Snowy Plover Docent Day 3 at North Beach
On Saturday June 15th volunteers Lisa, Joan, Jim, Marianne and I headed for the windblown North Beach for our 6 hour shift as snowy plover docents. We brought a sunshade to cover our table area but it wouldn’t stand a chance in the wind so it went back into the truck. The ocean was roiling with white caps and waves all the way to the horizon. If any whales were spouting, we would never spot them. It was too windy to put out most of our display items including the plover stuffie. It blew off the table when we put it on the nest.
Not surprisingly, the parking lot was empty for more than an hour. A few visitors drove up, got out of their cars and got right back in. Too windy! By noon, the wind had settled down a little and a handful of visitors were enjoying the beach. Surprisingly, the rough ocean did not stop a few small children from venturing to the shoreline with their parents. We watched with our fingers crossed hoping they didn’t get dragged out to sea by a wave. They were fine. More visitors came throughout the day and we ended up talking to about fifty people.
North beach is closed to dogs now except the beach area in front of the parking lot. I was thankful no one complained. In fact, dog owners were on best behavior and understanding. Many expressed their affection for plovers and wished them a good breeding year. We only had to remind 2 visitors to put their dogs on leash.
In the early afternoon, I roved the beach with Jim then we explored the area behind the parking lot where he had volunteered last summer to remove invasive ice plant. The dunes were recovering quickly and full of poppies, buckwheat, gum plant and other native plants.
At the end of the day at 4:00pm while packing up our gear, we realized we had lost a radio. I retraced my footsteps over the dunes and behind the parking lot but couldn’t find it. Fortunately, we heard the next day that the radio had been turned in and Ranger O’Kelly picked it up - what a relief!
My favorite dog on the beach this time was a 12-year old husky with his little fuzzy sidekick.
My next volunteer day is June 23. Stay tuned for more snowy plover adventures.
