Category: Pretty Critters

Rain. We are having rain. The much needed rain has finally arrived and we are loving it. The hills are slowly putting on their green winter coats, lawns sparkle emerald green, and it is time to check on the river and the waterfowl.

The river carries a lot of water. It has changed from a comparatively gentle waterway to a rushing torrent, complete with the appropriate noise. The Los Angeles River roars.

One should assume that the mallards and all the other birds are loving it. But actually – they don’t. They are hanging out up and down the banks of the river, looking slightly puzzled.

Their islands are flooded, the current is too swift to keep up with. Any bird brave enough to hop into the water gets carried away at an unprecedented pace.

The only ones to get their feet wet are the black-necked stilts.

I swear, they are looking quite smug. Right, they seem to be saying, you lot are always snickering at us because we prefer wading to swimming. With our long legs we can still wade. Can you swim?

About the last thing I expected to see on Catalina Island were bison. Right – I had not done my homework, otherwise I would have been aware of this story:

1924 a herd of 14 bison were transported to Catalina Island to act as extras in a silent movie (“The Vanishing American” ). After filming was done – and here the reports get a bit sketchy – the film company either left the animals on the island for cost reasons or because they could not round up the bison again to take them back. Be that as it may, the bison stayed and became a tourist attraction. They also multiplied and became reason for concern: The eco system of Catalina Island is rather fragile and was and is not set up to support several hundred bison, happily munching away on rare plants indigenous to the island.

Now and then some animals were taken off the island, but the herd grew to around 350 head – too many to stay there. At this point the Catalina Island Conservancy came up with the plan to return some of the animals to their home, home being the Great Plains. But would they survive there after 80 years in sunny California? Very quietly a herd of about 50 head were taken off the island and sent to the land of the Cheyenne, who were partners in this experiment. Surprisingly enough the bison adjusted within weeks to the different weather conditions, grew a nice thick winter pelt and thrived on the more nourishing grass of their old home.

After this test run, both the Conservancy and the Indian tribes knew that the repatriation would not harm the animals. With the help of the Morongo Band of Mission Indians and some others, in 2004 funding was found to round up 100 bison, ship them to the mainland and transport them by truck the roughly 2,000 miles to South Dakota to the land of the Lakota tribe.

A short video can be seen here.

There are still bison on Catalina Island, a herd of about 150 animals. The island can sustain this many and for the visitor it is a wonderful experience to see some of these remarkable animals in the wild without having to travel 2,000 miles.

I like swans, especially Mute Swans (Cygnus olor / Höckerschwan). They are majestic, beautiful birds, elegant and fascinating when gliding over the water. They are also quite aggressive when tending their young.

I remember my last encounter with swans: I used to run at a lake near my house; after my cool down I always sat on a little wooden deck and fed the ducks with stale bread. On that particular day four cygnets joined the flock of ducks to get their share of the feast. However, it did not take long for the parent birds to come gliding along to take a good look at what was happening there. Apparently they wanted to make sure that I clearly understood that no hanky-panky was allowed with their offspring – one of the swans started to hiss and get into attack mode. I got the message and retreated. An attacking swan is not something very high on my list of “Things One Really, Really has to Experience in Life.”

So I was very pleased that my next swan sighting was of this pretty bird – fast asleep.

The romantic surroundings were quite fitting.

In Spring Casa Beach in La Jolla looks like this:

About 150 to 200 harbor seals use the beach as a resting place and rookery for their pups:

Once the pups are old enough to behave like proper teenagers (frolicking in the sea and having fun all day long), the older seals spend their afternoons, most likely, more like this:

Anything for a good rest before Spring comes around again and one has all flippers full raising the next generation.

All this can be watched from just a short distance away. Casa Beach is a small paradise for nature lovers big and small.

Unfortunately, this paradise is threatened. For years and years a battle has been going on between those who love this rare opportunity to catch a glimpse into the life of the harbor seals and those who consider them a menace, a pest, water polluters and squatters on a beach belonging to the humans. A short video clip can be watched here.

The latest news is that the City of San Diego and environmentalists have been overruled in their desire to keep Casa Beach for the seals. Now the case is supposed to go to Sacramento for a final decision.

I sincerely hope the seals will be allowed to stay. A 100 yard long stretch of beach is such a small price to pay for a year-round insight into the lives of these unique animals.