July 28, 2011
Rattlesnakes and Leopard Sharks
Miller Zou
Today we had another volunteer day of trailwork in the morning and snorkeling and kayaking after lunch. This time we had seven volunteers from the Catalina Island Conservancy, all of whom we have either lived and/or worked with before. We had already removed a lot of the fennel from our trail on Monday with the Los Angeles Conservation Corps., so as a group we all went to the first major fennel removal site on the trail to finish what we started on Monday. The entire area was dominated by a dense fennel monoculture just weeks ago, and today we almost cleared the whole thing. After about an hour of working Dan encountered a rattlesnake hiding in the grass and casually announced its presence to the rest of us (see pic below). We all carefully inspected the snake and then continued fennel removal away from the potentially dangerous animal. The morning of work went really well; we got rid of a substantial amount of fennel and had a good time doing it. Joe, a trail intern for the Conservancy, managed to pull the fennel with the biggest taproot of the day. It was easily three feet long and one of the largest fennel roots I have seen all summer. We worked hard until noon, and then we ate lunch in the Wrigley cafeteria.
After lunch we made our way down to the water for some snorkeling and kayaking. Everyone was able to do both since there were only ten of us and we had plenty of time. I did a lap around the cove in a kayak and then decided to get in the water and snorkel, which turned out to be a great decision. It was a beautiful sunny day and the water was warmer than usual with great visibility. In the shallow water there were countless garibaldi and calico sea bass, along with a few sea hares and sea cucumbers. This was the first time I truly felt comfortable in the water, and it allowed to me to snorkel for a much longer period of time over a greater distance. We went further out towards the middle of the cove where the sea floor drops down to 20-30 feet and saw a group of at least twenty leopard sharks. They were densely concentrated in one area and seemed to be everywhere when we got there. There were also a few bat rays nearby along with a shovelnose guitarfish. The Marine Protected Area that includes the cove has an incredible amount of biodiversity and proves how effective MPAs can be. On the way back to shore there was a five-foot-long leopard shark swimming in the shallower water not more than five feet away from us. All in all it was a very productive and rewarding day. The trail is looking great and just needs some finishing touches now.
After lunch we made our way down to the water for some snorkeling and kayaking. Everyone was able to do both since there were only ten of us and we had plenty of time. I did a lap around the cove in a kayak and then decided to get in the water and snorkel, which turned out to be a great decision. It was a beautiful sunny day and the water was warmer than usual with great visibility. In the shallow water there were countless garibaldi and calico sea bass, along with a few sea hares and sea cucumbers. This was the first time I truly felt comfortable in the water, and it allowed to me to snorkel for a much longer period of time over a greater distance. We went further out towards the middle of the cove where the sea floor drops down to 20-30 feet and saw a group of at least twenty leopard sharks. They were densely concentrated in one area and seemed to be everywhere when we got there. There were also a few bat rays nearby along with a shovelnose guitarfish. The Marine Protected Area that includes the cove has an incredible amount of biodiversity and proves how effective MPAs can be. On the way back to shore there was a five-foot-long leopard shark swimming in the shallower water not more than five feet away from us. All in all it was a very productive and rewarding day. The trail is looking great and just needs some finishing touches now.
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- Rattlesnake Coiled Up in the Grass
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- Joe with the Trophy Fennel Root
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- The Group
Click here to check out some more pictures: Our First Wrigley Volunteer Day