Falcon City

In early spring, downtown San Francisco’soffice workers are treated to quite an air show outside their office windows.In recent years, George and Gracie (a young, mating pair of peregrine falcons)have chosen to nest among the soaring skyscrapers just south of Market Street. The pair has acquired an enthusiasticfollowing since they were first spotted nesting on a high ledge in the PG&Eheadquarters building in 2003.

In 2005, PG&E worked with the Santa Cruz Predatory Bird Research Groupto install cameras near the falcons’ nesting box or “scrape,” soperegrine fans from the Bay Area and beyond could watch the nesting processfrom start to finish–from George and Gracie’s mating displays, to egg layingand incubation, to feeding voracious young, and finally to the fledging of thechicks.

George and Gracie have changed nest locations a couple of times over thepast few years, but they remain in the same general vicinity. Last spring,they nested in a planter box perched 30 floors above Mission Street, with a grand view of the Bay Bridge. This year, the pair has returned to the moresheltered nesting scrape in the PG&E building where they are now takingturns incubating their recently laid egg.

Peregrines select nest sites that will both provide protection for theiryoung and also give the adults ready access to prey. On the crowded streets of San Francisco, that means pigeons. And there’s no shortageof those. But peregrines will also hunt other small birds and rodents. Fordowntown office workers, there’s nothing quite like seeing a diving peregrinesnatch a bird in flight right outside your window!

More information about George and Gracie and a link to the web cam toview their lofty nest can be found at the SantaCruz Predatory Bird Research Group website.

Gray Whale Migration

Now is the time to see gray whales migrating along the California coast and maybe even appearing inside the Bay. The whales travel up to 6,000 miles each way between their breeding grounds in Baja California and their principal feeding areas in the North Pacific. They generally stay close to shore during their migration, preferring the relatively shallow waters along the coast. They can sometimes even be spotted from shore, especially at protruding points such as Point Reyes.

The whales’ southward migration occurs between December and February, and the northward return between March and April. They average approximately 80 miles per day. Gray whales occasionally enter San Francisco Bay; the peak number of sightings in the Bay has occurred in March through May, coinciding with the whale’s northbound migration.

Keep an eye out for a whale’s spout as it exhales. Gray whales exhale a heart-shaped plume of mist–generally blowing three to five times in 15- to 30-second intervals before raising their flukes and diving (or “sounding”). They’ll generally stay submerged for three to five minutes before breaking the surface to take more breaths. Another behavior to watch for is called “spy hopping”– the whale sticks its head just above the water. We don’t know why whales spy hop, but many scientists believe the whales are looking for landmarks to keep themselves oriented in relation to the shoreline.

The Eastern Pacific population of gray whales represents a conservation success story. In the late 1930s, they were driven to the brink of extinction by commercial whaling –their numbers may have dropped to as low as 1,000 individuals. The International Whaling Commission banned commercial hunting in the late 1940s, and that has enabled the population to recover to its pre-exploitation abundance, estimated at about 21,000 whales.

Down on the Farm

Even in a place as bountiful as the Bay Area, many of us can lose sight of where our food comes from. Luckily, there are a number of kid-friendly farms where we can all go to get reminded of the lives of fruits, vegetables, and farm animals before they show up at the market.

Kids of all ages will get the chance to connect with nature, learn about growing healthy food, and better understand their own connection to the sun, soil, water, air, and the people who work to feed them.

North Bay

Full House Farm

1000 Sexton Road, Sebastopol

(707)829-1561 or (888)596-6006

www.fhfarm.com

Encompassing 23 acres of mostly wild land in western Sonoma County, Full House Farm in Sebastopol features an organic garden growing corn, potatoes, peas, beans, artichokes, tomatoes, zucchini, basil, strawberries, and more. The animals they raise are fed only organic foods. On tours of the farm, offered for small and large groups, you’ll get to feed sheep, collect eggs, learn about horses and rabbits, and sit atop the big farm tractor. Meanwhile, you’ll be learning about micro-farming, organic foods, and sustainable living. All visitors are welcome to enjoy the private walking trails that wind through the forest, oak groves, and meadows on the property. There are picnic facilities available for day visitors.

