When the sun goes down and we head to bed, a different world is waking up! We may be able to hear some of these creatures of the night “hoo-hoo-”ing to each other as they wake up and we turn inside. How do they live? What special features help them thrive in the dark? Take a closer look at the great horned owl and practice your naturalist skills of making observations and matching form to function.
In this 45-60 minute activity students will learn about the ways in which the great horned owl is able to survive in its habitat using its adaptations. Explore the resources below:
Great Horned Owl Bubo virginianus
Teacher’s Guide This guide helps to lead opening and follow-up discussions, and outlines NGSS connections.
Great Horned Owl Adaptations This guide provides a worksheet and powerpoint with thought provoking questions, facts, visuals, and videos to explore the many adaptations that owls have developed.
Owl Pellet and Food Wed Activity Guide Use the contents of an owl pellet to explore the concept of food webs and build one of your own with this set of worksheets and guides.
Beach cleanups are a way we can all enjoy the outdoors while serving our community. Whenever you’re walking along a beach, river, or other waterway, you can help keep it clean. While there’s a lot we can all do with reducing our own waste, cleanups can prevent some of it from going into our oceans. (As with all activities, remember to practice good social distancing!) Here’s what you need to know about conducting your own beach cleanup:
Helpful Tips and Suggestions
Never touch anything with your bare hands. Be sure you’re wearing gloves. As for me, I use gardening gloves. The best thing is that they are washable, so I can keep reusing them. I also recommend close toed shoes.
I use a bucket instead of a plastic bag to reduce my waste. A reusable shopping bag is also effective.
Do not touch anything sharp or organic. If you find dead animals or waste (poop), just leave it. If you find a biohazard, like a syringe, do not pick it up. If you want, you can call the police and tell them exactly where the biohazard is located, but you are not obligated to.
If you see any living wildlife, give it plenty of space and do not disturb it. Even if that elephant seal is sitting right on top of a piece of plastic, let it be. Also, remember that all Marine Mammals are protected under the Marine Mammal Act.
Both the city and the county of Santa Cruz have specific but different criteria for what constitutes trash or recycling. I highly recommend you take a look at those before you start your cleanup:
Pay attention to microplastics, or plastics that are smaller than 5 mm. Microplastics are by far the majority of the plastics that make it into our oceans. Just like larger pieces of plastics, any microplastic that gets ingested can’t be digested. And that’s not just for ocean animals. It’s estimated that we humans eat about a credit card’s size worth of plastic every week. Learn more here!
And lastly, remember to have a good time. Take a moment to enjoy the waves and the fresh air. We are so lucky to live in a place with gorgeous forests, a healthy ocean, and, most of all, with wonderful people.
Learn about different types of clouds, recording daily observations of clouds on your cloud chart, making weather predictions, and an experiment to make your own cloud at home!
What are clouds?
Clouds are made up of water droplets or ice crystals that float in the sky. We can learn a lot about the weather by looking at clouds.
Types of Clouds
Go outside and observe the clouds. Based on the diagram above, which clouds do you see today? If there are no clouds in the sky think about why that might be. Identify your clouds using this NASA Cloud Chart (Guía de las Nubes en español), and learn more about each type of cloud here.
Each day go outside and observe the clouds for one week and record your observations in this downloadable cloud chart. Make weather predictions based on what you have learned about different types of clouds. At the end of the week you can look back on your weather predictions and reflect on if they were correct or not. Use your data to see which clouds were most common during that week.
Download and print this worksheet to aid in your observations — or make your own!
There are quite a few habitats to be found around the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History. Today we will go on a short walk starting at the Museum, and ending at Arana Gulch Open Space Park. The Museum is located in Tyrrell Park. Let’s start there, where a number of interesting neighborhood birds live. House finches (Haemorhous mexicanus) and golden-crowned sparrows (Zonotrichia atricapilla) can be found flying through the bushes while the occasional red-shouldered hawk (Buteo lineatus) can be seen in the big eucalyptus tree. Bushtits (Psaltriparus minimus) can be seen flitting through the shrubs, making their “plinking” calls as they look for insects, sounding like tiny little tambourines.
House finch
Red-shouldered hawk
Bushtits
Golden-crowned Sparrow
As you walk out toward Seabright Beach you will probably see a wide variety of gulls and the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) poking around looking for something to eat. In the water you might see the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentails) flying around or the double-crested cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) swimming around chasing fish. As you walk towards the Santa Cruz Harbor and lighthouse keep your eyes peeled for the snowy plover (Charadrius nivosus) hiding in the sand dunes. Please keep your distance from these adorable and threatened birds as they nest on the same beaches that we play on, so we need to respect their space and their home.
American Crow
Brown Pelican
Double-crested cormorant
Snowy Plover
While you’re walking through the Santa Cruz Harbor, be on the lookout for some of the marine mammals that occasionally cruise through including California sea otters (Enhydra lutris nereis), the Pacific harbor seal (Phoca vitulina richardii), and the California sea lion (Zalophus californianus). Perched on the masts of the boats you might see the black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) or even a great blue heron (Ardea herodias) with its wingspan of over 6 feet.
