Nature stuff going on around San Diego the weekend of January 31-Feb 1, 2015

Buena Vista Lagoon

I usually post my weekend events articles on Examiner, but thought I would post them here and see how they do. I may go back to posting them on Examiner in the future.

Saturday's weather is supposed to be a little wet, but may clear up in the afternoon. It should still be a nice weekend for most activities, though. Bring an umbrella for Saturday morning. Here are a few things going on this weekend.

Earth Discovery Institute: I like posting events for this organization. Mostly, they work with the east county preserves such as Rancho Jamul and Crestridge. This weekend, they will be having  the "Lilac 5k Fun Run and Kids Fun Run Fundraiser" on Saturday, January 31st from 7-11am. The actual race starts at 8:30am. and begins at the Crestwood Ecological Horsemill Road entrance at 1171 Horsemill Road in El Cajon. Unfortunately, pre-registration ends tonight. But, you can register at the day of the event. Entry fees for the race on the day of the event are $30, but Crest residents get $5 off. The fun run is $15 for the day of the race. Contact the Earth Discovery Institute at  619-447-4715 or email info@earthdiscovery.com for more information.

Mission Trails Regional Park: The park wants people to know that the south climbers trail is now open. It was damaged by fire last summer. This area is popular for climbers and is open from sunrise to sunset. Be prepared for a lot of people on the weekends. Also, if you want to learn about the basics of birding at Mission Trails, there will be a free class this Saturday at 1pm in the Visitor's Center. They are located at 1Father Junipero Serra Trail in east San Diego. Call them at (619) 668-3281 for more details.

Buena Vista Audubon: You can also learn about basic birding and participate in a bird count at the lagoon this Saturday beginning at 8am. The class starts at their nature center at 2202 S. Coast Highway in Oceanside. Joan Fountain at 760-729-1379 and Tom Troy at 760-420-7328 are the ones leading the class and count.

Update on "Mystery Goo": So far, no one knows what the goo is, but some of the bird patients that were being cleaned are being re-released in a different location. They have ruled out oil and PIB, the substance that killed hundreds of sea birds in Great Britain a few years ago. The little dunlin shown in the picture on this blog a few posts ago is said to be doing well.

On My Examiner.com page: Sorry that I haven't posted a Lake Murray birding update as I've been a bit under the weather. I may have to pass on it for this month and post it next month. 

West coast updates and news

Hi everyone!  Sorry I haven't posted much in the last month on any of my blogs. For one, I haven't been taking very many photos of birds and such.  Also, I haven't done a whole lot of artwork, either. I may write here more regularly now, though.

For those of you who have known me from Examiner.com may notice me posting a lot fewer articles. The main reason is money. I'm practically not getting paid anymore. I get paid for traffic and nothing else. I used to get paid every month, but not for a long time. I think it's due to overall changes in search engine criteria and the internet. It's also hard to get support when I need it. I'm planning on writing one article a week or less each month until page views there go up. I actually get paid more doing other things or even blogging.

Speaking of Examiner, I just published an article there about a massive goo problem in the San Francisco Bay Area. International Bird Rescue has been inundated with birds stuck with a sticky substance similar to rubber cement. Right now, it is not known what the substance is, but it is suspected to be the same substance that affected sea birds off the coast of Great Britain a couple years ago. You can read more about this in my Examiner article:   Mysterious substance coats sea birds in East San Francisco Bay.  IBR says it's up to almost 300 birds in need of care and that the goo may have made it to the west side of the bay.

Gunked up patient at International Bird Rescue
Credit: International Bird Rescue

They need a lot of donations because there is no one deemed responsible for the mess, yet, so they're paying for everything.  You can donate on their site or pick them as a charity to donate through Amazon Smile.

I haven't posted anything on the killdeer blog, lately. But, I do have a few pictures I've taken. When I was counting birds, I came across these rare guys at Lake Murray (horned grebes):

This weekend: If you are looking for stuff to do this weekend, the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve will be cleaning up junk in the Tijuana River Valley from 9AM to Noon this coming Sunday, the 25th. Meet at the entrance to Border Field Park at 1500 Monument Road. You must RSVP for this project.  You can do so here.

King Tides!!! Today was the second day of King Tides in San Diego! Today's was at 8:30AM. Tomorrow, it will be at 9:01AM.  A good place to see them is anywhere along the shoreline, or around San Diego Bay. If you miss tomorrow's tides, look for some in the middle of February.

Here are a couple photos I took last year of the King Tides. It went right over the bike path in the South Bay near the Silver Strand.

What's going on this weekend, October 25-26th, 2014

Wow, lots of things going on in San Diego this weekend, mostly related to fall and Halloween.  Here are a few things I've found:

Boo Parade:  This parade is happening October 25th at 10 AM along El Cajon Boulevard from 54th Street to Montezuma Road.  Then, there will be a festival at College Avenue Baptist Church from 11AM to 5PM. Visit the official website, http://collegeareabid.com/boo/  for more information.

Least Tern Habitat Restoration:  If working outdoors and helping wildlife is your thing, come out to Stony Point on Fiesta Island to work on the least tern nesting area.  Volunteers will be helping with weeding and repairing the habitat to help manage the weeds before the terns return to nest next year. Stony Point is located at the far end of the dog run on the west side of Fiesta Island.  It starts at 9:30 a.m. and ends at 12:30 p.m.  Contact the Conservation Program Intern, Christina Hirt, at 858-273-7800 or at hirt@sandiegoaudubon.org.

By the way, if you want more information about San Diego's wildlife or nature events, you can visit my column on Examiner.com

Borrego Days:  I really love this festival out in the desert in the middle of the Anza-Borrego Desert State Park.  It happens every year on the last weekend of October.  This year, it will start on October 24th at 5PM, but the parade takes place on the 25th at 10AM.  From the 24-26th, there will be live music, food, and art booths at the Circle.  For a schedule, directions, and all the rest,  visit the Borrego Chamber of Commerce's official page.

There are a lot of other things going on this weekend, but to list them all would make this a really long article.  These three are my favorites.  Don't forget, also, there will be a special Bicycle Birding tour on the Silver Strand next Thursday morning, October 30th at 8AM, as well.  You can find more details about that on the San Diego Audubon Page.