Hello again! I’ve begun my work with the fisheries monitoring crew at Point Reyes National Seashore, and things are going very well so far! I’ve been spending a lot of time in the park recently between work and living on park land, and I couldn’t be happier. I’m determined to explore all of the amazing coastal and forest views Point Reyes boasts, as well as the wide array of wildlife that call the park home.
View of Drake's Bay from overlooking cliffs.
When I first arrived, I previewed some of the more popular attractions in the park, such as the Lighthouse and Chimney Rock. They were featured in my last blog post- feel free to check them out! Since then, I’ve been exploring the park through hiking. The park has many trails that are amazing showcases of the natural features of the area. I’ve personally been visiting trails near the coastline, including the Coastal trail, which, as the name suggests, leads hikers to beautiful beaches along Drake’s bay. Another hike I enjoyed was along Drake’s Estero, an estuary of the bay. I had never seen an estuary before coming here, and I find it to be one of the most enchanting features I’ve seen so far.
View of the bridge in the Estero trail crossing over Drak'es Estero.
While I do love the views of the water and the forests, I am a wildlife biologist at heart, and I was most excited to view the local wildlife. I am lucky to live in a fairly remote area of the park, where I see lots of wildlife on a daily basis! Some of the most consistent visitors to our house are the Tule Elk, which is especially exciting to me, as I had never seen elk before coming here! I have also visited some of the tide pools in the surrounding beaches, and have seen lots of tiny life teeming within them. Nearby these tide pools, I have also seen elephant seals lounging on the beach!
Sea Anemones, barnacles, snails, and other small sea-dwellers in a tide pool along the coast of Drake's Bay.
If you look closely (or with binoculars,) you can see a group of elephant seals sunbathing on the beach! These seals are much larger up close, and can weigh up to 5,000 lbs.
I’ve been really enjoying my time at the park so far, and I can’t wait to see what comes next! Until next time!
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