Pacific harbor seal
CA sea lions
Black-crowned night heron
Great blue heron
If you head north through the Harbor you will come to Arana Gulch Open Space Park. This 67 acre park has open meadows surrounded by wetlands and beautiful oak forest. There have been many amazing wildlife sightings at Arana Gulch, including coyotes (Canis latrans) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos). The wetland on the east side is home to the belted kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), a small and vocal bird which can be seen diving into the water to catch fish. The oak forests surrounding the edges provide habitats for the downy woodpecker (Dryobates pubescens) and the California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica). In the meadows you can see the western bluebird (Sialia mexicana) and the western meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) perched along the fences while you can often find the red-tailed hawk soaring overhead.
This short, hour-long walk takes you through some beautiful habitats and shows how nature is your neighbor and not something far away or hard to find.
The Loma Prieta Earthquake of October 17, 1989 did over $6 billion in damage to the Monterey Bay and San Francisco Bay areas of central California. This Naturalist Night lecture at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History was presented by Capitola Museum Curator Frank Perry on the occasion of the quake’s 30-year anniversary, October 17, 2019, in partnership between the two museums.
This lecture focuses on the geologic setting of the epicenter and phenomena associated with the earthquake. This video was created by Frank, combining an audio recording with the slides used in the talk. The speaker, Frank Perry, is introduced by our Public Programs Manager Marisa Gomez.
This Naturalist Night lecture was presented by Frank Perry on August 18, 2015 at the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History and explores the early beginnings of the Museum in 1905 to present day.
Birds are, quite literally, all around us. They are a constant presence in our cities, parks, and open spaces. The previous post provided an introduction to the “why” of birdwatching, and some basic tools and tips to get started. This post will introduce a selection of species that are common across nearly all habitat types in Santa Cruz – “the regulars”. Following “Gettin’ Birdy” posts will take deeper dives into particular birding hotspots, as well as bird biology and behavior.
One of the great benefits of birdwatching is that birds are present in our cities and urban spaces. You don’t have to get far out into nature to see interesting species or witness unusual behavior. In fact, there are many interesting behaviors that are exhibited by birds that thrive alongside our city streets and buildings. Look for nests under the eaves of buildings or in brushy areas of backyards, and even in planters and garden boxes – certain ground-nesting birds often hide beneath ornamental shrubs and flowers! As you begin to explore your neighborhood and local area for birds, it can be nice to have an idea of what you might be seeing. The species list and images below can serve as a nice primer for “the regulars” that you may be able to see from your own window, front porch, or yard.
Mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) – The most common duck, this species is a great example of sexual dimorphism: when males and females of the same species look different! Can you tell which is the male and which is the female?
Mallard duck (Anas platyrhynchos) – The most common duck, this species is a great example of sexual dimorphism: when males and females of the same species look different! Can you tell which is the male and which is the female?
Black phoebe (Sayornis nigricans) – often seen perched on wires, fences, or the ends of branches, these little songbirds catch insects in midair! Nicknamed the “tuxedo bird”.
California scrub jay (Aphelocoma californica) – “A blue jay!” someone will exclaim. Alas, no. Blue jays live in the eastern half of the United States. The scrub jay is a common (and loud) resident of parks and neighborhoods,.
American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) – If it’s a fairly large all-black bird, chances are you’re looking at a crow. Crows are found more often in urban settings compared to ravens, which prefer to stick to forests.
House finch (Haemorhous mexicanus) – These little songbirds use their thick bills to crack open seeds and shells! Often found in parks and neighborhoods, they can even sing while in flight!
House sparrow (Passer domesticus) – A nonnative bird from Eurasia, these little brown, black, and grey birds are now common in urban settings, often nesting on (or in) buildings.
California towhee (Melozone crissalis) – Widely considered to be the little brown bird, their telltale marking is their “cinnamon pants”, a touch of orange underneath the tail.
Rock dove (Columba livia) – the feral pigeon seen commonly in urban spaces, rock doves are often found on the ground or clustered together on telephone wires.
So much can be revealed to us when we immerse ourselves in our surroundings and give our undivided attention to nature! When we slow down and focus our senses, our awareness deepens and we begin to notice more. Noticing, in turn, leads to connection, familiarity, a desire for stewardship, a sense of place, and so much more. By familiarizing ourselves with nature in this way we can also learn to recognize patterns and relationships that exist all around us.
The intention for this guide is to help you build your sensory awareness skills through nature journaling, games, stories, and exercises in mindfulness. So grab a journal, head outside, and let’s begin!
This Nature Awareness Guide (PDF | HTML) by our Education Assistant Ellen Stone was written as a capstone project for the California Naturalist Program, 2019.
Neary Lagoon Wildlife Refuge is a beloved park nestled at the heart of Santa Cruz. Once a true lagoon (with an open connection to the ocean), Neary Lagoon is now a freshwater marsh. It is an important part of an 850 acre watershed that drains into the lagoon via Laurel Creek and Bay Creek before draining into the ocean through a controlled flood gate.
This is a 44-acre park with roughly 14 acres of freshwater lagoon, and is an important habitat for many animals. Click here to download a guided hike for a 1-mile loop through this beautiful wildlife refuge (PDF | HTML). As you observe wildlife, refer to this guide of commonly-spotted animals (PDF | HTML).