Slide Ranch

2025 Shoreline Highway, Muir Beach

(415)381-6155

www.slideranch.org

Founded in 1970, Slide Ranch is a nonprofit teaching farm located at a historic coastal dairy perched above the ocean in the Marin Headlands within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area (GGNRA). Slide Ranch staff operate the farm and maintain a turn-of-the-century farmhouse, old creamery, and several outbuildings situated along a scenic coastal bluff. The ranch itself features organic gardens, goats, sheep, chickens, and ducks, and numerous coastal trails, tide-pools, and pocket beaches add to this ideal outdoor venue for teaching about healthy foods, healthy living, and environmental awareness.

Harvest Celebration

Saturday, October 11th (10am-4pm)

Celebrate the season of harvest and bounty in the style of an old time country fair! Create and name a scarecrow, learn to spin wool, or just relax in the beautiful garden. All members of the family can have fun meeting the ranch chickens, goats, sheep, and ducks. Enjoy a variety of craft activities, guided tours and coastal hikes, games, local food, and live music.

Fee: $20/person in advance; $25 at the gate; $75 for families of 4 or more; age 2 and under free

Family Farm Days:

Family Programs are offered on most weekends throughout the fall and spring and offer families the opportunity to share in the wonders of Slide Ranch. Under the guidance of the ranch’s experienced teachers, the possibilities are endless. Visitors can milk a goat, rub a sheep’s wool, feed and collect eggs from the chickens, plant a seed, sample from the organic garden, learn to make crafts and food just like the early farmers and explore miles of wild land trails and tide pools. Pre-registration is required for all Family Programs. Payment is required to hold reservations. Spots fill up quick but waiting lists are available.

Fee: $20/person, age 2 and under free. $75 for families of 4 or more.

East Bay

The Little Farm

Tilden Park

(North End of Central Park Drive)

Tilden Nature Area

Berkeley, CA 94708

(510) 525-2233

Located among the 740 acres of Tilden Park’s Nature Area, The Little Farm was built in 1955 and features a variety of farm animals including cows, sheep, goats, rabbits, chickens and pigs. Several heritage breeds are preserved here, including Milking Shorthorn Cattle. Visitors are welcome to bring lettuce or celery (but nothing else) to feed the animals. Open Daily 8:30 a.m to 4:00 p.m.

Upcoming Events:

Little Farm Open House Activities

October 12, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Kids will be able to grind corn to feed the chickens, pet a rabbit, groom a goat, or help out in the garden. There will be farm fun to be had for the entire family! Disabled accessible. This is a drop in program; no registration is required. (510) 525-2233 for information.

Mini Farmers

October 18, from 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

A farm exploration program for kids ages 4-6 years. Kids will explore the Little Farm, care for animals, do crafts and try some farm chores. Participants should wear boots, and dress to get dirty! Registration is required. Call 1-888-327-2757 for more information and registration

Farm Songs and Stories

October 25, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m.

Love to sing, but can’t carry a tune? Everyone is welcome to squawk through classic songs and hear a farm story. Afterwards, participants will grind some corn to feed the chickens! Disabled accessible. This is a drop in program; no registration is required. For information, call (510) 525-2233 for more information.

For more information on events and registration, check Tilden Park Nature Area Events Webpage

South Bay

Ardenwood Historic Farm

34600 Ardenwood Blvd.,

Fremont, California 94555

(888) 327-2757, option 3, Ext. 4504

www.ebparks.org/parks/ardenwood

A visit to Fremont’s Ardenwood Farm transports visitors back in time to experience what farm life was like at the turn of the 20th century. Located on 205 acres in the heart of Silicon Valley, Ardenwood is well known for both its Harvest Festival held in October and for its Victorian Christmas Faire held in early December. Ardenwood also has plenty of year round activities for both kids and adults to enjoy. Visitors to the farm can join in doing old-fashioned farm chores, visit a cow or a sheep, try their hand at turn of the century crafts, sample a cookie freshly cooked in a wood burning stove, ride a horse drawn railroad or tour a fully restored Victorian farm house. Since Ardenwood is a working farm, the daily activities change from season to season so no two visits are exactly alike. Entry fee varies seasonally. Details and activity schedules are available on the EBRPD’s Ardenwood website at: http://www.ebparks.org/parks/ardenwood#activities

Harvest Festival

October 11 &12

It’s harvest time on the farm! Bring your family and join your friends for some down home country fun. Harvest the Indian corn and popcorn and help fill our corncribs. Take home a share of our colorful corn for your holiday table. Bring your own bags to take home your harvest. Enjoy magic shows, cider pressing, old-time music and crafts. Visit the blacksmith, ride the horse-drawn train and tour the beautiful Patterson House. Disabled accessible. Ardenwood admission fee applies. This is a drop in program; no registration is required. For information, call (510) 796-0199.

