Spring came so late this year that it might as well have been a really long winter. But it is warm at last, and More Mesa has presented us with three different mysteries! Mystery #1: What was actually found in our vernal pool In our last issue we talked about the More Mesa Vernal Pool…
More Mesa’s Vernal Pool … Full at Last The southeast corner of More Mesa boasts one of the rarest, and most threatened, of natural communities: a vernal pool. Vernal pools form as a result of distinctive climate, soil and topography, and are distinguished by the organisms they host. Many of these organisms are restricted to…
This Month on More Mesa … Winter birds are here! The rains have come, grasses are growing, rodents abound and the birds are here! During one recent western More Mesa bird watch, and over a trail length of only 1/3 of a mile, a single observer recorded 25 species of birds in an hour and…
As another fairly quiet year on More Mesa draws to a close, and as has been our custom, we offer highlights of 2011. Updated Biological Resources Study More than eighteen months after field work for the Updated Biological Resources Study was completed, a draft report was issued by Santa Barbara County. The 429 page report, prepared by…
Vernal Pools With all the emphasis on water in last month’s news, it seemed most appropriate that our web site should include a section devoted entirely to a very special water feature of More Mesa; its vernal pool. As described in the More Mesa Handbook, as well as in the Draft Updated Biological Resources Study,…