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Bolsa Chica Conservancy's Mission

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Visit Bolsa Chica

Our Future Home

LATEST NEWS

Upcoming Waterway Cleanup: United By Blue November 28, 2018
Do You Heart Bolsa Chica April 23, 2018
Go Above and Beyond – Become an EONS Volunteer March 26, 2018

More News

HIGHLIGHTS

Expert Talk Series “Penquin Etiquette (and other things I learned in Antarctica” with Chris Epting | April 22, 2018

Expert Talk Series “Penquin Etiquette (and other things I learned in Antarctica” with Chris Epting | April 22, 2018

Go Above and Beyond – Become an EONS Volunteer

Go Above and Beyond – Become an EONS Volunteer

Upcoming Waterway Cleanup: United By Blue

Upcoming Waterway Cleanup: United By Blue

UPCOMING EVENTS

Date: January 19, 2019

Starts: 12:00 PM

Ends: 1:00 PM

Location: 3842 Warner Ave, HB 92649

Description: Come join us to learn more about the animals at our interpretive center! During the feeding, we will cover feeding ...

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Date: January 26, 2019

Starts: 9:00 AM

Ends: 12:00 PM

Location: Bolsa Chica Conservancy: Interpretive Center, 3842 Warner Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA 92649, United States

Description: Help us restore the natural habitats of the Bolsa Chica Wetlands! Every 2nd Sunday and last Saturday of the month ...

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Date: January 26, 2019

Starts: 12:00 PM

Ends: 1:00 PM

Location: 3842 Warner Ave, HB 92649

Description: Come join us to learn more about the animals at our interpretive center! During the feeding, we will cover feeding ...

More details...

Date: February 2, 2019

Starts: 12:00 PM

Ends: 1:00 PM

Location: 3842 Warner Ave, HB 92649

Description: Come join us to learn more about the animals at our interpretive center! During the feeding, we will cover feeding ...

More details...

Date: February 9, 2019

Starts: 10:00 AM

Ends: 12:00 PM

Location: 3842 Warner Avenue, Huntington Beach, CA, United States

More details...

Date: February 9, 2019

Starts: 12:00 PM

Ends: 1:00 PM

Location: 3842 Warner Ave, HB 92649

Description: Come join us to learn more about the animals at our interpretive center! During the feeding, we will cover feeding ...

More details...

TWEETS

We talk about endangered animals, but Bolsa Chica is also home to plants of special concern, like southern tarplant… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
about 13 hours ago
With its wobbly flight pattern, the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) is easy to spot as it soars over the wetlands.… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
about 3 days ago
Exploding in bursts of color amongst the plants of Bolsa Chica, like Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea), the myriad of f… twitter.com/i/web/status/1…
about 4 days ago

Learn

Expanding literacy in sustainability and the natural sciences.

Highlights

Restore

Connecting the community to conserve our natural environment.

Highlights

Inspire

Encouraging all generations to take action in their community.

Highlights

INSTAGRAM

We often talk about endangered animals, but the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve is also home to plants of special concern, like the southern tarplant (Centromadia parryi australis). It is rated as a 1B.1 plant by the California Native Plant Society meaning that it is rare, threatened, and/or endangered in California and elsewhere. #southerntarplant #endangered #nativeplantsociety #bolsachica #flora

We have lots of educational programs at the Bolsa Chica Conservancy. Here you see students participating in a plant diversity lab. A quadrat is placed on the ground and the students record how many plants they can identify in each section. Our programs are a great way to get kids interested in the wetlands as they learn about all of the life here. For more info go to http://bolsachica.org/edu or contact Whitney at 714-846-114 or whitney@bolsachica.org #STEM #education #wetlands #ecology #plants

Salt marshes are some of the world’s most biologically productive ecosystems. Marine life at Bolsa Chica is a diverse and necessary part for the productivity of the wetlands. Coastal Salt Marshes are crucial fish nurseries and the invertebrates living in the mud provide food for the thousands of birds that visit. Marine animals at Bolsa Chica include the California Brown Sea Hare (Aplysia californica). There is a diverse world of invertebrates, fish and even marine mammals that swim through the wetlands year around. Photo: P. Marto #seahare #wetlands #bolsachica #marinelife #saltmarsh #ecology

