Bolsa Chica--Huntington Beach

Just when I think a return trip to Bolsa Chica in Huntington Beach can’t reveal any more beauty or variety to me…  Actually, I knew my trip today would bring me at least one new thing …owlets!  A photography friend had posted pictures a week ago and after inquiring where they were found, we scheduled an outing for this morning so I could see them!

I arrived before sunrise to see what action I might find before our scheduled rendezvous.  Dark overcast skies were a bit of a departure from the last couple of days.  It later burned off and gave way to the sunshine though.  From where I parked it would be about a half-mile walk to where we were to meet.  I took my time, and along the way saw California seagulls, Willets, Long-billed curlews, hummingbirds, Double-crested cormorants, Great blue herons, and Red-tailed hawks.

And then there was the star of the morning—the Great horned owl and her three owlets!!  Couldn’t ever get a “family portrait” of all of them together looking towards me, but got a variety of shots of the owlets and a couple shots of the mother.  What a wonderful morning!

According to the Amigos de Bolsa Chica website,  In 1973, as part of a controversial land swap, the State of California acquired approximately 300 acres of wetlands adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway. A portion of this was restored by the state in 1979 to become the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. The remaining acreage was retained in private hands. Planning for the construction of a massive marina, commercial and residential development was quickly underway. The plan was drastically reduced in 1989 through the settlement of a lawsuit filed by the Amigos.  In 1997 the state acquired 880 acres of Bolsa Chica wetlands and another 41 acres was acquired in 2005, bringing public ownership of the Bolsa Chica to over 1200 acres. Wetland restoration of nearly 600 acres of Bolsa Chica was begun in 2004. In the summer of 2006 seawater flowed into the restored wetland for the first time in over 100 years. The Bolsa Chica wetland restoration was the largest coastal wetland restorations ever undertaken in Southern California.

 

I give you this historical background to make a point today… it took great courage and vision (and public expense) to acquire and set aside these wetlands from what was inevitable development.  You can imagine the pressure against these so-called “environmentalists” who worked tirelessly on a simple goal…preserving open space.  Even today, Bolsa Chica isn’t much to look at to the uninformed eye (swampland some might say) as thousands of cars whiz past it on Pacific Coast Highway.  But Bolsa Chica is indeed quite special and as time goes on, gets even more special.  Opportunities to preserve open space around us are few and far between, and like a door that swings only one way, pass up the opportunity and you’ve lost the chance forever….takes courage, takes perseverance, takes leadership.  As growth and congestion increase throughout Southern California, these open spaces are even more important to our quality of life (and that of the natural environment).

Queue music…