Hidden Villa Farms

26870 Moody Road,

Los Altos Hills, CA 94022,

(650) 949-8650

www.hiddenvilla.org

Hidden Villa is open Tuesday – Sunday from 9:00 a.m. to Dusk

Closed to the public on Mondays

Hidden Villa is a nonprofit educational organization that uses its organic farm, wilderness, and community to teach and provide opportunities to learn about the environment and social justice. Hidden Villa stretches over 1600 acres of open space in the foothills of the Santa Cruz Mountains, about 40 miles south of San Francisco. Children, adults, and families learn about the environment, and other cultures through fun activities in a non-urban setting. Visitors can visit with pigs, chickens, ducks and goats while exploring the farm’s gardens or hike on the surrounding eight miles of trails.

Weekend Farm Tours

Most Weekends:11:00 a.m. & 1:00 p.m. rain or shine

Taste a root, come face to snout with a pig, and discover the connections between sweaters and sheep on a guided tour of Hidden Villa’s farm and educational garden. Public and group tours available. Tours held rain or shine and last approximately an hour and a half.

$7 per person.

Reservations are highly recommended and require advance payment.

Deer Hollow Farm (Rancho San Antonio)

Cristo Rey Drive

Los Altos, CA 94024

(650) 691-1200

www.openspace.org/activities/deer_hollow_farm.asp

www.fodhf.org

The historic 10-acre Deer Hollow Farm is an educational center where visitors, school classes, and community groups can observe and participate in a working farm. Visitors are welcome to take a self-guided tour to learn about the history of Deer Hollow Farm and view the livestock at their leisure. The open-air, historic hay barn at the north end of the farm has many picnic tables for public use. Be prepared to remove all garbage, as there are no trashcans at the Farm or in the Preserve.

The farm site is open to the public Tuesday through Sunday from 8AM to 4PM, with the exception of Wednesday afternoon when it is closed from 1-4PM.

Upcoming events include:

Annual Ohlone Day

Saturday October 18, 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Tour a replica Native American Ohlone Village and discover the history of the Ohlones who lived in the Bay Area for 10,000 years. Kid-friendly, hands-on activities provide participants a glimpse into Ohlone daily life. Bring your family and support this living history festival. All proceeds help fund Farm field trips.

Spring/Summer Farm (Spring 2009)

The public can drop in to visit the animals and learn about homestead farming. Visitors can view the rabbits, sheep, goats, chickens, ducks, and pigs and check out the new farm babies. Tours include a walk through the farm’s large vegetable garden and rare century-old farm buildings. During this time of year, those on the tours get to go inside the pens to meet the new farm babies up close.

Whales at the Farallon Islands

Picture hungry tourists swarming around an all-you-can-eat buffet. Only the tourists are 100 feet long and weigh almost 200,000 pounds. These are blue whales, the largest animals ever, and they’ve come to feast on some of the tiniest animals on the planet: millions upon millions of tiny shrimplike krill.

The scene is the Farallon Islands, dramatic granite outcrops 27 miles west of the Golden Gate. Perched at the edge of the continental shelf, this is a place where seasonal shifts in ocean currents cause upwelling of cold, nutrient-rich water from the ocean depths. That in turn stimulates the growth of massive blooms of phytoplankton at the water’s surface. These microscopic plankton constitute the base of the oceanic food chain. The plankton are eaten by the krill.

Averaging close to 100 tons, blue whales can consume as much as four tons of krill a day during their summer feeding season. The bounty of krill found in the ocean waters around the Farallon Islands is actually able to support that astounding level of consumption by a population of blue whales that visit here during the summer and early fall in the years when upwelling occurs.

That’s when whale-watching cruises to the Farallon Islands regularly spot feeding blue whales and their acrobatic cousins, the humpbacks, as well as a number of other marine mammal species. In years when upwelling does not occur, or is disrupted by anomalies in global weather patterns, such as in 2005 and 2006, these species may be absent or much rarer.