The Bolsa Chica Conservancy's (BCC) Wetlands Exploration Program (WEP) is a STEM-based program that provides opportunities for middle, high school, and college students and teachers to learn about wetland ecology through inquiry-based learning modules that engage them in hands-on research. The program engages students in a variety of field studies that stimulate critical thinking using math, science and technology. For more information, please contact Whitney Thompson at whitney@bolsachica.org or 714-846-1114. #STEM #environmentaleducation #ecology #habitat #bolsachica #wetlands

Twice a day the mudflats in Bolsa Chica become exposed during low tide. This seemingly bare habitat is filled with invertebrates ranging from microbial life to crabs and clams. Many of Bolsa Chica’s birds, like the Willet (Tringa semipalmata), flock to the mudflats looking for their next meal before the tide rises again. Two hours before or after low tide is the best time for birding here in the wetlands. Photo: L. Norman #mudflats #willet #birding #wetlands #birder #bolsachica #tides #hightide #lowtide

Watersheds are geographical areas of water draining out into one waterway. Bolsa Chica is an example of the connectivity of watersheds and human effects on nature. The Anaheim Bay-Huntington Harbor Watershed includes the Bolsa Chica Wetlands and the Wintersburg Channel that drain the water from the cities of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Westminster and Huntington Beach. At the Bolsa Chica Conservancy, students and volunteers frequently run water quality tests as both an educational tool and an assessment of the wetland’s water quality in reference to the runoff coming from urban areas. #watershed #watertesting #STEM #education #wetlands #bolsachica #wintersburgchannel #anaheim #gardengrove #westminster #huntingtonbeach

With its red, featherless head and wobbly flight pattern, the Turkey Vulture (Cathartes aura) is easy to spot as it soars over the wetlands. Capable of smelling fresh carrion from a mile away, they will stay airborne for hours using the wind currents to minimize exertion. As scavengers, Turkey Vultures do not catch live prey. Their talons more resemble those of a chicken than a bird of prey. Photo: G. Skipper II #turkeyvulture #scavenger #wetlands #vulture #bolsachica #birder #birding

White-tailed Kites (Elanus leucurus) look similar to gulls, but are actually raptors measuring up to 14-17 inches in length with a 35-40 inch wingspan and they typically feed on rodents. Here we see a great shot of an aerial food exchange of a White-tailed Kite couple! Photo: S. Smith #whitetailedkite #raptor #birder #birding #wetlands #bolsachica

Bolsa Chica is known to be a crucial resting and breeding spot for many migratory birds. Being the largest coastal salt marsh in Southern California, it attracts many species of birds traveling along the Pacific Flyway which is one of the four migratory bird routes of Northern America that extends all the way to Patagonia. Photo: V. Thomas #pacificflyway #migratorybords #migration #wetlands #saltmarsh #ecology #bolsachica

Exploding in bursts of color amongst the plants of Bolsa Chica, the myriad of flower clusters on many plants’ stems make up the general plant structure called the inflorescence. On plants like Bladderpod (Peritoma arborea), the inflorescences are certainly a sight to see during their varied blooming season! Photo: J. McNamara #inflorescence #bladderpod #wetlands #bolsachica

Can't make it to a Saturday clean up? That's OK, we have them on Sundays, too! Our next Public Service Day is this Sunday, January 13th, from 9:00 am–Noon. Sign up through the link on our Facebook post and meet at the Interpretive Center at 3842 Warner Ave. For more info, contact Kenny at kenny@bolsachica.org or 714-846-1114. #publicserviceday #bolsachica #cleanup #restoration #volunteer #bolsachica #wetlands #interpretivecenter #nature

Happy National Bird Day! Take time today to think about endangered and threatened bird species, such as the Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus), and what you can do to help ensure their survival. In the spring, our Eyes on Nest Sites (EONS) program will begin again; that's a great way to monitor these birds and learn what they need to continue to thrive. For now, get out and go bird watching! For more information about our EONS program contact Jeannette Bush at jeannette@bolsachica.org or 714-846-1114 Photo: R. Griswold #birdday #endangered #threatenedspecies #snowyplover #plover #EONS #birdwatching

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