Costa Rica is for many outdoors enthusiasts the most magnificent place on earth. The Central American nation is blessed with good surf. It teems with more than 800 bird species. Its fishing fleets ply waters that abound with sailfish and tarpon. Its eco-lodges are watched over by tall green trees and monkeys.
Its volcanoes are sights to behold and with this in mind we share an image captured recently by Zach Smith of Arenal.net, a website promoting tourism to and around Costa Rica's spectacular Arenal Volcano.
Now Costa holds another distinction: happiest and greenest place on earth.
A survey by the New Economics Foundation, a British think tank, made the determination after looking at 143 countries that are home to 99% of the world's population and using an equation weighing life expectancy and happiness against environmental impact.
Costa Rica, whose rich biodiversity is breathtaking, emerged just ahead of the Dominican Republic and well above the United States with its 114th ranking. Australia was third.
The survey found that Costa Ricans, with their pura vida or "pure life" outlook, have a life expectancy of 78.5 years, and 85% of those interviewed said they were happy. That combined with the nation's tiny ecological footprint helped place it atop the Happy Planet Index.
The happy part is somewhat surprising as I've been there many times and witnessed poverty and know that lots of women and even girls there are drawn to prostitution, which sadly is also a primary tourist attraction for some.
As sociologist Andrea Fonseca said in an Agence France-Presse story about the survey, Costa Rica's rise to the top of the happy list "has a lot to do with social imagination." Not that there's anything wrong with that.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Arenal Volcano in Costa Rica. Credit: Zach Smith
Southern California hikers, campers and anglers will flock to local mountains and the Sierra Nevada during the first holiday weekend of summer. They ought to know that bears are no longer hibernating and many are hungry. So here are some tips for those bound for the forests and streams:
--Do not intentionally feed bears and do not leave garbage strewn about.
--Enjoy your favorite pastime in groups (this should not be a problem on the busy weekend).
--Keep the kids in sight at all times, and keep pets on a leash.
--Try not to get caught between a female bear and her cubs.
--If you encounter a bear and it does not see you, stay calm and continue facing it while slowly backing away. True, this is easier said than done.
--If a bear does spot you or strolls into your camp, yell and make other loud noises and bang pots or pans together. Black bears do not like confusing unfamiliar noises.
--Do not run from a bear unless it's dangerously close. Running can trigger an attack response and no human can outrun a bear.
--If a bear attacks fight back with whatever means you can muster. This doesn't work against larger and far more powerful grizzlies, but there are no grizzlies in California.
Lastly, do not let any of this spoil your mood or prevent you from visiting the woods. Your chances of seeing a bear might be fair, but your chances of getting injured by one are extremely slim. Happy Fourth and stay safe!
--Pete Thomas
Photo: A black bear hunts for fish along Taylor Creek near South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Credit: Associated Press
To mark the first day of sale Friday for the 2009-10 federal and junior duck stamps, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host a ceremony at the Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World store in Nashville.
Attending will be the winning artists whose work will grace this year's stamps. Watertown, S.D. resident Joshua Spies' painting of a long-tail duck and decoy (above) was chosen from 270 entries for the federal stamp, and 16-year-old Lily Spang from Toledo, Ohio won the junior stamp contest with her design featuring a wood duck (below).
To continue the 75-year tradition of a postmaster selling the first stamp to the Fish and Wildlife Service director, Nashville postmaster Dave Vale will be at the ceremony to sell the first stamps to USFWS Acting Director Rowan Gould.
Those following the issue of funding for California's state parks will note there is bad news but some good news this week.
The bad news: The Budget Conference Committee on Monday afternoon voted to eliminate $70 million in general fund money earmarked for support of the state parks system for the 2009-10 fiscal year.
The good news: The committee also voted to adopt the State Parks Access Pass and create a dedicated funding source to keep parks open. This still needs to be passed by the Legislature, as part of a budget bill, and approved by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
But it makes sense. The access pass would place a $15 surcharge on vehicle license fees for noncommercial vehicles. That won't go over well with those who do not like outdoor recreation and have no plans to enter any of California's 279 state parks, beaches and reserves.
But it's a bargain for those who frequent these vast wilderness refuges, as they'd be allowed free day-use access to state parks. More important, it would prevent 220 of these parks from closing and deteriorating to a point where it'd become extremely costly to reopen them.
With the surcharge the general fund would realize an estimated savings of about $143 million annually.
Elizabeth Goldstein, president of the California State Parks Foundation, declared in a news release: "At a time when the state desperately needs to generate revenues for many other critical state services, it makes sense to keep state parks open and available for the public. The Committee recognized that closing state parks won't save money, it will cost the state dearly."
