During Memorial Day Weekend 2009, I visited Channel Islands National Park in Southern California. Channel Islands are a group of 5 islands in the pacific ocean, an hour or couple hours boat ride (depending on which island you are visiting) from the mainland.
The first day, we visited Anacapa Island.
The boat ride to the island was fantastic.....loved the ocean breeze. I love being in the water, on the water, near water. As we approached the island, we saw this fantastic Arch Rock formation which I had only seen in pictures before.
After we landed, we climbed more than 150 stairs to the top of the island, to find ourselves in the company of hundreds of seagulls and their chicks and nests and eggs. This was quite a site!!!! We walked around the island loop which is about 2 miles, along with the park ranger.
The island is very small but has spectacular views all around.
I observed the seagulls all day along. I had never seen so many of them in one place. The chicks were uber-cute.....and I learnt a lot from the guide about this species.
There is a flat concrete ground on the island, which the guide said is the place for the gulls to meet. Seagulls prefer flat open spaces and this place is the perfect romantic spot for a date!!!!
Some of the facts we learnt:
- The seagulls primarily use this island as their nesting place because of relative lack of predators, and easy access to food (fish).
- Most seagulls are monogamous.
- Some seagulls are lesbian.
- They have their colonies on the island. They lay their eggs in their colony and are very protective about the boundaries. If another seagull or chick tries to enter their territory, it will be attacked.
- Seagulls drink salt water, and have a special pair of glands right above their eyes to flush the salt from their systems.
- Their lifespan is somewhere between 5 to 15 years.
Among the many plants endemic to the channel islands, we saw this flower - "island morning glory" which the guide said is only found on these islands in the whole world. Wicked! Here's a picture of it:
The Channel Islands are home to the most well-preserved archeological sites on the Pacific coast, with more than 10,000 years of continuous human occupation recorded.
The next day, we visited Santa Cruz Island. We spotted hundreds of dolphins on our way to the island, and explored many caves around the island doing sea kayaking. Will write up a post about it too :)
Here is a picture of my friends who made the trip memorable and special :)
