Dear Friend,

May has a lot going on! Our Spring fundraiser is in full swing (help us meet our match up to $15K!), the 2025 'Wings Over Bolsa' calendar submission window closes, and our quarterly printed newsletter, 'Music from the Mesa' is now available.

We only have one tour this month, but here's a birding tidbit; the white birds with yellow feet who are ignoring you? Those are called snowy egrets. The big white bird that some might think is a stork or crane (it's neither) is a great egret. And the bird that is jumping around like it keeps stepping on Legos is a reddish egret. Those are the egrets at Bolsa Chica. Now you can impress all your friends when you walk around at Bolsa Chica.

Until next month, Happy Mom's Day if you celebrate, and please, please, please donate and help us get that matching $15K! Thank you!

"When I bring my two young children to Bolsa Chica I feel the strength of the community that fought so very hard to save these wetlands and mesa. As we slowly make our way down the trail, and we stop to get sand out of little sneakers, I realize how fortunate we all are that our community succeeded in saving Bolsa Chica. I am honored to be a part of the Bolsa Chica Land Trust, to work towards our shared vision and to show my children, through example, of how we care for our local environment, and how every part of it, no matter how small, is so important."

~Dan Kalmick | BCLT President

To help us continue our work today, and to plan for the future, I ask for your support. The generous and devoted BCLT Board of Directors have offered a match up to $15,000 – to match dollar per dollar each of the donations received by May 15th. Please consider supporting us now, as we have much to do tomorrow.

We encourage you to submit your photos to the annual calendar and would love to see your amazing photographs of the birds, animals, insects, and landscapes of Bolsa Chica. The purpose of the calendar is to inspire and educate the public about the importance and beauty of Bolsa Chica's birds, wildlife, and ecosystem.

Calendar photo submissions closes this Friday May 3, 2024.

If you would like to submit photos for consideration in the 2025 calendar, please visit our website at the link below:

https://bclandtrust.org/wings-over-bolsa-calendar-submission-guidelines/

This calendar gives so many people an opportunity to see the birds and wildlife of Bolsa Chica through your camera lens. Please feel free to share this with other Bolsa Chica photographers too. Thank you in advance for sharing your work with us and for sharing in our appreciation and love of Bolsa Chica.

Spring is here and so is our printed ‘Music from the Mesa’ newsletter! This in-depth newsletter is printed a few times a year to keep our community informed on Bolsa Chica happenings and interesting informational topics; plus, it contains amazing photos taken at Bolsa Chica. 

If you are a member of the Land Trust, you will receive this full color newsletter in your mailbox at home. Once you’ve read it, please pass it along to others so they may read it too! You can also read and share the digital copy from our website’s News page.

Inside you will find articles about our current restoration work, a board member’s Bolsa Chica story, the Reserve Watch program success, and the story of our local bald eagle celebrity. There is also a general update on the Land Trust’s projects and programs and the work being done behind-the-scenes.

May's Bird of the Month: Ruddy Turnstone

This stocky bird is named for its characteristic habit of hunting for food under rocks by turning them over with its bill. Its diet includes mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic snails, worms, and tern eggs. Its colorful plumage is ruddy, white, and black with a distinctive bib-marking on its breast. Turnstones can be found at wetlands and beaches in the winter, and in the summer, they nest in the coastal tundra of Alaska and Canada.

9.5” long; 21” wingspan; 3.9 oz.

photo: Les Coombes

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 or ebikes.
• 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:

pelcian landscape-Carol Calkins, Black-necked Stilt with chick- Katrina Plummer, brown pelican-Robin Hoyland, bald eagle- Eileen Rizzacasa, hummingbird and Ruddy Turnstones-Les Coombes, Stewards in volunteer, sunset- Bequi Howarth, Miracles docent with kids, outreach table- Jeff Rokos, volunteers on beach- Mike McMahan