidal circulation and should enhance water quality in the lagoon. The much larger culvert should increase access for aquatic wildlife between the lagoon and the rest of the slough. This lagoon is already one of the best places to spot bat rays and leopard sharks here on the Reserve.

 

Please note that the trail will close briefly in mid-August for finishing touches. If you're planning a walk at the Reserve, please check our website for current trail closures and conditions.

 

Save the Dates
Open House at the Reserve & More
Children explore life in a fat innkeeper worm's burrow at the Reserve's award-winning Visitor Center. (Photo by Paul Zaretsky)


Mark your calendars for some upcoming events:

 

Help us keep trash out of the slough by joining us on Saturday, September 20, from 9am-noon for our annual Elkhorn Road Cleanup, part of Coastal Cleanup Day.

 

On Saturday, September 27, Elkhorn Slough Reserve will hold an Open House celebrating National Estuaries Day and Coastweeks! Meet and learn from land stewards, researchers, and educators , see native plants from our state-of-the-art greenhouse, and visit our education lab to see microscopic life from the slough.

 

Birders, take note: the 10th Annual Monterey Bay Birding Festival runs from September 25-28, with field trips to Elkhorn Slough Reserve. ESF is proud to be a sponsor of this wonderful event. Visit montereybaybirding.org for details and registration.

 

And watch ESF's website, Facebook page, and upcoming issues of Slough Buzz for announcements of the Foundation's fall event offerings. We're putting together dates for a fall birding walk, kayaking tour, and more!

 

Elkhorn Slough & You!

Camp SEA Lab Scholarships
Camp SEA Lab scholarship winners explore Elkhorn Slough by kayak. (Photo courtesy of Camp SEA Lab)





Last month, ESF awarded ten young students the "Elkhorn Slough Foundation Conservation Education Scholarship for The Les Strnad Award" to explore the estuary as part of Camp SEA Lab's "Elkhorn Slough and You!" weeklong summer program. The campers explored the slough by land, sea, and microscope, learning all about the natural wonders of the slough.

ESF created this award to honor Les Strnad who has dedicated his career to protecting our coast. He helped get the Reserve founded, and he also co-founded Camp SEA Lab.

 

This year's scholarship recipients were all from the Salinas area and none of them had ever visited Elkhorn Slough before. We can tell from the smile on their faces, it was a good time exploring and learning. We hope these young conservationists will share their discoveries and the slough with friends and family. We hope to see them all back here again.

 

Sightings:

Humpback Whales and Sea Otters
Humpback whales have been feeding close to shore near the mouth of Elkhorn Slough. (Photo by Paul Zaretsky)


Humpback whales, Southern sea otters, and an abundance of birds and wildlife have been putting on quite a show at the slough lately.

 

With anchovies schooling along the coast, humpback whales have been feeding unusually close to shore. Moss Landing State Beach, at the mouth of the slough, offers some great locations for whale viewing. (Visit our Sightings blog to see amazing photos taken by Paul Zaretsky just last weekend.)

 

So stop by the beach and, while you're there, enjoy some of the work the Foundation has accomplished in collaboration with State Parks -- from the dune restoration project to interpretive panels describing the wonders of mud, marshes, and sea otters.

 

Speaking of sea otters, we've been seeing a lot of action on the Elkhorn Slough Otter Cam recently, including more than one adorable otter mom and pup.

 

Now's the time to visit, whether in person or online!

 
The Elkhorn Slough Foundation is a nonprofit, community-supported organization working to conserve and restore Elkhorn Slough and its watershed. The Foundation works with local, state and national constituencies to protect our natural heritage.

ESF logo

Elkhorn Slough Foundation
Phone: (831) 728-5939