April 25th, 2012
The learner.org website records whale sightings, including sightings of our local gray whales. Several areas of this website could be a good resource for teachers and others who follow our local marine mammals. The site has a useful focus on the seasonal transitions of migrating whales.
Whale Sightings Site:
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
Gray Whales:
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/gwhale/index.html
Details on Half Moon Bay and Fitzgerald:
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/maps/record_op_whale.html?record_id=1171427065
As an educational aid for teachers their resource sections are usually pretty extensive.
Posted in science, sea life, whales | No Comments »
February 8th, 2012
When you gaze at the ocean from the beach or bluffs of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve, you often can spot large ships and smaller boats just offshore. Check out this Live Ships Map at MarineTraffic.com to see some of the shipping traffic that passes the San Mateo County coast.
Positional information is collected from transponders aboard vessels and used to help ships avoid collisions and give port authorities traffic control information. You can look up the traffic in other geographic areas on their web site as well.
Posted in education, science | No Comments »
January 25th, 2012
Photo of Rhinoceros Auklet from cs.birdwatchingdaily.com
Right now, northern elephant seal mating season is in full swing at Ano Nuevo State Reserve, a wildlife hotspot about a one-hour drive south of Fitzgerald Marine Reserve. The seals are the loudest, largest, and most obvious beneficiaries of that reserve’s protected status, but the island just offshore provides critical breeding habitat to a number of seabird species.
Of special interest is the rhinoceros auklet, a puffin-like bird that grows a distinctive horn on its bill during mating season. The species ranges around the Pacific rim from Japan to California, but because it nests in burrows, it needs a place like Ano Nuevo Island, which is free of animals (bobcats, foxes, coyotes, and their domesticated kin) that prey on nestlings. In fact, Ano Nuevo Island and the Farallon Islands are the only spots in California where these birds breed, which makes it a “species of special concern” to the California Department of Fish and Game. Read the rest of this entry »
Posted in birds, conservation | 1 Comment »