We in the Bay Area are lucky to be able to witness these endangered leviathans firsthand. Driven nearly to extinction by whaling in the 20th century, the blue whale’s numbers are still far below pre-whaling population estimates. It is thought that there are around 4,000 blue whales in the northern hemisphere, a far cry from their world-wide pre-whaling population of over 300,000.

Long Line Fishing Update

On August 10, 2007, the California Coastal Commission unanimously voted to deny a fishing permit to allow experimental long-line fishing off the coast of California and Oregon for the first time since 2004. The proposal by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) would have allowed the Ocean Pacific Sea Food Company to make four expeditions to test the economic and environmental feasibility of catching swordfish using the long-line method, in which hundreds or thousands of hooks are suspended from a central line as long as 100 kilometers.

In its denial, the Coastal Commission cited concerns that the tests might have serious consequences for a number of protected species, including the critically endangered leatherback turtle.

Like other industrial fishing methods, long-lining can result in a great deal of bycatch, hooking many nontarget species over a wide area. When fishers pursue species such as swordfish, the hooks are rigged to hang at depths of less than 100 meters, which makes them tempting targets for surface-dwellers like marine turtles. Other fishing techniques, such as drift gill netting (in which vertical nets are set and periodically reeled in) and trawling (in which a net is hauled behind a boat or boats) are seasonally permitted in the region affected by the proposed permit. The NMFS suggested that a long-line test—using special “circle hooks” to reduce turtle mortality—might shed light on the relative environmental impacts of those techniques on species like the leatherback.

Weighing in at up to 2,000 pounds, leatherbacks are the largest living reptiles, and they were first listed as endangered in 1970. Their population has declined precipitously since then. A 1982 study by renowned turtle biologist Peter Pritchard estimated that approximately 115,000 mature female leatherbacks existed in the wild, with roughly half of them nesting along the western coast of Mexico. A 2002 population census found fewer than 2,000 mature females along the Pacific coast of the Americas. It is estimated that the Pacific leatherback population is decreasing by as much as a third every year.

Researchers place most of the responsibility for this continued decline on bycatch from industrial fishing. Long-line fishing is not solely to blame: an article published in February 2007 in the journal Conservation Biology suggested that bycatch from the trawl and gillnet fisheries is as high as or higher than that from long-lining, and with significantly higher mortality rates. Furthermore, the NMFS has stated that “[l]ong line fishing is clearly preferable to drift gill when it comes to [bycatch of] marine mammals.” In light of these facts, a reevaluation of permitted Pacific fishery practices might seem welcome, but the Coastal Commission decided that an expansion of fishing in the important foraging waters north of the leatherback’s breeding grounds posed too much of a risk.

The commission did signal that it might be receptive to future experiments to determine what type of Pacific fishery would be least environmentally harmful. The statement denying the long-lining permit notes that conducting a long-line test “in the same waters and period drift gill netting is allowed would appear to provide more useful comparisons of the two fisheries.”

Learn more from this excellent survey of commercial fishing methods.

The Biggest Bony Fish in the Oceans Swims in the Gulf of the Farallones

Weighing in at almost 5,000 pounds, measuring over ten feet across, infested with scores of parasites, carrying more eggs than any other vertebrate, and shaped like a giant dinner plate—the giant ocean sunfish (Mola mola) is a creature defined by superlatives.

The most striking feature of this fish, aside from its leviathan proportions, is actually its lack of a feature: Mola mola never develop a true tail fin (known as a caudal fin). Early in its development, the fish’s caudal fin folds into itself to form a rounded rudder called a clavus, creating the mola’s distinct body shape. Mola mola have been described as resembling floating heads. In fact, the German name for the mola is Schwimmender kopf, or “swimming head.” The scientific name Mola mola comes from the Latin word for millstone, which likely refers to this fish’s gray coloring, rough sandpapery skin, and roundish shape. Their common name, ocean sunfish, comes from their affinity for basking in the sun at the water’s surface—where they are often spotted bobbing on their sides like giant, round life rafts.

Mola mola are big—really big. In fact, they are the heaviest of all the bony fishes (that excludes sharks and rays), with some recorded specimens tipping the scales at nearly 5,000 pounds. They have been known to reach 14 feet in vertical length and measure ten feet from head to clavus, where the tail should be. The average mola measures a respectable 5.9 feet in length and weighs around 2,200 pounds, which is still a whole lot of fish.

