NATURAL PERSPECTIVES:

Nothing is as glorious as a day in May.

While poor Vic was cooped up in a classroom last Thursday, I enjoyed a glorious day at Bolsa Chica. I had planned on taking my work crew to Starr Ranch, but the weather forecast said the foothills would be baking in triple digit heat. Hmm. Starr Ranch at 101 degrees or Bolsa Chica at 80 degrees. Which should I choose? No contest.

I e-mailed Department of Fish and Game biologist Kelly O’Reilly and told her we could help out with her high-priority weeding project.

Our task began at the end of Graham Street. Homeowners along that side of the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve had been complaining about the weeds. That strip of land between the raised dirt path and the homes had been cleared by Fieldstone Homes when they owned the land. But after the land transferred to the State Lands Commission, weed abatement became the DFG’s responsibility. Unfortunately, DFG has essentially no budget to manage the land. That’s where the corps stepped in. I get to choose where to take my crews of new corps members, and last week I chose Bolsa Chica.

Orientation Supervisor Javier Cabrera showed up at the end of Graham Street with a van full of eager new corps members. I did an introduction to work in the field and the Bolsa Chica. The 15 corps members then attacked the weeds with enthusiasm, carefully sparing the native pickleweed and heliotrope that we found.

It was a good thing I did my safety lecture on rattlesnakes first, because we found a young one under some of the weeds. I had explained to the corps members that most rattlesnake bites are on the hands and forearms of boys and young men. Gee, why do you think that is? Oh, look, a snake. Let’s pick it up! I guess it’s a guy thing.

But forewarned is forearmed, and thankfully no one tried to pick up this snake. I explained that young rattlesnakes are more dangerous than older ones because they haven’t yet learned to control their venom release. An older and wiser rattlesnake will sense that a human is too big to kill and will bite without releasing much, if any, of its venom. A young snake hasn’t learned to dole it out and will release it all. While I was explaining this, Simeon Jasso, the supervisor of the corps’ Bolsa Chica crew, gently scooped the snake up with a shovel. He released it through the fence into the ecological reserve, away from the homes. The snake never even rattled, a good sign that it was not distressed.

During the course of weed removal, we also found two western fence lizards and a couple of nests of field mice. Although this strip of land was covered almost exclusively with non-native plants, it did support some native animals.

Unfortunately, there are neither plans nor funds to restore this area. And that’s the sad thing about this weed abatement project. If natives aren’t planted, this strip of dirt will just grow weeds again. Without restoration, this could become an endless problem, one I’m not willing to fix year after year. There will need to be a decent restoration plan developed and then implemented for this area.

We had a great morning under blue skies with perfect temperatures. However, I noticed cliff swallows gathering mud for their nests. I had seen them building on the side of a nearby house when I had walked this area with Kelly a few weeks ago.

I was surprised they were still nest-building. By now they should be incubating eggs. I walked down to the house that had the nests and noted the nests had been removed. Once the swallows have finished the nests and eggs are present, it is illegal to disturb them.

Here’s what the DFG has to say on the subject:

“All swallows are included under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 as migratory insectivorous birds and as such are protected by state and federal regulations. The California Department of Fish and Game, the enforcement agency, considers February 15 to September 1 to be the swallow nesting season. Completed nests during this breeding season cannot be touched without a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Outside of these dates, the nests can be removed without a permit.”

I had pointed out the nests to Kelly a few weeks ago to document their presence, knowing that sometimes people will hose the nests off their houses. And sure enough, that’s just what happened. These little birds winter in South America. Then they undergo the long migration north and what happens? Their nests get destroyed. Swallows are not only beautiful and graceful aerialists, but also beneficial to the environment.

The only things these birds eat are insects, generally ones that bother us. If you have swallows nesting on your house, please let them be. You can remove the nests after the end of August.

Well, that was the only sour note of our otherwise splendid day. Vic joined us for lunch, after which we all went down to the beach. A few brave souls took off their shoes and played briefly in the ocean, including me. We completed our day with a visit to the Bolsa Chica Conservancy’s interpretive building, where the corps members enjoyed the live lizards and snakes, plus all the marine critters in the saltwater tanks. Then, like many people in town, I came home and hosed the beach sand off my feet. Life is good.

VIC LEIPZIG and LOU MURRAY are Huntington Beach residents and environmentalists. They can be reached at vicleipzig@aol.com.