Monarch Butterflies at Natural Bridges State Beach

Walked to the Westside Farmers’ Market, got coffee, then walked to Natural Bridges State Beach. At the Visitor Center, we met a female State Park employee named Jean.

Jean asked where we hailed from, then shared she grew up in upstate New York. In the natural history section of the Visitor Center, she shared several anecdotes:

• Monkeyface prickleback (Cebidichthys violaceus) - it's 19 years old, currently, and near the end of its life. It lives in a large aquarium tank with other tidepool creatures. She shared an unnamed individual had illegally removed it from a tidepool, in a pail, when it was only an inch or two in length. The person then donated it to the Visitor Center, where it has lived since.
• She usually work at Seacliff SB
• All mounted animals at the Visitor Center met their end naturally
• The mounted bobcat represents the actual size, and it will attack deer
• Owls will eat cats and other small animals; she had a personal experience while walking her small dogs...one, Mr. Wilkerson, was passed over by an owl looking at it for dinner
• Owls have great hearing and vision but below average smell-bad for skunks
• The Gray Fox (Urocyon cinereoargenteus) will nest in trees...seeing them out in the daytime looking for food represents an indication of their hunger
• Jean had to transport the stuffed animals in her car, at one point, for cleaning (they got buggy)...she felt weird, driving to Watsonville, wondering what others might think if they saw them in her back seat
• The monkeyface prickleback had a name, something like Ms. C?
• She shared Wilder Ranch has their annual Heritage Harvest Festival today...from the web site: "Celebrate harvest time the old-fashioned way at Wilder Ranch State Park.  Choose and decorate a pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, take a draft horse wagon ride, see antique tractors, and living history demonstrations, try your hand at some old-time harvest activities, listen to live bluegrass and western music, learn to square dance, play the snap-apple game, make corn husk dolls and other crafts, taste hand-cranked pumpkin ice cream, hand pressed apple cider, apple and pumpkin pie for sale.  The California Rare Fruit growers will sponsor apple tasting for a small fee.  You’ll get to taste over 40 varieties from light and crispy to super sweet to tangy; Sample and then vote for your favorite! Food concessionaire available or pack a picnic lunch.  Admission to the event is free; parking is $10.00 per car."
• Jean recommended fish tacos at Kelly's French Bakery, with coleslaw--will have to try it
• She said near Thanksgiving represents the best time to see Monarch Butterflies
• Sunny days represent the best times, as Monarch Butterflies move about, in general, above 55 degrees Fahrenheit
• She brings treats to the understaffed maintenance crews around Halloween, on a courier for the "good witch" ; o )

Overall, a really easy person to talk to.

At 11:00 a.m., we went on a free guided tour. The guide looked and sounded like Andy Richter. Very articulate, well paced speaker. We learned about the migration cycle and milkweed. At the bottom of the nearby canyon, we saw the clusters of butterflies on the eucalyptus trees.

We walked to the beach, then home.