What the mola lacks in tail, it makes up for with its exaggerated, elongated dorsal and anal fins, which it uses to swim. They wag their dorsal and anal fins from side to side and steer with their rudder-shaped clavus. Though their swimming style is often described as clumsy, mola can be forceful swimmers, according to Tierney Thys, a Monterey-based marine biologist who closely studies these fish.

Thys and her colleagues have had great success attaching satellite tags to a number of Mola mola and other species of sunfish. The data they’ve collected so far tell of an “industrious” deepwater diver that makes repeated daily trips to cold ocean depths—not of a passive, lazy sunbathing drifter, which is what sunfish were once thought to be. Thys thinks this is consistent with their sunbathing habit—a tactic they use to store up heat energy or “thermally recharge” after deep dives.

Thys’s data also give more insight into the mola’s distribution. While the common mola and the other three species of sunfish are known to inhabit all tropical and temperate oceans, data collected from the satellite tags are allowing researchers to better understand the fish’s seasonal distributions. Here in Northern California, molas can regularly be spotted sunning themselves in the waters of the Gulf of the Farallones—and for those who don’t want to venture out on a boat to glimpse these amazing fish, the Monterey Bay aquarium has had great success in keeping Mola mola thriving in captivity. Over the course of 14 months, one mola housed in the aquarium’s Outer Bay exhibit gained over 800 pounds, feasting on a diet of squid, fish, and prawns. This particular specimen had to be airlifted out of the tank by helicopter and released back into the ocean after it grew too large for its tank!

But what does a fish this big eat in the wild? A whole lot. The Mola mola has a tiny mouth in comparison to its enormous body, with teeth that are fused into a beak-like structure. Molas don’t need to be fast to catch their preferred meal of jellyfish. They will also opportunistically feed on other pelagic, gelatinous invertebrates that may come close enough to be sucked into their small mouths. A mola renders its prey into bite-sized pieces by repeatedly sucking it in and spitting it out again. Then, teeth in the mola’s throat help grind food into smaller pieces. Unfortunately for mola, floating plastic bags closely resemble jellyfish—and these fish can choke on the bags or slowly starve as the plastic clogs their stomachs.

A remarkable party of parasites have been found to inhabit molas—some 40 different genera! The molas’ impressive parasite load might actually explain why these leviathans flood into Monterey Bay each fall. They find relief by soliciting the services of cleaner wrasses that live in the bay’s plentiful kelp beds. The wrasses are more than happy to remove a meal of parasites from the skin of visiting molas. Molas have also been observed breaching more than ten feet above the water—probably another tactic to dislodge itchy parasites from their bodies.

In the area of fecundity, molas again have bragging rights. One female mola can produce as many as 300 million eggs at a time—the most of any known vertebrate. Eggs are released into the water and externally fertilized by sperm.

A mola doesn’t start its life as a giant. A mola larvae is about one-tenth of an inch long and covered with needlelike spines. Only in this early stage does it show much resemblance to its relatives, the puffer and porcupine fishes. After that, it’s all about putting on weight. “If it lives to adulthood, a Mola mola can gain over 60 million times its starting weight. That’s the equivalent of a healthy, bouncing human baby growing to a weight equal to six Titanics,” Thys told National Geographic Online News.

Molas are harmless to people, but they can be very curious and regularly approach divers. While molas are eaten throughout Asia, they have little value as food in the United States and Europe. Sadly, they still face threats in California coastal waters: They are the most common bycatch of the drift net fishery. National Marine Fisheries reports from 1990 to 1998 show that Mola mola make up more than 25 percent of the California drift net bycatch.

Read about efforts to improve the health of Central California’s marine ecosystems in our October-December 2007 feature, Making Waves for a Healthy Ocean.

Sustainable seafood resources:

Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch

FishWise

More about Mola mola, including photos:

OceanSunfish.org

University of New Hampshire’s Large Pelagics Lab Mola page

Marine photographer Michael Johnson’s photo gallery

National Geographic Species profile

Kayaking Resources

The San Francisco Bay Area and Central California coast are full of wonderful places to explore in a kayak, from the Russian River south to Monterey and from bayshore wetlands to the wave-swept coast. We’ve compiled some information to help you kayak responsibly—and decide where to go and how to get out on the water once you get there.