Goldstein cited a Cal State Sacramento study that found park users spend an average of $57.63 per visit and, across the state parks system, generate more than $4.2 billion in positive economic effects.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: The scene within the walls of Sutter's Fort State Historic Park in Sacramento, where the Mexican flag still flies. The park is slated for closure if state parks funding disappeared. Credit: Christopher Reynolds / Los Angeles Times
Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, which thankfully is not a state park and is not slated for closure, is one of those rare locations where weekend crowds do not severely affect the quality of wildlife viewing.
That's because the Huntington Beach reserve is comprised of vast wetlands and the primary wildlife are birds, which are far too concerned with feeding and mating to be bothered by people strolling the pathways and aiming cannon-like camera lenses at them.
Birds thrive here, and it appears the summertime transition is underway. On most afternoons, black skimmers can be viewed flying low patrol and literally skimming the surface with large beaks, trying to nab small fish. The footbridge adjacent to the parking lot is the best location from which to witness this phenomenon.
For the first time in nearly 15 years, a contest was held to select the image to appear on the duck stamp that will adorn 2009-10 licenses of California waterfowl hunters.
Above is the winning design chosen from 18 entries, and it's a beauty.
The painting by Indiana artist Jeffrey Klinefelter depicts a pair of northern shovelers, the species for this year's competition and stamp.
The contest was close, with the second-place finisher losing by only one point. The judges, which included California Waterfowl Assn. President Robert McLandress and Harry Curieaux Adamson, who painted the image for the current stamp, said the vibrant colors in the background gave the winning entry the edge.
The stamps go on sale in August, with proceeds going to waterfowl-related conservation projects. The Department of Fish and Game also typically produces and sells limited-edition prints of the image, some signed by the governor. Since it began in 1971, the California duck stamp program has raised more than $22 million.
News item: Legislation to allow citizens to carry concealed, loaded firearms in national parks and wildlife refuges passes overwhelmingly in the U.S. House. It essentially ratifies a late-Bush administration rule that was challenged this year in federal district court in Washington. (As reported earlier this week in the Times' Greenspace blog.)
Reaction: Not sure how I feel about this, but part of me, since I do not carry a gun, is against it simply because I don't like the idea of others around me being armed. I know the ruling makes the National Rifle Assn. folks happy and feeling safer now that their 2nd Amendment rights have been protected. After all, they're largely responsible for implementing the new policy,
But wouldn't it be appropriate to have places where nobody is allowed to be armed? And what better places than our national parks? What kind of world is one in which you have to be armed to feel safe?
I guess I'm being idealistic and simplistic, and if I had a loaded gun tucked away somewhere maybe I'd feel less leery of what might lie around the bend in the trail. But I do not buy into the NRA's implication that murderers, rapists and drug manufacturers are nearly as likely to confront hikers and bikers in the woods as they are pedestrians in dark alleys. Isn't that an alarmist, perhaps paranoid attitude?
Anyway, I'd like to hear from others: hikers, campers, bikers, bird-watchers, anglers, etc. How do you feel about the ruling? Good or bad, right or wrong? Please let Outposts know.
--Pete Thomas
Photo: El Capitan provides the backdrop for Yosemite National Park's valley floor. Credit: Robert Durell / Los Angeles Times
In support of the California Department of Fish and Game
and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Outposts, on
Thursday afternoon or Friday, lists a portion of Carrie Wilson's weekly
Q&A column and provides a link so viewers can read its entire
contents. Here's this week's lead topic:
Question: With the collapse of the salmon fishery in 2008, what was the reasoning for allowing people to fish for salmon in the Sacramento River? I saw numerous pictures of king salmon taken in the Sacramento River last year, but if there is a downfall in the species, this makes no sense. These fish have been traveling for miles only to be snagged by some angler. They are full of eggs and are a future resource. If we can't fish in the ocean, how can we allow the river anglers to kill the spawners? Please have the powers that be answer why when we are worried about the number of fish [salmon] returning to the rivers, the Department of Fish and Game allows river fishing. (Todd F. and Bill G)
Answer: There are four distinct runs of Chinook (king) salmon in the Central Valley: fall run, winter run, spring run and late-fall run. The fishery closure in 2008 was enacted to protect the Sacramento River fall run Chinook. The limited 2008 fishery opportunity was designed to target the late-fall run Chinook (a different run of salmon) after the majority of the fall-run Chinook of concern had moved upstream and out of the small area opened to fishing.
According to Senior Fisheries Biologist Scott Barrow, late-fall run Chinook have had a stable status of 10,000 to 18,000 adult salmon in the last five years with a historic range of 1,000 to 40,000 adults since 1996. The California Fish and Game Commission approved the 2008 recreational fishery from Knights Landing to Red Bluff Diversion Dam to target this stock, and it was successful with negligible impact on Sacramento River fall run Chinook.
Economically, the 2008 late-fall run fishery provided $1 million of
economic benefit to the inland salmon fishing communities during the
otherwise declared 2008 salmon disaster year (with its projected $255
million loss for the State of California.)
