Saturday, January 13, 2024: Birding in a Rare Restored Wetland — Rescheduled from Fall
Field trip with Peter Thompson
Great blue heron at NCOS. Photo by John Evarts.
Saturday, January 13, 2024, 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Rescheduled from Fall
UCSB North Campus Open Space
Participation is limited to 20. Advance registration is required. Participants who registered in fall still hold their registrations. Newcomers are welcome to inquire about registration at syvnhs@syvnature.org or 805/693-5683.
Members $10 / Nonmembers $25 / Children $5
Experienced Santa Barbara birder Peter Thompson will take us on a wetland birding exploration through the one-time Ocean Meadows golf course, now restored as a true California wetland with easy access. You can stay dry in this ecological gem, but the local wildlife and birds have ready access to mud, sand, marsh, deeper water, and even dry upland areas.
Snowy egret. Photo by Andrea Westmoreland (CC BY-SA 2.0).
This is a bird-rich area. Over 297 bird species have been sighted within the 136 acres of UC Santa Barbara’s North Campus Open Space (NCOS) and we are likely to see migrants as well as year-round residents in the varied habitats. Birding at NCOS combines local beauty and lively birding in a vanishingly rare, but here rejuvenated, native wetland.
Burrowing owl. Photo by Petr Kratochvil (CC0 1.0).
Peter Thompson describes himself as “a life-long nature enthusiast” who grew up hunting and fishing in the Midwest. He has been Santa Barbara Audubon Society’s Field Trips Chair and a frequent trip leader for five years. He is ardent about the need to preserve local natural habitats, and enjoys sharing the joy of birding.