RESPONSIBLE KAYAKING

Before you put your paddle in the water, it’s important to understand that you’ll be heading out into the homes of wild creatures that can be quite sensitive to human disturbance.

The Bay Area Sea Kayakers group (www.bask.org) publicizes a list of guidelines called “PADDLE,” adapted from “Seals and Sea Kayaks” published in the spring 1991 edition of Sea Kayaker magazine by Winston Shaw, Director, Coastal Maine Bald Eagle Project.

PASS AFAR

Maintain enough distance to keep animals from feeling threatened. Stay at least 300 feet away from seals, birds, and other wildlife. It is preferable to paddle at high tide in places like Bolinas Lagoon, because, at low tide, birds feed and seals haul out to rest on the mudflats.

APPROACH PARALLEL

Maintain a parallel course to the animal distribution, which is believed to be less threatening than a direct approach. Pass at a constant speed. Do not slow down, speed up, or swing closer to seals or birds.

DISCRETE VIEWING

Restrain your impulse to get closer: If you get too close, wildlife will leave. As you pass, do not engage in any “stalking” activity, or attempt to approach animals undetected. To observe wildlife behavior, use binoculars or a camera with a telephoto lens.

DEFER IMMEDIATELY

If seals begin lifting their heads, or birds begin moving away or flapping their wings, retreat from the area. If seals stretch out their necks or chests higher in the air, back off immediately. If seals start to move toward the water or enter the water, immediately leave the area to avoid prolonged stress on the animals. Backpaddle away from wildlife instead of turning your boat around.

LEAVE ALONE

Do not handle or attempt to “rescue” seal pups that you believe are abandoned or injured. Mother and pup will usually reunite on their own. If you are concerned about a marine mammal, call the Marine Mammal Center at (415)289-7325. They will notify the appropriate agency or respond directly.

EXPLAIN EFFECTS

Tell other paddlers and small boaters how they can help protect wildlife. Marine mammals and migratory birds are protected from harm and harassment by the Endangered Species Act, the National Marine Sanctuary Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act and the Marin County Open Space District Code. It is against the law to harass wildlife. This includes intentionally causing seals or birds to flush.

Check out the BASK site, www.bask.org, for extensive resources about all aspects of sea kayaking in the Bay Area. Find additional wildlife viewing guidelines from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

GREAT BAY AREA KAYAK DESTINATIONS

Tomales Bay

The calm, wind-protected waters of Tomales Bay are an ideal place for viewing wildlife from a kayak. Pelicans, harbor seals, leopard sharks, bat rays, herons, and egrets are just some of the creatures that visit or make their home in and on this scenic bay. Flocks of scoters and groups of loons and bufflehead take shelter here in the winter from the wilder waters of the ocean. And this past spring, many kayakers observed a juvenile gray whale that took up temporary residence at the north end of the bay for several weeks. There are several beautiful, kayak-friendly campsites tucked away on the bay’s sheltered west side. Camping permits are required. Find out more at www.tomalesbay.net/camp.html.

Take note that winds can pick up in the afternoon and paddling becomes significantly more challenging as you approach the more exposed, northern part of the bay.

Tomales Bay Kayak Outfitter:

Blue Waters Kayaking, (415)669-2600, www.bwkayak.com.

Richardson Bay

Richardson Bay has something to offer all levels of sea kayakers—varied scenery, variable weather and currents, wildlife viewing, sweeping vistas of the San Francisco skyline, and boat traffic, fog, and wind. Gliding along the waterfront, paddlers get a close-up view of Sausalito’s eclectic houseboat communities. Harbor seals, sea lions, pelicans, cormorants, scoters, terns, and herons also visit or live in the bay’s relatively calm waters and along its rocky shorelines. Lucky paddlers might even catch a glimpse of a gray whale that has meandered into this ecologically rich arm of the San Francisco Bay on its way north in the spring.

Sausalito Kayak Outfitter:

Sea Trek, (415)488-1000, www.seatrekkayak.com.