Ducks Unlimited and the California Waterfowl Assn. are calling on members, waterfowl hunters and conservationists to voice their concern and opposition to a new power line construction proposal, stating that the suggested routes will negatively affect many of the waterfowl habitats and hunting areas in central California (for maps of area involved click here).
The Transmission Agency of Northern California Transmission Project would place transmission towers and lines along approximately 600 miles, including portions of numerous wildlife refuges.
"Ducks Unlimited and waterfowl hunters are not opposing the new energy
in the region, we would just like to see wetlands and other wildlife
habitat protected from the placement of power lines in these proposed
routes," Rudy Rosen, director of Ducks Unlimited Western Regional office said.
The DU website states that less than 250,000 acres of wetland remain of an area that once encompassed 3 million to 5 million acres. The proposed power lines will threaten this relatively small acreage that wintering and breeding waterfowl are dependent on.
Waterfowl experts say that large power lines impact birds, especially in foggy conditions when large waterbirds such as geese, cranes, herons and swans are killed or injured when they hit the lines.
"California's Central Valley winters or provides migration habitat for 60% of the Pacific Flyway's waterfowl and 20% of North America's waterfowl population," added Rosen. "This is not just a California issue but should be addressed by everyone in the U.S."
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: A great blue heron appears contemplative as it wades in the shallows. Credit: Dan Ocampo/Bakersfield Californian
The swine flu scare is now global and some of the world's premier outdoors destinations have become swept up in the hysteria.
So if you're a bird-watcher with plans to visit, say, Costa Rica, you may wonder whether it's safe. Of course it is, but there are no guarantees, just as there are none while staying home.
People are contracting the virus in Southern California and New York and in U.S. points between. The virus reportedly has been detected in Australia, New Zealand, England, Canada, Spain and numerous other countries.
There are wonderful destinations where it has not yet surfaced, among them Hawaii, Cuba and Costa Rica. Oops, check that: Two hours ago the Tico Times reported that "a 21-year-old Costa Rican woman has become the country's first case of swine flu and is in stable condition."
This does not mean that tourists should avoid Costa Rica, just as they should not strike every single location in Mexico off their travel list. But don't step onto the airplane with a cough, or you might be turned away after you land. Seriously. It's happening.
Costa Rica, one of the world's most beautiful countries and a paradise for all manner of outdoors enthusiasts, is concerned about increased drug trafficking and its ability to effectively deal with the issue.
A story in this week's English-language Tico Times cites a series of recent incidents and arrests and suggests that drug cartels, which may be finding it more difficult to move product into the U.S. via Mexico, are seeking new arenas in which to operate.
Could it be that Mexico's war on drug trafficking is having this unfortunate side effect? Perhaps. Cocaine seizures in Costa Rica, for example, increased from 2,955 kilos in 2002 to more than 32,000 kilos in 2007.
Bruce Bagley, editor of the book "Drug Trafficking in America," and the department chair of International Studies at the University of Miami, told the Tico Times: "Drug traffickers are finding Mexico to be too dangerous, violent and risky, which has caused them to look for other routes through Central America and the Caribbean."
What will this mean for tourism in a land renowned for surfing, fishing, bird-watching and whitewater rafting? It should not be a major issue, but consider what's happened in Mexico. Many have stopped visiting that country because of a perceived danger to tourists.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Costa Rica's Arenal volcano, situated along Lake Arenal, flares up in this 1992 handout file photo.
I'd heard of birds of a feather flocking together, but this was ridiculous....
The sight of thousands of American white pelicans soaring northbound in multiple flocks over the Owens Valley late Monday afternoon was so spectacular that I felt compelled to pull over on U.S. 395 and snap photos.
But alas, I was pointed southbound and these magnificent birds were so high and moving so swiftly in the opposite direction that I managed to capture only a few images before they began to fade into the blue twilight somewhere near Lone Pine, bound perhaps for points as far flung as northern Canada.
As I pondered their ultimate destination, there was no doubt where I'd soon be: mired in traffic on the 405 Freeway.
A California condor was found to have been shot and is the second condor in less than a month to be discovered with lead shotgun pellets lodged in its body.
The juvenile female was trapped by biologists from the Ventana Wildlife Society, who three weeks ago discovered an adult male condor with 15 shotgun pellets in its wings and torso.
"We were alarmed when one condor was found shot," said Ventana Wildlife Society Director Kelly Sorenson. "Now with two birds in such a short time, we are deeply concerned."
Although both birds are still alive, it remains unclear whether either will be able to return to the wild.
Each bird was tested and found to be suffering from lead
poisoning. They have been transferred to the Los Angeles Zoo for
long-term treatment.
Cats come in many colors, but they are not very green.
Fluffy, it turns out, is a serious threat to birds and other wildlife. But especially birds, which are in steep decline, according to a recent State of the Birds survey, which lists among factors predation by non-native animals and house pets (mostly cats).
