Great Blue Heron XI

Great Blue Heron taking off at Bolsa Chica Wetlands.... more

by Linda Brody

Title

Great Blue Heron XI

Artist

Linda Brody

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

Great Blue Heron taking off at Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

Largest of the North American herons with long legs, a sinuous neck, and thick, daggerlike bill. Head, chest, and wing plumes give a shaggy appearance. In flight, the Great Blue Heron curls its neck into a tight "S" shape; its wings are broad and rounded and its legs trail well beyond the tail. Great Blue Herons appear blue-gray from a distance, with a wide black stripe over the eye. In flight, the upper side of the wing is two-toned: pale on the forewing and darker on the flight feathers.

Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is a nature reserve in the city of Huntington Beach, California. It is designated by the California Department of Fish and Game to protect a coastal wetland, with its resident threatened and endangered species. "Bolsa Chica" means "little bag" in Spanish, as the area was part of a historic Mexican land grant named Rancho La Bolsa Chica. The Reserve is also called many other names, including Bolsa Chica Lowlands, Bolsa Chica Wetlands, and Bolsa Chica Wildlife Refuge.

Bordered on one side by Pacific Coast Highway and oil fields and houses on the other, Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve wetlands is a 300 acre coastal sanctuary for wildlife and migratory birds. A wooden bridge crossing over a tidal inlet and a 1.5 mile loop trail provide for spectacular wildlife viewing. Two additional viewing points are located along the perimeter.

The reserve has two sand islands where California Least Terns and Snowy Plovers nest. Endangered Belding's Savannah Sparrows live, breed and nest at Bolsa Chica. Other species include rare Light-footed Clapper Rails, Great Blue Herons, Snowy Egrets, White and Brown Pelicans, Avocets and Black-necked Stilts, to name a few. In the fall and winter seasons, Lesser Scaups, Red-Breasted Mergansers, Ruddy Ducks and Common Loons come to visit.

Today the wetlands are thriving, however, this was not the case in the prior to 2004. Over 50 years of oil field development highly degraded the wetlands. Restoration, which began in 2004, after years of planning and environmental study, included removal of over 120.000 feet of oil pipe. Thirteen miles of exploratory ditches were dug to look for additional buried pipe and other hazardous debris from the oil operations. Heavy machinery removed brush and the new wetland configuration began.

A new ocean inlet, allowing for the first time in over 100 years, the ocean waters to enter the wetlands required construction of a new $100 million bridge overpass on Pacific Coast Highway (Hwy 1), a highly traveled beach route. To protect adjacent homeowners from saltwater intrusion, a barrier structure was constructed along the entire eastern edge of the restored wetland. This prevents saltwater from entering nearby aquifers, and excessive fresh groundwater from accumulating in the residential area. Pumps capture accumulated water and return it to the wetland.

This wetlands redevelopment project was financed by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, in trade for expansion and acquisition of additional coastal land for port use.

In my former life as an environmental analysis specialist, I served as Assistant Project Manager for the environmental studies associated with this project. It is so nice to be able to see the beneficial results of a long and arduous project. Linda Brody.

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Uploaded

September 14th, 2015