More Mesa Preservation Coalition

Winter 2017

Posted on February 8, 2017 | by MMPC

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 a half! Among these were several raptors:

Short-eared Owl - photo by Barry Rowan — Short-eared Owl – photo by Barry Rowan

White-tailed Kites … our signature bird and a fully protected species. A pair of kites was reported, a fact that bodes well for potential breeding.
Short-eared Owls … a pair of this species listed as “Special Concern” was also noted. Theses owls hunt at dusk and are rarely observed. The last sightings of this species were in 2012 and 2013.
Burrowing Owl … very small species, also listed as “Special Concern”, and seen only in winter on More Mesa.
Northern Harrier … common winter visitor and also of “Special Concern”.
Loggerhead Shrike … another smaller raptor seen occasionally, also of “Special Concern”.
Kestrel … seen earlier this year as well.
Red-tailed Hawk … often seen in trees around Hope Ranch

These are all wonderful birds to watch. Visit More Mesa and experience them first hand!

Ask the President

Q: I noticed some digging in various areas out on More Mesa. What’s going on?

A: It’s the rainy season! As you all know, we have been eagerly awaiting the long anticipated rains we so sorely need. And while water is wonderful stuff, especially now, it needs to be kept off the trails. Why … because large volumes of fast flowing water can destroy trails. How can we prevent this? By constructing a “water bar”.

A water bar is a feature that is used to prevent erosion on steep or sloping trails. In the case of More Mesa, water bars are diagonal channels that have been shoveled across most of More Mesa’s major trails. These channels serve two purposes: they slow the speed of flowing water and then divert it into a larger drain basin. By constructing a series of water bars at intervals along a trail, the volume of water flowing down the whole trail is reduced. Without water bars, there is risk of flooding, washouts and accelerated trail degradation.

Now for the mystery of the water bars … Throughout past years some incredibly knowledgeable and caring person has been creating water bars all over More Mesa during the rainy season. MMPC does not know the identity of this person, but we sure would like this environmental hero to raise his or her hand to receive our heartfelt thanks! We owe you a tremendous debt of gratitude for this huge undertaking; and one that has been carried out with such a high degree of sensitivity and caring for More Mesa. THANK YOU!

You Can Help … Reconnect with More Mesa

This month go out onto More Mesa …

Look at its many habitats (grasses, trees, wetlands, scrub), the birds, and other people enjoying this magical place.
Feel the breeze and the sun on your face.
Listen for birds, animals and the sound of the wind.
Smell the grasses and the freshness created by rain.

IT’S A PARTY OUT THERE!

Remembering Lynn

We are deeply saddened to report the recent passing of Lynn Watson, the creative force behind our award winning MMPC website. Since the beginning of 2004, the significant contributions made by Lynn Watson on behalf of the More Mesa Preservation Coalition have had an extremely positive impact on all our efforts. She had been the driving force behind the creation, maintenance and enhancement of our web site; acknowledged by the Santa Barbara community as an outstanding resource, providing both updates on issues concerning More Mesa, and as an excellent source of information on its plants and animals as well. Read more about Lynn here. She will be sadly missed.

November 2016

Posted on November 3, 2016 | by MMPC

White-tailed Kites!

Although sightings of White-tailed Kites have been rare in this fifth year of the drought, we are happy to report that a pair of these special birds have been seen, very recently, on the eastern side of More Mesa, and on the western portion as well. While these two sightings may be of the same two birds, it is glorious news that even one pair is still here. And as we explored sources of information about our iconic bird, it appears that a pair actually fledged two chicks this past spring. The fledging, on western More Mesa, was one of only two reported nests in the entire Goleta Valley for this year. This information reminds us, once again, how important More Mesa is to the survival of this “California Bird of Special Concern”.

To learn more about this beautiful and important bird, visit two different articles hosted on our web site.

The first is a life history of White-tailed Kites and illustrated with many images of the kites at various stages of life: chicks, fledglings, courtship and breeding.
The second, titled “Vieja Kites” is the fascinating story of a year when a pair of White-tailed Kites nested on Vieja Drive but hunted, and taught their young to hunt on More Mesa.

White-tailed kites are found almost year-round on More Mesa where they have well-established, historic nesting sites. In 2004, two of these sites were made unusable because of human activity. A homeless person camped under one of the nesting trees, and BMX bicyclists rode noisily under another.