As a kid I used to watch my family's two Siamese cats stalk alongside a short brick wall in the backyard. They'd wait for a sparrow or jay to land and pounce with about a 3% success rate. We did not consider them to be threats to the avian population, but apparently they were not helping.
Today, backyards are increasingly important as bird havens — even as human populations, the most serious threat to all wildlife, swell and pave and construct and pollute. But as the Seattle publication Crosscut points out, there are 77 million pet cats in the United States alone.
Crosscut cites a New York Times op-ed piece that implies cats, with their insatiable appetite for fish, represent a threat to fish stocks. "The pet food industry now uses about 10% of the global supply of forage fish," the piece states.
Lastly, cats are believed responsible for spreading disease to wild animals and even marine mammals, which can become affected by parasites found in cat poop delivered to the ocean, along with kitty litter, via sewer systems and storm runoff.
All of this is certainly worth considering, when seeking your next pet.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo is a handout from the 2000 Orange County Fair
A flock of endangered whooping cranes has begun its spring migration to breeding grounds in Canada, but it has experienced a population decline for the first time in almost a decade.
This past winter was the worst on record in terms of bird deaths, according to Tom Stehn, whooping crane coordinator with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
"Total winter mortality is estimated at six adults and 15 chicks, a loss of 7.8% of the flock," Stehn stated. "When added to the 34 birds that left Texas in spring 2008 and failed to return in 2009, 20% of the flock was lost during the last 12 months."
Stehn attributes the winter losses to poor habitat conditions at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge in Texas, which the birds migrate to each fall. Low rainfall totals resulted in saltier bays and also fewer blue crabs, the primary food source for the cranes.
The California Fish and Game commission has voted unanimously to remove the California brown pelican from the state endangered species list. This is the first time the commission has voted to delist an endangered species due to recovery.
"Every Californian should be proud of this landmark decision," commission president Cindy Gustafson said in a news release. "This is a story of magnificent success. In the 38-year history of our protection of endangered species under the act, the California brown pelican is the first species to fully recover. We hope to have many more."
The delisting recommendation made to the commission by Department of Fish and Game biologists is based on studies showing an increased breeding population of brown pelicans on West Anacapa Island in the Channel Islands, where there is now an estimated 8,500 breeding pairs. This is the only area in California where these birds nest.
The decision will move on to review by the state Office of Administrative Law before the birds can be officially removed from the list.
No matter the outcome, it will remain illegal to harm or kill a brown pelican in California.
-- Kelly Burgess
Photo: A California brown pelican dives into the water, successfully grabbing a fish with its beak at the Los Cerritos wetlands in Long Beach. Credit: Al Schaben/Los Angeles Times
Part of Australia becomes a raging inferno, killing more than 180 people and perhaps millions of animals, and elsewhere Down Under, floods have forced people from their homes and into watery streets they now share with crocodiles.
Costa Rica is still reeling from an earthquake and subsequent landslides last month, which killed more than two dozen people and left hundreds homeless.
In parts of the continental United States, ice storms and tornadoes in the last two weeks have caused death and destruction.
Meanwhile in Alaska, a volcano near the Cook Inlet appears ready to blow its top and threatens to rain smoke and ash over much of the Pacific Northwest.
All of this -- plus a good deal more, I'm sure -- at a time when the economy, thanks to years of corporate greed and consumer naivete, has tumbled into an abyss so deep and gooey it might not climb out for years.
Reaction: What is the cause of all this? Can anyone age 50 or younger recall a more depressing or frightening time on this planet? Are all of these disasters some karmic response to man's blight-like existence on earth, or pure coincidence?
I was able to get a hike in before the storm, at Malibu Creek State Park, and managed to snap a nice photo of a gray squirrel gnawing on what looked like bark while perched on a branch (pictured).
I hiked the Cage Creek Trail/Lookout Trail loop and on the way back, at dusk, I inspected the main creek that flows through the park's beautiful valley.
It was depressingly dry before the first winter rain, but it contained enough water to attract mallards and other waterfowl. I even frightened a large hawk from a creekside branch.
Now it's on the receiving end of the most abundant rainfall of the winter. That's going to do more than fill the creek; it will turn the park, as well as all of the Santa Monica Mountains, lush and green.
So the weekend might be a wash. After three consecutive weeks of parching dry weather, and with winter on the wane, this drenching is just what our region needs.
As I type, there's a black phoebe outside my window, chirping its single-syllable call for all the neighborhood to hear.
Which reminds me to remind birders and aspiring birders that the annual Great Backyard Bird Count will be held across North America Feb. 13-16.
People of all ages are urged to click on the above link and get involved. Last year, birders turned in 84,784 checklists. They counted 9,787,367 individual birds and identified 634 species.
In doing so they'll help scientists understand bird population trends.
"The Great Backyard Bird Count benefits both birds and people. It's a great example of citizen science," said Judy Braus, Audubon Education vice president. "Anyone who can identify even a few species can contribute to the body of knowledge that is used to inform conservation efforts to protect birds and biodiversity."