Half Moon Bay

The tranquil waters around Half Moon Bay’s Pillar Point Harbor offer novice kayakers excellent views of this wild San Mateo County coastline. You can even glean a bit of geology out on the water: The evidence of millions of years of seismic activity—uplifting, faulting, and folding—are all startlingly evident when you look back at the coastline from the ocean. There’s an abundance of shorebirds here: Western snowy plovers, California and glaucous-winged gulls, brown pelicans, and sanderlings are just a few of the species paddlers may encounter. Harbor seals, California sea lions, and migrating gray whales also frequent Half Moon Bay.

Half Moon Bay Outfitters:

California Canoe & Kayak, (650)728-1803, www.calkayak.com

Half Moon Bay Kayak Company, (650)773-6101, www.hmbkayak.com

Elkhorn Slough

This rich tidal estuary that meets the coast at Moss Landing, near the center of the Monterey Bay coastline, provides much-needed habitat for hundreds of saltwater, freshwater, and marshland plants and animals. The best way, hands-down, to experience this wildlife diversity is by kayak, giving you the opportunity to view seals resting on the mudflats and sea otters playing in the calm waters of the slough. In summer, kayakers might glimpse the dorsal fins of smoothhound and leopard sharks cutting through the water’s surface. (These small sharks pose no danger to people.) Fall is an excellent time to view migratory shorebirds, when thousands of birds descend upon the slough to feed on the mudflats. September is also the prime time for spotting brown pelicans as they plunge into the slough’s water in pursuit of prey. Elkhorn is an important stopover for the pelicans as they make their way south to breeding grounds in Baja.

Elkhorn Slough Outfitters:

Great Expeditions, (831)425-0390, www.ge-trips.com

Kayak Connection, Moss Landing (831)724-5692, www.kayakconnection.com

Monterey Bay Kayaks, (800)649-5357, www.montereybaykayaks.com

Bair Island

Surrounded by and laced with a maze of winding channels, Bair Island offers novice kayakers a calm, intimate paddling experience just minutes from bayside urban centers. Part of the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge, this extraordinarily productive tidal marsh is home to endangered salt marsh harvest mice, California clapper rails, and snowy plovers. Countless more common bird species also make their home among the refuge’s tidal flats and pickleweed- and cordgrass-covered marshland. More than 280 bird species pass through the refuge every year. In spring, paddlers have a good chance of spotting harbor seals hauled out along the island’s protected sloughs, where they give birth to pups and nurse their young. Paddle at dusk and you might even glimpse native gray foxes foraging in the marsh uplands.

Bair Island Outfitters:

California Canoe and Kayak, (650)728-1803, www.calkayak.com

Great Expeditions, (831)425-0390, www.ge-trips.com

Presidio, Past and Present

San Francisco’s Presidio is among the richest historical sites in the Bay region, or perhaps in all of California, a place with structures and changes in the landscape that go back to the arrival of the Spanish in 1776 and to the centuries before that when the Ohlone created settlements near the park’s streams and springs.

In our April 2007 feature Whispers in the Water, we just scratched the surface of the life of longtime Presidio resident Juana Briones, a true pioneer who forged her own path, establishing, with her two sisters, a commercial empire that included thriving businesses and real estate in several Bay Area towns.

Juana and her sisters, who all lived near El Polin Springs at some point, developed a prosperous business marketing fresh milk, meat, and vegetables from their farms to sailors and merchants on visiting ships. The Tennessee Hollow Watershed Archaeology Project, a joint research project of Stanford University, the Presidio Trust, and the National Park Service, continues to unearth clues as to how this valley was used by Juana and her contemporaries during the Spanish-colonial and the Mexican periods of the Presidio. In 2003, archaeologists discovered artifacts and the stone foundation of a Spanish-colonial/Mexican period adobe house where the Briones family likely lived.

Juana Briones’s legacy extends well beyond the Presidio. With the profits from her business, Juana purchased the 4,400-acre Rancho Purísima Concepcion, located in the hills of present-day Palo Alto and Los Altos Hills. A part of her adobe home still stands on Old Adobe Road in the Los Altos Hills. The 160-year-old home has been the subject of a nine-year legal battle between the current landowners and city officials and preservation groups who have been fighting to preserve the building, which was seriously damaged in the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. The owners have said that the $800,000 to $1.5 million required to repair the building is prohibitively expensive. The city of Palo Alto agreed and recently issued a demolition permit for the site. The owners have agreed to allow the Juana Briones Heritage Foundation to have the property photographed and surveyed before demolition. Read the San Francisco Chronicle article PALO ALTO: 160-year-old home can be demolished.

