Dear Friend,

Happy New Year 2023! We hope your year is filled with good health, positive prospects, and many opportunities to find peace at Bolsa Chica! One way to kickstart enjoying the solace that Bolsa Chica can bring is through the stunning full color photographs of Bolsa Chica wildlife in the 2023 Wings Over Bolsa calendars or enjoy the short video montage of last year's photos coupled with a message of hope for 2023. If you prefer to be onsite to enjoy the serenity, then join our team as a special volunteer Miracles Docent Tour Coordinator. We are urgently trying to fill this volunteer position ASAP because school tours start this month.

If you like our e-newsletters please consider sharing it with your friends and family. You can also follow us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter to catch our weekly "Wildlife Wednesdays" and current events as we share with you what we see and find every week!

Forgot to pick up a calendar in all of the holiday hustle and bustle? No worries, we've got you covered. We've got a lot of 2023 Wings Over Bolsa calendars still taking up room in the office. We really want that office space back for more important things like in-person meetings, workbooks for all the students in the education program, gosh, even just being able to walk around without weaving in between boxes would be nice. So please, can you help us out and spread the Bolsa Chica love with others?

Bonus: besides it being filled with beautiful birds and images from scenic Bolsa Chica, it's quite functional and educational. For each month of the calendar, the calendar committee meticulous selects photos of wildlife you can find at Bolsa Chica that month, as well as supplements the main photos with interesting facts about that animal!

The price is the same as last year at just $15 donation per calendar. We also have the 5-pack special again (buy 4 calendars, get 1 free). Follow the directions on the description to get the automatic discount in your cart. It is printed in California with soy ink and partially recycled paper resulting in high quality calendars. Thank you to the more than 20 photographers who generously submitted their photos for the calendar!  

The Miracles of the Marsh Education Program is off and running this school year! We have even more schools signed up for the 3rd grade program which means a lot more students get to learn and experience the wonders of Bolsa Chica inside and outside the classroom. The program consists of an in-classroom presentation, a free workbook for each student, and an on-site docent led tour. All of the presentations and tours are done by our outstanding Miracles of the Marsh volunteer docents.

The on-site tours are structured in a way that reinforces what the students learned during the in-class presentation and workbooks. There are 4 main topics they learn about, and the kids are broken up into groups when they get off the bus. Once they are halfway through the tour, each group rotates through each topic station led by a dedicated docent (see photo above). As you can tell, the docents really get into it :) To keep the fieldtrip on time, each station session is timed to ensure each group gets to visit each topic before heading back to the bus.

This year we need a special volunteer Miracles docent tour coordinator to help with the tours ASAP because school tours are starting in only a few weeks! This position is NOT giving the tours, so you don't have to know anything about the information taught on the tours like animals or history. This volunteer is responsible for making sure the supplies (binoculars, seating pads, etc.) are ready at the stations and that the docents stay on track during their sessions. Basically, it's coordinating the docents and groups between the topic stations in a timely and smooth process.

We could also use some help with funding the program supplies. The workbooks are free for the students, but we still pay for them. We also ensure that schools that want to participate in the on-site tour have the ability regardless of school bus funds by helping fund some of the bus fees. With more students and more buses our dedicated education program fund is stretched even thinner than last year. Any and all help is greatly appreciated! You can donate specifically for the Miracles of the Marsh Education Program through our Other Ways to Give page: Other Ways to Give - Bolsa Chica Land Trust (bclandtrust.org)

If you are interested in learning more about this special volunteer position or even better, want to sign up right now, please email Beverley at Beverley@BCLandTrust.org.

Bolsa Chica in 2022: A Look Back to Look Forward into 2023

As we enter 2023, we reflect on the past year and look forward to 2023 with high hopes and a dedicated devotion to taking care of a healthy sustainable Bolsa Chica.

Your donation today will enable us to do so much in 2023:

• Getting thousands of new native plants ready in our Growing Space for Mesa plantings
• Host 2,000 third-grade students who are getting ready to learn about Bolsa Chica and visit on more than 20 Miracles of the Marsh field trips
• Prepare Nest Site 2 for 2023’s spring nesting season
• Further large-scale restoration planning with the five state and federal agencies in the Steering Committee for Bolsa Chica
• Develop new educational materials for students and general visitors, to better educate them on the importance of Bolsa Chica and our coastal environment
• Launch graduate-level research projects at Bolsa Chica
• Continue to bring state funding for large-scale restoration and public access projects to Bolsa Chica

We need you now! The Bolsa Chica Land Trust’s work is critical to keeping the Reserve healthy. Your donations are what fund all of our projects and programs. Please donate now, so that we can continue this good work in 2023. We need your support today, for a healthy future for Bolsa Chica tomorrow. 

Video: A montage of the main 2022 calendar photos and a message of hope for 2023.

Jan. Bird of the Month: American Wigeon

The extraordinary plumage of this Wigeon is highlighted by the acrobatics it is performing in the water. Though this species is found all over North America it is still uncommonly beautiful. Wigeons are found in salty and fresh waters - from rivers to wetlands to tidal inlets. During breeding, females conceal their nest on nearby dry ground in grasses or crop fields. They have a diet of mainly aquatic plants, grasses, grains, as well as insects and other invertebrates.

20” long; 32” wingspan; 1.6 lbs.

photo: Duy Nguyen

Reminders When You Visit Bolsa Chica

Here are some things to remember during your visit:

• Please stay on the trails. Not only could you disturb nesting birds, but snakes are often not far off the trails.
• Enjoy the flowers, but please do not pick them.
• Do not feed the animals.
• Do not litter. Please pack out your trash, including food scraps.
• No bikes.
• No dogs.
• No drones.
• Enjoy being with nature!
• If you see any BCLT Stewards working along the trail, say hi! We are happy to answer any questions.

Support Bolsa Chica Today!

Questions? Email us at Info@BCLandTrust.org or call (714) 846-1001

Photo Credits:

banner- Bequi Howarth, calendar- Eric Benson, Miracles docent led session- Jeff Rokos, sand dune trail- E. Chin, Stewards- James Huang, Bridge tour, Miracle docent with kids, Elegant Terns on beach- Marinka Horack, American Wigeon- Duy Nguyen