All that's required is an appreciation of nature, a good bird book and binoculars.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo of hummingbird by Pete Thomas/Los Angeles Times
News item: Manny Ramirez rejects the Dodgers' $25-million one-year proposal.
Reaction: How do you think this kind of news feels to all those fans -- and I mean virtually all of those fans -- who have lost their jobs or are worried about losing their jobs?
Major league baseball ought to take these dealings out of the public eye or people ought to find something more worthwhile to do with their free time, such as getting outdoors and enjoying cheaper and healthier pastimes like hiking, climbing, fishing, surfing, snowboarding, skiing or bird-watching.
I for one am finding it increasingly difficult to support big-time athletes who earn obscene salaries -- and whine through their agents when they aren't quite obscene enough -- while a growing number of ordinary hard-working Americans are jobless or out on the street.
Sure, baseball is entertainment and top entertainers demand millions. But you don't see -- or at least I don't see -- actors or their agents squabbling over such grossly high contracts in public.
Baseball is notorious for this, and the Manny money headlines are sickening to me during a gloomy economic period during which teachers, nurses, salesmen, truck drivers and people in just about every regular line of work are deeply concerned about how they're going to get by.
I think I'll skip baseball this year and support state parks and their incredible hiking trails instead. Spring training will be spent on my surfboard or alongside a trout stream. Summer weekends will be enjoyed on the beach, not at the ballpark, and the fall classic might be fighting a giant tuna at one of the outer banks.
Tourists have gotten out of Costa Rica safely but residents and business owners are still reeling in the aftermath of the 6.2-magnitude earthquake that shook the Central American nation Jan. 8, killing at least 23 people and destroying more than 400 homes.
Leland Baxter-Neal, a reporter for the English-language Tico Times, wrote a story for the Wednesday edition of the Miami Herald, in which he described the damage and provided a sense of what transpired that day in a country renown for its remarkable biodiversity and natural splendor.
In an email to me he provided the following tidbits:
--About 1,500 people remain in shelters and seven people who remain missing are presumed dead.
--The government is trying to move families from shelters into homes by offering to pay the first three months' rent, plus deposit, as long as rent doesn't exceed $200. "Which isn't much in the city where I live," Baxter-Neal said. "But I guess that might be reasonable in the little villages where they're trying to resettle people."
--A Chilean agency called Un Techo Para Mi Pais, or A Roof for My Country, has begun a campaign to build 200 temporary houses to get people out of shelters, but needs help raising the $1,000 it will cost to build each house.
Woody Woodpecker was annoying, but real woodpeckers are incredible birds with complex social systems and an affinity for drilling holes in trees, in which they store food.
So why would anyone want to kill them?
In the upscale Bay Area retirement community of Rossmoor, it's because acorn woodpeckers (like that pictured above) have been mistaking wooden homes, built within the birds' natural habitat, as trees.
So after months of discussions, one homeowner's association has voted to shoot and kill the birds, while another association has decided to postpone plans to do the same for up to two months.
The California Audubon Society, which has been trying to help the associations find an alternative, told the San Francisco Chronicle it was fed up with both associations and is trying to persuade the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to revoke the kill permits.
It has been five days since a devastating earthquake struck Costa Rica, and there are people outside the country who have yet to make contact with family and friends.
Leland Baxter-Neal, a reporter with Costa Rica's English-language newspaper, the Tico Times, has been reading comments on Outposts and this morning sent me a note that might be of interest to those still trying to locate loved ones, and to those who have developed close relationships with residents of the beautiful Central American nation.
From Leland:
I've been covering this disaster for The Tico Times since it struck last Thursday and was in the area walking through some of the damaged towns (Fraijanes and Poasito) and talking with evacuees and officials at a shelter/tent camp/rescue command post. Perhaps I can help your readers get a better idea of what happened, and what is happening.
First off, to all the readers that are worried about friends and family traveling, studying or living down here in Costa Rica: there is a 99% chance they are fine. If they were in any part of the country except for a small radius near the Poas Volcano, they did not feel much more than a startling shake, if even that.
The only tourist area that was affected was the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and the Peace Lodge Hotel, which are right next to each other. I spoke with the manager of that hotel today who said the worst injury was a woman with a broken ankle. He said there were no deaths at the hotel or in the gardens.
The search for victims continues in Costa Rica in the aftermath of Thursday's 6.2-magnitude earthquake, which is believed responsible for as many as 34 deaths, according to CNN.
On Saturday, the Judicial Investigation Police released names of nine of the victims: Ana María Rodríguez Picado, Yitsi Tatiana Oliva Díaz, Maricela Argüello Díaz, Miguel Arteta Montoya, Roberto Jara Jiménez, Jeremy Alfaro Arias, Roberto Chavez Solis, Edwin Masis Villegas and Fabián Andrés Díaz Solis.
