Not too long ago I found a national wildlife refuge that previously I did not know about. It’s the San Diego National Wildlife Refuge:
It is not in any of my San Diego books about hiking, biking, walking, running, or national thises and thats. Time to turn to………………….
Russel Ray, Private Investigator.
The San Diego National Wildlife Refuge was established in 1996. Ah-ha! That explains my lack of knowledge about it. I arrived in San Diego in April 1993 and, in March 1994, decided to stay here. At that time I bought a bunch of books about San Diego County, all published well before 1996. Hmmm. Maybe it’s time to get some more recent books.
According to some articles I found on the Internet, “The San Diego Refuge will protect, enhance, and restore habitats for threatened and endangered species, migratory birds, and rare plants and animals found in a variety of habitats. It will help conserve the biological diversity of San Diego County and provide important habitat for a significant number of endangered birds. It has been designated a Globally Important Bird Area by the American Bird Conservancy.”
Although it was originally established with 8,471 acres, it now comprises over 9,200 acres.
There ya go! My work is done.
Oh, wait!
I guess you want some pictures, huh? You folks are demanding.
According to a plaque I found, many of the trails throughout the area where I walked were created by Samuel Marks as his Eagle Scout service project in August 2006. The plaque you see by the fence in the rear center of the picture above indicates that the area behind the fence is filled with San Diego Ambrosia (Ambrosia pumila), a small, endangered plant only a few inches tall that grows in dry, sunny spots in southeast San Diego County.
I walked around the trails for three hours but obviously did not even come close to traipsing all 9,200 acres. Somewhere in all that acreage are 30 acres of vernal pools with San Diego fairy shrimp, San Diego button celery, Otay Mesa mint, and California orcutt grass. Vernal pools are puddles of water that exist for a few hours to a few days after rains. In my home state of Texas, we actually called them “puddles of water” and stomped around in them to get all muddy and wet, to the chagrin of our parents. Who knew that tiny organisms were born, lived, and died in those puddles of water in just a few hours or days? Not to mention that I feel so bad now knowing that I might have been stomping the life out of some tiny creatures belonging to Mother and Father Nature.
This last picture is of a nasty, invasive plant called dodder. To see additional pictures and a discussion of dodder, see my blog post here.
Looking for real estate services in San Diego County?
I can highly recommend
James Frimmer, Realtor
Century 21 Award, DRE #01458572
If you’re looking for a home inspector,
I recommend Russel Ray — that’s me!
I love how the lady bug just POPS at you🙂
LikeLike
Interesting place. Thanks for the walk.
LikeLike
Now I don’t have to go there!
LikeLike
lol
LikeLike
What a little slice of paradise! I’d LOVE to see San Diego fairy shrimp!
LikeLike
Great work Russell…
be good to yourself
David
LikeLike
What a lovely trek you took us on. Thank you! Your pictures are beautiful and give a good sense of the place.
LikeLike
Hey there friend! I read a comment you recently wrote and you mentioned there is a way to block certain people from your wordpress blog…how do you do it? I have a little girl following me for the past day and I do NOT like that. If you are 18 or older cool but, anyone younger, I’m not comfortable with (where are these kids parents???). Can you please let me know…sorry asking you this on your blog, not sure how to send you a regular email.
LikeLike
I just sent an email to wordpress (contact me) hopefully, they will let me know if I don’t here from you.
LikeLike
I’m confused.
LikeLike
Is there a way to block people who follow your blog? the wordpress people have not answered my email I sent them yet. If not no worries. sorry.
LikeLike
I don’t think you can block people from following you but if you find out that we can, let us all know!
LikeLike
For sure, I will let you know, once I receive their response from the email I sent them. 🙂 🙂
LikeLike
Nobody from WordPress has responded to my email. maybe they are super busy…I will give it more time. I will remember to let you know the outcome.
LikeLike
Rather than send an email, go to the support forums. There are so many people checking in there each day and you can often get an answer within hours.
LikeLike
Oh cool! I will try it and get back with you. THANK YOU!!!
LikeLike
Okay, putting on my naturalist hat here to say that dodder is not necessarily bad. Doddet only appears in years where there has been sufficient rain to cause chapparal to over grow. Dodder’s part is to prevent or curb the growth so it doesn’t overwhelm the ecosystem or make too much fuel for fire. It’s a control species and when fire was allowed to be part of chapparal’s natural cycle preforms a valuable function.
LikeLike
Dodder is nasty, nasty, nasty. It’s virtually impossible to get rid of if it gets a foothold and chokes and kills whatever it overgrows. Nasty, nasty, nasty.
LikeLike
What a beautiful pictures of a beautiful place🙂
LikeLike
Hi Russel
Thanks for the info and the beautiful photographs. You had a lovely day for your walk on the wildside. Check my blog at soulsnet because great minds are obviously thinking alike. My last post is all about walking on the wildside!!!!
If I ever visit San Diego I shall make sure and visit. You are a great tour guide.
Love Corinne
LikeLike
Give me 24 hours notice and I can play Docent for a Day, which I’ve done often over the years.
LikeLike
I haven’t had a chance to visit your blog and the others I follow too often lately. 😦 Love your posts especially the nature park photos.
LikeLike
Wow, beautiful shots…even the bug!
LikeLike
Thank you for taking me along the trail… loved my walk with Nature🙂
LikeLike
Awesome journey, Russel! Thanks much!
LikeLike
Gorgeous photos! I’d love to get a copy of one of them to do a post on the National Wildlife Refuge System’s Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/USFWSRefuges
about this blog entry. (I know, I know, most people would just rip and run with it, but we’re sticklers for permissions and credits.) We don’t have many good photos from this refuge. I like the ladybug and the photo of the winding trail that comes right after it. If you are willing to part with one of those, please email it to me at heather_dewar@fws.gov.
Thanks! We’re glad you discovered San Diego National Wildlife Refuge and shared it with your followers. Be sure to check out San Diego Bay National Wildlife Refuge too. It’s on the coast and has marvels all its own.
Heather Dewar
National Wildlife Refuge System
LikeLike
Pingback: It’s a staredown « Russel Ray Photos
Pingback: I’m trading in my beach sandals for hiking boots « Russel Ray Photos
Pingback: Dead can be beautiful « Russel Ray Photos
Pingback: The Tour Continues along Highway 94