February 11

With bright sunlight at our backs and a rare chill in the morning air, Caroline and I find ourselves walking behind a surfer down a paved path to Malaga Cove, a coastal landscape near our rental house in southern California. As the trail levels off and hugs the shore, I see how vegetation such as Sagebrush and Buckwheat stabilizes the slope to prevent landslides, especially for that palatial home on the precipice. Turning my attention to the rocky beach, I spot both an adult and juvenile California Gull, side by side, noting the contrast in their plumage. After watching a foraging Willet, I come across the carcass of a Cormorant. Also, I observe one of several piles of Kelp with its characteristic air bladders. Speaking of Kelp, I move a pile to reveal hoards of Kelp flies that spend most of their life in this habitat. These insects are ecologically important as decomposers as well as a food source for beach-dwelling fauna. Scanning the rocks, those with a honeycomb pattern catch my eye. This phenomenon, called Tafoni, is due to both physical and chemical weathering. Another object to catch my eye is this plastic milk jug, one of many plastic items littering the beach. Needless to say, this material, an invention of modern man, has become a major environmental scourge to our planet, both on land and sea. Proceeding from a rocky to a sandy beach, I watch a Sanderling scampering near the surf and a Willet probing the sand for crabs and worms. Further ahead, I see a small flock of foraging Sanderlings. After foraging, these birds often regurgitate sand pellets studded with fragments of mollusk and crustacean shells. After glancing far up the coast to see our town of Redondo Beach, we turn around and retrace our steps where we meet a dog walker as well as a couple of surfers. Meanwhile, I stop by the mouth of a tiny freshwater stream where I spot some unusual cattails, displaying 2 flower heads per stalk. Finally, it’s back up the slope to the car for our trip home.

February focus

Coastal bluff

Trail that slopes

Terrain’s rough

February flora

Take the stage

Colorful cacti 

Fragrant sage

February fauna

Butterflies

On the path

A lizard lies

D. DeGraaf