Forty-three people were still missing in the Vara Blanca and Cinchona areas, which are closest to the epicenter and about 20 miles northwest of the capital city of San Jose. Many residents are without water and there have been reports of looting in vacated areas.
The Tico Times quoted the tourism minister as saying many of the tourists stranded in the Vara Blanca area near the popular La Paz Waterfall Gardens left the area on foot. The newspaper added, "accounts from tourists that made it out described the elaborate and renowned gardens as 'totally destroyed,' and the hotel as seriously damaged."
From his home in San Jose, college student Francisco Quijano said in an interview that there was another aftershock this morning and that residents remained on edge.
Quijano said a large truck drove past his home late last night, causing the walls and floors to shake, "and my mother nearly had a heart attack."
Here's hoping for less shaking and a speedy return to normalcy. Outposts, again, offers heartfelt condolences to those who have suffered losses.
Photo: Fishermen ply the San Juan River in a dugout canoe. Credit: Gary Friedman / Los Angeles Times
Two children who sold candy to tourists inside a national park in Costa Rica were killed today when a 6.1-magnitude earthquake struck the Central American nation.
The quake, whose epicenter was about 20 miles north of the capital city of San Jose, also injured several others.
The two girls were buried in a landslide within Poas National Volcano Park, Reuters news agency reported.
Several buildings in San Jose were damaged and local television footage showed buildings with shattered windows and damaged walls. There were no reports of widespread injuries.
Costa Rica is known for its natural beauty and abundance of wildlife, luring visitors from around the world. I've been there many times but only once was I concerned about natural disasters: while fishing Lake Arenal while its namesake volcano burped out rocks and rained ash upon my group.
My condolences to the victims' families and good wishes to anyone affected by the earthquake.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Scarlet macaws are among the many beautiful critters found in Costa Rica's national parks. Credit: Ron Magill
A Christmas wish, brief version, minus materialistic desires:
-- May this latest storm further blanket our mountains, for the benefit of skiers, snowboarders and resort operators. More important, may it saturate a landscape that remains so parched that creeks remain dry and waterfalls without cascades. We need lots of precipitation in 2008-09.
-- May the economy improve sooner rather than later. This would be our Christmas miracle. Being forced from a home onto the street is the worst possible kind of outdoors experience, and it should not be happening.
-- May children receive more gifts that introduce them to our spectacular natural resources--surfboards, skis, snowboards, hiking boots, binoculars, tents, fishing poles, etc.--and fewer computerized gadgets that contribute to obesity and create a disconnect between kids and their parents.
-- May more parents get out of the house with their children, to a lake shore, a state park, aboard a whale-watch boat or wherever there is sky and a vast surrounding. Most outdoor activities are inexpensive. Generate fond memories. Instill an appreciation for open spaces and critters that inhabit them. You won't regret it.
-- May Japan and other whaling nations stop the slaughter. Most if not all species of whales were on the brink of extinction at one point in our recent history. Haven't they been through enough?
-- May people lose the taste for shark fin soup. Unlike whales, sharks are being driven methodically to extinction because of the demand for this so-called delicacy and the brutal practice of "finning" live sharks. This is perilous for sharks and the environment. Is a bowl of soup worth all this?
-- May more people go green. May we see fewer Hummers and Suburbans and more hybrids. May the warming trend reverse (another miracle, please) and may the polar bears somehow survive the shrinking of their icy realm. People are trying, and that's a positive first step.
-- May at least some of your Chritmas wishes come true. Happy holidays, everyone. May better times prevail in 2009!
These findings are not surprising and yet another sad reminder that today's gadget-minded kids and even their parents are spending less time tuning in to nature: The U.S. Forest Service recently issued a report stating that visits to national forests have dropped sharply -- from 204.8 million in 2001 to 178.6 million in 2007, a 16.6% decline.
Some areas are worse than others. In the Pacific Northwest, visitation is down by nearly 30%, but in California it's down only 7%.
The Inyo Register, quoting an Inyo National Forest officer and using anecdotal evidence from retailers, reports that preliminary findings indicate an increase in visitation.
The INF's Jeff Marsolais told the newspaper that visitor sampling was done in 2002 and 2005 and a draft of these findings was produced in July 2007. Data are still being refined but point to an upward trend expected to continue for the next several years.
As for the rest of the country, who knows what's going through people's minds. Outdoor recreation is, compared with most sporting events and other types of vacationing, a great value. It helps keep the fat off children and provides them with an understanding and, hopefully, an appreciation of the natural world.
That's healthier for them and essential for the future health of our national forests.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Snowmobilers negotiate an Inyo National Forest trail near Mammoth Lakes. Credit: Pete Thomas / Los Angeles Times
As daylight waned one recent early evening, I watched the snowy egret (in photos) walk purposefully through the shallows beneath the footbridge, using its right foot to stir edible critters from the mud. Then it'd strike quickly, hoping to grab them.