Unearthing Juana Briones’s connection to El Polin springs provides one of many pieces of a puzzle the Presidio Trust is putting together to inform restoration of the Tennessee Hollow Watershed. Because of its importance to Spanish colonial settlement and the prominent role it has played in U.S. Army history, the Presidio, in its entirety, was declared a National Historic Landmark District in 1962. Read more about the Presidio’s remarkable history online.

Many Presidio preservation projects are either underway or have been proposed. Among the largest of the projects is the reconstruction of Doyle Drive, a critical section of Route 101 that connects San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge along the Presidio’s northern waterfront. The project recently received significant state funding, and will of course have major implications for Marin County commuters. But it will also likely open the way for connecting upstream sections of the Tennessee Hollow Watershed with Crissy Field Marsh. For details regarding this huge undertaking and opportunities for public comment, go to the project website.

Descriptions of other major park projects can be found on the Presidio Trust’s website.

The Presidio Trust’s website also provides information on a number of ways you can get involved by volunteering for projects such as the Presidio Native Plant Nursery or the Presidio Archaeology Lab. Details about these and other opportunities can be found at the volunteer page.

The West Coast’s Living Sand Dollars

There’s a lot more to the western sand dollar (Dendraster excentricus) than meets the eye. Most people who spend any time at the beach are familiar with the sand dollar’s skeleton, or test—the rigid, white flattened disk that commonly washes up on local beaches after the animal has died.

But a living sand dollar leads a much more interesting life than one would expect. In life, western sand dollars are covered with thousands of very short purple spines that move in coordinated waves like fields of grain. The surface of the sand dollar also contains an orderly arrangement of five paired rows of tube feet and an army of pedicellariae, small pincher-like organs with moveable jaws. With so many moving parts, the surface of a western sand dollar can be quite a hub of activity.

Found only along the northeastern shores of the Pacific Ocean, the aptly named Dendraster excentricus has evolved some eccentric traits and behaviors that are unique among living sand dollars.

However, the Latin name is not based on the creature’s strangeness, but rather on another meaning of “eccentric”: off-center. This sand dollar’s mouth and its ambulacral radii—special tube feet that extend from the familiar flower-shaped pattern on the top surface of a sand dollar test—are shifted off-center, toward the dollar’s back end.

Links to information on sand dollars and related species:

SFSU page on the western sand dollar

Echinoderm Directory, Natural History Museum-London

That shift is integral to this sand dollar’s peculiar feeding habits. All other species of sand dollar make their living as deposit feeders, lying flat in the sand, mouth side down, using tube feet and mucous filled channels to deliver food to their oral cavity where nutrients are collected from digested sand. Dendraster, which can feed in this way, has evolved its off-center body plan to take advantage of a completely different feeding strategy as well, suspension feeding. While standing up on its edge, the animal plucks small organisms and other organic matter out of the passing current instead of extracting nutrients from digested sand. Scientists aren’t exactly sure what specific environmental factors caused the evolution of this unusual feeding behavior, but they do know that a good part of the Dendraster body plan has adapted to facilitate feeding in an upright position.

Dendraster uses its spines to push up onto its front edge, anchoring itself by burying its front end in the sand, a process that takes about five minutes. It orients itself parallel with the flow of the current, exposing both sides of its test to the passing water. In this position, tube feet and pedicellariae on both surfaces of the animal can reach out into the passing current to grab tiny bits of food. Because the creature’s “business end” is offset, all of its critical parts remain freely exposed to the current and above the sand line even as the animal anchors itself in the sand.

Eccentric positioning of body parts isn’t the only adaptation that sets Dendraster apart from other sand dollar species. It also uses a unique conveyor belt-like system of spines to pass food from the top surface of its test right over the edge to its mouth on its underside, where mucous-filled grooves carry the food to the oral cavity. Because of this adaptation, Dendraster can eat food caught on either its top or bottom surface.

So, the next time you come across a bleached-out sand dollar on a beach, remember that eating while standing up isn’t necessarily bad manners … if you’re a Dendraster.

Thanks to Rich Mooi, curator in the department of invertebrate zoology and geology at the California Academy of Sciences, for his help with this article.