I went down to Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve to bird and ended up picking up trash and doing a little birding. It was a good day. I am constantly amazed by the trash I see at Bolsa Chica and other parks--especially in waterways, ponds, lakes, and streams. Mostly fast food trash including cups, straws, plastic flatware, food containers, wrappers, plastic bags, and lots and lots of cigarette butts.
Black-crowned Night Heron hiding.
Willet foraging in the pickleweed.
Last year in Orange County, California along, 6,760 volunteers picked up 91,789 pounds of trash and 16,044 pounds of recyclables.
Great Egret found a nice rock to fish from.
Much trash is blown there by the wind from the beach or flows there in the water from the watershed. Someone tosses a paper cup out of the car window, it flows into the sewer and down the waterway to streams, lakes, and to the ocean.
One of a pair of Black Phoebes I saw at the Reserve that day.
Read this quote from the California Coastal Cleanup site:
"Almost 90 percent of floating marine debris is plastic. Due to its durability, buoyancy, and ability to absorb and concentrate toxins present in the ocean, plastic is especially harmful to marine life. "
Plastic is found frequently in the stomachs of dead wildlife. It is fed by birds to their young. They starve to death with plastic in their stomachs. Clean up after yourself and throw trash away. Much of this trash arrives here through the run-off water from the surrounding neighborhoods. Leave trash on the curb or in the gutter or anywhere but the trash can and it ends up in beautiful places like this injuring and killing innocent wildlife.
Marbled Godwits and their common companions, the Willets.
Marbles Godwits and Willets
Water and Pickleweed. Lots of birds seen and unseen hunkered down in the Pickleweed.
Check out their site:
California Coastal Cleanup Day
Some Things I picked up:
Lots of cigarette butts
Paper Cups
Styrofoam Cups
Hunks of Styrofoam
Candy Wrappers
Straws
A six-pack package
Plastic bags
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