The bird did not seem to be enjoying much success and at times it'd stop hunting and just stand there, its feathers rustling in the breeze, gazing through beady yellow eyes.
It made me think about people and how so many of them, in these difficult times, are becoming like the birds: embroiled in a day-to-day struggle just to get by.
At least the birds are used to it; it's all they know.
In a way I envied this egret, who is not affected by corporate greed, mismanagement of business and the economy, layoffs and high prices.
But then I climbed into my car and turned the heater on, and all envy went out the window, so to speak. Hopefully, the bird nabbed its meal and found someplace warm to nest.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Snowy egret forages at dusk at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve. Credit: Pete Thomas / Los Angeles Times
I recently embarked upon a late-afternoon stroll through a San Fernando Valley oasis known as Sepulveda Basin Wildlife Reserve and found the display of nature to be breathtaking.
White pelicans, such as those pictured above, peddled en masse around Wildlife Lake, providing a snow-colored contrast to their greenish surroundings.
Egrets, such as the one pictured below, lined the lake's perimeter, probing the shallows for unsuspecting fish. Cormorants stood sentinel on island treetops and circled the lake in high-speed flight.
Yes, this is the same photograph posted on Outposts a few days ago, but it works with the following story about a battle between these beautiful woodpeckers and residents who are now allowed to shoot them.
Setting: Rossmoor, a retirement community in the east Bay Area, between Lafayette and Walnut Creek. Issue: Woodpeckers drilling holes into wooden houses, in which they like to store acorns for the winter (thus, they're called acorn woodpeckers).
According to a story in today's San Francisco Chronicle, it has been a long-standing problem. Two associations of homeowners claim to have spent $170,000 for repairs and methods to keep the birds at bay.
(Those fake owls never do seem to work.)
But under a permit obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the homeowners can now legally kill a limited number of woodpeckers in hopes it will scare others away.
They'll hire a sharpshooter for the task and the bullets may start flying soon. That's a shame because these are colorful avian critters with a complex social structure. Young woodpeckers stay with their parents for a long time and actually help them raise the next generation.
Controversial? Just wait till the birds start dropping.
-- Pete Thomas
Photo: Acorn woodpecker drills into an old oak within Topanga State Park in Southern California. Credit: Pete Thomas/Los Angeles Times
I stood alone atop massive Eagle Rock late Monday afternoon, until a rock wren emerged from the face of the cliff and joined me.
Bird photography is difficult because the subjects don't generally loiter in the open for long and do not like being looked at or have cameras pointed their way.
Amazingly, this wren remained close by, hopping around, long enough for me to change lenses and take several pictures.
Finally, when I inched one step too close, it vanished over the edge, leaving me alone again, with a bird's-eye view of Topanga State Park, which is billed as the "world’s largest wildland within the boundaries of a major city."
I pulled into the parking lot at the Bolsa Chica wetlands Friday afternoon and witnessed a rare sight: an empty walking bridge and trail. There wasn't a photographer in sight, which is highly unusual.
So I got out and wandered beneath a thickening cloud cover and discovered why. There was very little activity except for hundreds of sandpipers probing the flats. Terns appeared sporadically. Pelicans hunted elsewhere. Even gulls were scarce.
There was an extreme low tide. A possible reason? Is this a transition period for various species? I don't know.
I did encounter egrets -- how can you miss the snowy white birds? -- and followed a few as they seemed to pursue grebes plowing through the muddy shallows.
I took few photos because the late-afternoon light was awful. I did manage to capture a great egret seeming to peck a mirror image of itself (see photo), but then it began to rain and I rushed back to the lot with my camera under my shirt.
I suppose even magical destinations such as Bolsa Chica can't always produce, and it's probably just as well, because it makes the truly special days all the more magical.
When I'm stuck in the office and contemplating my life list (which can be an obsession for avid and wannabe birders), I go straight to the California Rare Bird Alert website and check out what's flying around Southern California these days.
How else would I know that earlier this month a greater white-fronted goose touched down at Legg Lake in South El Monte, or that red-naped sapsuckers were spotted in the elms around the visitors center at Malibu Creek State Park?
I had my own rare sighting last month when I was birding at Bolsa Chica Wetlands in Huntington Beach. I watched a large, slender bird that seemed to be dancing in the shallow waters -- and was shocked to figure out that it was a reddish egret, a bird usually found along the Gulf Coast of Texas and southern Florida coasts, according to the Audubon's website.
That day, I actually saw two of them. And the sighting brought out the people with enormous scopes and photo lenses. The dancing turned out to be "their distinctive foraging habits, which include running actively through shallow water and suddenly changing direction or jumping sideways," according to Audubon.
Here are some photos my husband, Tom Politeo, snapped of the egrets.
Outposts last Wednesday asked for reader photos of the birds at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach. Only one responded. His name is Darryl Wong. He left no other information, but if these are his photos, he's either a photographer of admirable talent or great patience -- or both.