Because of this, the first nesting attempt by the affected kite pair failed, and in a second attempt, the pair chose a stand of oaks at the end of Vieja Drive very close to More Mesa.

On More Mesa, adult kite on left, juvenile kite on right.

October 2016

Posted on September 28, 2016 | by MMPC

Earthquake on More Mesa?

On the very first day of last month, at 8:42 in the morning, a magnitude 2.7, earthquake was reported for the More Mesa area. This event was incorrectly labeled in the press as the “Goleta Earthquake”. However in fact, the longitude and latitude of the quake epicenter placed it near a residence in Hope Ranch, about 1/3 mile due east of the edge of More Mesa (See aerial photo below.)

This low magnitude quake was not an unusual occurrence because our area, like most of California, is riddled with earthquake faults … and tremors are very frequent. For example, there have been 97 events of magnitude 1.5 or greater in Santa Barbara during the last year. The geologic map below shows various faults in the immediate area of More Mesa, with either black or red lines depending on the geologic deposits involved. Prominent among all the small faults shown, and at the north-eastern section of More Mesa, is the intersection of two larger faults, the More Ranch Fault and the Lavigia Fault.

To learn more about the geology of More Mesa, go to our 2014 Symposium videos and click on any of the titles. All Symposium videos will then appear on Vimeo. Geology is discussed in the talk titled “Ecology of More Mesa.”

We are indebted to the U.S. Geological Survey for providing the new and updated map geologic map of the Santa Barbara area, a map formulated with a major contribution from our own Dr. Edward Keller of UCSB.

September 2016

Posted on September 3, 2016 | by MMPC

Time to Migrate

The underlying reason for bird migration is survival: moving to areas with better food resources for the time of year. Birds move northward in spring, where they find abundant insects, flowering plants and in the less inhabited Northern Hemisphere, a higher number of nesting sites. However, as winter approaches and the availability of these resources wanes, the birds move south again, with escaping the cold being an additional motivation for many species.

To help understand these migrations, Cornell University’s “All About Birds” has constructed a set of mind-boggling monthly maps of the movements of a compendium of 118 species of birds. Six of these are More Mesa residents; Willow Flycatcher, Western Kingbird, Townsend’s Warbler, Western Peewee, Western Tanager and Wilson’s Warbler. We urge you to visit this fascinating site, by clicking here to view the original page for the graphic below.

White-crowned Sparrow

More Mesa serves as an overwintering site for White-crowned Sparrows that spend summers far to the north. These migrants arrive in late August and September, and are generally seen in flocks feeding in short grass or open areas, often in the company of other similar feeding bird species.

Excerpted from this link at Whatbird:

The White-crowned Sparrow is one of the best-studied songbirds in North America. Much of our knowledge of bird song and development is based on studies of this species.
Because males learn the songs they grew up with and do not travel far from where they were raised, song dialects frequently form. Males on the edge of two dialects may be bilingual and able to sing both dialects.
Four of the five subspecies are migratory. The sedentary race lives in a very narrow band along the California coast (see map at the link).
A group of sparrows has many collective nouns, including a “crew”, “flutter”, “meinie”, “quarrel”, and “ubiquity” of sparrows.

The song of the White-crowned Sparrow is distinctive. If you hear the song in the video in the coming weeks, it will mean the birds have reached their overwintering grounds in our area, and will continue to be heard until they fly north again in the spring.

The video includes a short clip of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker drumming, at the end.

August 2016

Posted on August 5, 2016 | by MMPC

A Tiny Bright Light

In a world dominated by talk of drought, we offer a tiny bright spot … about a lovely native plant; Seacliff Buckwheat. While almost all of our More Mesa native wildflowers bloom in spring, this cliff and dune dwelling plant flowers in the middle of summer, providing nectar to many butterflies and insects. We are happy to report that it has bloomed again this summer; the fifth year of our worst-ever drought and thereby proving that it is truly a “drought resistant” species.

And a Gentle Reminder …

While the drought is extremely distressing for human populations, it is a matter of life or death for wildlife. With little water and dwindling food supplies, animals are emboldened to enter urban spaces in search of food. Because this appears to be happening in our area, we urge you to protect and shelter your pets; especially at night. We also urge you to NEVER feed wild creatures; either directly, or by inadvertently leaving pet food where they can access it. Providing food to wildlife acclimates animals to humans and will eventually result in their demise.