Above is a peregrine falcon, a raptor that preys on small mammals and birds. (Nice framing!) Peregrine sightings are not unusual at the vast reserve. Below is a snowy egret enjoying a fishy snack.
Lastly, an impressive image of a black skimmer, whose hunt was successful. These are graceful long-winged fliers, commonly seen foraging in the evenings. Outposts would like to thank Wong for sharing.
Sierra Vista Restaurant on Highway 178 in Weldon has added these items to its menu for the weekend: Vulture Stew, Road Kill Quiche and Compost Fruit Salad.
That can only mean one thing: It's time for the annual Kern Valley Autumn and Vulture Festival, coinciding with the remarkable abundance of these bald, red-headed raptors within the Kern River Valley above Bakersfield.
Activities are scheduled Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Audubon Society's Kern River Preserve, 18747 Highway 178, in Weldon.
Renowned ornithologist and artist John Schmitt -- I've toured the valley with him and he's an amazing birder -- will discuss vultures and raptors. Among activities: bird walks; children's activities; workshops on bird feeding, birds of prey, rare plants and weather; and live music.
Little-known turkey vulture fact: They are the only scavenger birds that can't kill their prey. Their feet are not strong enough, but their powerful beaks can tear through even the toughest cow hide. They feed by thrusting their heads into the body cavities of rotting animals.
Sierra Vista Restaurant is at 16575 Highway 178. Enjoy! (And in case you're wondering, the the restaurant isn't serving real turkey vulture, road kill or compost.)
--Pete Thomas
File photo by Casey Christie/Bakersfield Californian
I'm embarrassed to write that after driving past Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve hundreds of times, I finally pulled in Tuesday afternoon and strolled about.
Wow!
I could not believe how alive the vast marshland was. Pelicans were in low flight, terrorizing schools of tiny fish. Black skimmers, with their bright-red bills, were skimming. Forster's terns were turning this way and that, fluttering and dive-bombing.
Herons stood on stilted legs and struck like snakes at passing prey. And snowy egrets were a little more animated than in any other place I've seen them.
Unfortunately, I did not have a long enough lens or steady enough hand -- I'm bringing a tripod next time -- to capture any truly vivid images of the speedier birds, so I'm providing just these of the egrets.
And since these wetlands. located adjacent to Pacific Coast Highway at the north end of Huntington Beach, are a bird-watcher's paradise, I'm asking anyone who is willing to share their best images. Please send them to pete.thomas@latimes.com, mark "bolsa chica" in the subject field, and Outposts will post the best samples, if any come in, next Wednesday.
Meanwhile, I can't wait to go back and do more exploring. This ranks as one of my top discoveries of the last few years. Easily.
I enjoyed a thrilling air show late Friday afternoon. It was carried out in a remote meadow in the upper recesses of Leo Carrillo State Park north of Malibu, and it involved only two fliers, which looked like northern harriers.
And these birds of prey were good.
They cruised at high speed, one after the other, only a few feet above the golden field. They owned this meadow. They’d twist and dive-bomb into the tall grass, rise, continue their errant patrol, and dive again.
Ultimately, one remained down, so I presume it had captured a rodent or small bird. The other, perhaps detecting my presence, took refuge on the branch of a distant oak and cried shrilly.
I cried too, because I'd come unprepared. My camera battery died after only a few shots -- long before the raptors were within range -- during a show that lasted two long minutes. So all I captured was the poor image at the bottom of this post.
I’ll go back soon, however, better prepared, to see if I can spy this scene again -- but I'm curious as to how unusual this scene was. If anyone has an opinion, please share.
I'm almost certain they were northern harriers, because both had the telltale white band across their backsides. I'd seen them a few times before, in Northern California and in the Kern River Valley, but not during dozens of hikes in the Santa Monica Mountains.
My "Sibley" field guide informs that they're uncommon but widespread, so that explains that. But it also says they're solitary, and these were definitely together. The guide further states that they rarely perch on anything higher than a low fence post, yet one of these perched for a long time atop a broad oak.
On the trail surrounding this meadow -- in which I'd once seen a small bobcat -- were sporadic piles of soft, gray bird feathers, so it was not a good day for small, gray birds. But it was a fantastic afternoon for a hike.
--Pete Thomas
Photo credit: Pete Thomas / Los Angeles Times Caption: This distant shot is presumably of a northern harrier, one of two hunting together in a meadow atop Leo Carrillo State Park.
Outposts, on the go:
Follow @latimesoutposts to receive exclusive Outposts dispatches on your mobile device.
News item: Manny Ramirez rejects the Dodgers' $25-million one-year proposal.
Is anyone investigating whether or not t...
@Armando Peralta lame and unoriginal - T...
To hell with the use of the engine - the...
Congratulations! We enjoyed following yo...
Uhm...my husband and I just climbed this...
Hey Zac ..Way to go Congrats..Mike Perha...