AUDIO:

The following is a rough machine transcript. Click the words to skip to that point in the audio.

MIDGE MARTIN:

It's time now for Humboldt Baywatch, brought to you by Kokatat. They make all of the gear that you need to get into the water, even as the temperatures are dropping and the fog rolls in. While you can, get in the water with Kokatat. I have got Carol Vander Meer on the line today. Hey, Carol.

CAROL VANDER MEER:

Hey Midge, how's it going?

MARTIN:

You know it's good. It's really been a rollercoaster of temperatures here along the coast today. It's a little cold and foggy and I've been making some cold foggy music choices. How are you doing? How's it up there in Arcata?

VANDER MEER:

I'm in Manila right now. It's chilly. I feel that chill, that fog um and fall in the air. And yeah, yeah I just, I I was out here checking out what's happening on the Bay. And it's a pretty important time of year on the bay right now. There is a major gathering on traveling of fall migrants. And uh one of the birds, the types of groups of birds that are migrating in the fall migration right now are shorebirds, and I was just stepped out my door and checked it out and one of my favorite shorebirds are out there. The they are really amazing. You can see them at the marsh. I see them out of the out on the bay but they're part of, there could be like 30 or 40 different species of shorebirds are migrating right now. They they many of them breed way up north, some as far north as the arctic and some fly as far south as south America and Peru during the migration. And we are lucky and that it's really cool. They're all converging here on the whole bay. Not all of them but many of them, because Humboldt Bay is one of the most important stop over places for migrating shorebirds, you know, on the West Coast. So we're pretty special.

MARTIN:

So when you say that we're important, is it because of our location or is there lots of food for them to eat? What makes them stop here?

VANDER MEER:

Oh my gosh! It is a mud flat diner out there. And these birds that have to make this marathon flights, they have got to gorge themselves constantly. And as the tides come and go they keep replenishing the food sources. There's little tiny invertebrates and amphipods. And public eat worms, marine worms. They are just nonstop. That's what they do because they have got to pack on the fat for this long journey. Some of them will fly like up like nonstop for 3000 miles. It's just mind boggling that their little bodies are able to do that. But they can only do that as long as there is a great habitat like we have here at Humboldt Bay where they can fuel up and pack on the fat in order to make the big trip.

MARTIN:

They go 3000 miles without sleeping, stopping.

VANDER MEER:

Yeah just flying along with their they packed, their bodies are built for this marathon. Not all of them fly that far. There's long distance, my graters and kind of medium and short, but the ones that really go a long ways, they've got, um, they like double their weight because they have to pack it on for that kind of trip And they've evolved over time to be adapted to have be strong fast fliers. Um, because they can go like 60 mph. These little birds, some of them, they've got these kind of sharp, slender wings. They're like built for speed. Um, they have really, you know, they work out, they've got strong muscles to carry this heavier weight and uh, just use those fat reserves to make the long trip. It's kind of, it's mind blowing. What can I say?

MARTIN:

Yeah. Well, and especially I looked up and said right now and I don't know if they are one of the long migratory birds, but either way they're making a long migration no matter what, Even if they're stopping to take a nap like that, that's a big, long way to go. But these, these little assets, they look like little plush toys. Like they're so cute.

VANDER MEER:

Yes, they are not one of the long, my graters, they actually, well and some of the migration really very, so many different species and they all have different stories and they won't go on about all of them, but the assets will even be like out in the great basin and winter there. Um and they just follow their food. And the advocates are kind of cool to have that upturned bill. And when you watch them, like if you go to the marsh or out in front of my door now they sweep that upturned bill through the top layer of water where there's tiny little invertebrates. And they use that to sift through and just eat constantly. Yeah, and it's through this this they call it a biofilm that floats on the water and do that. There's other shorebirds like western sandpipers. They just stick their bill in the tip of that water and they get that like a nutrient rich broth full of organisms that help them pack on the fat for their trip.

MARTIN:

Well even, I mean even the great Basin, these, they're tiny. That's still a very long way to go. And you know, I think about Penny and I make it a couple of miles on foot and I think we gotta turn back these things are going. I mean even the Great Basin is a long way to go. These are small little birds.

VANDER MEER:

Yes, they are small little birds. And what's cool about the fall is fall for shorebirds is relatively laid back leisurely trip versus in spring migration basically. They they go south to their wintering grounds and some of them are, you know, Mexico or they might go to south America or texas or whatever and then they go back up north to their breeding grounds and when they go back north it's like gotta get there. You know it's breeding, establishing territory, they gotta do it kinda quick. It's a very short window of opportunity but the fall is a lot more leisure the first and and it spreads out fall it actually starts like june or july and goes through october. So right now you'll just see different waves of different kinds of birds. And even if you're not a bird nerd and you're just walking along Humboldt Bay out at the marsh. You just there's a notable new variety and uh it's great just to watch their behaviors. Think about them packing on all that fat. Many of them have super long journeys. It's just one of those wonders of the world frankly. Well and

MARTIN:

I'm glad that there's fun things to do and different birds and different animals to see in the fall because we get summer and we want to go outside and then the fog rolls in and you may be inclined to get inside and pack on your own pounds but not migrate anywhere. It's nice to have a good reason to get out and enjoy the marsh. The shore all season all year long I guess. So if somebody wanted to go out who is not an established bernard what would be some tips that you would have in terms of bird watching

VANDER MEER:

in birdwatching in general.

MARTIN:

Yeah, or shorebird for this fall migration.

VANDER MEER:

Yeah, for the fall migration, there's a lot of things happening. And for the shorebirds, if you're out there walking along the marshy might check out the length of their bills that will tell you something that curl lose our great big shorebirds with curved bills. And then there's little tiny sandpipers that there's all different kinds of sandpipers. And collectively, one of the names for different kinds of sandpipers are peaks. So I like to talk about my peeps. So that's actually kind of a bird nerd, but watching how they're feeding, how they fly. Some of those peeps. and and probably many folks have seen this if you're walking by the bay, I call them what I call them like flashers because they fly in a big flock together and when they turn on the light catches them and kind of flashes a bit. And those huge groups of birds are trying to maintain safety with it in numbers because there might be a paragraph, if you see a big group of flashers. These these people who are shifting back and forth, they kind of look like a big blob, you know, move moving together. There might be a peregrine falcon that's chasing them. And so you can watch for that. And these these are all things you can see without binoculars. And those big moving flocks are pretty, pretty amazing because all the what governs the movement of those flocks of each bird just notices the neighbors right around it and just moves according to its neighbors. And it allows for the movement of a huge block of shorebirds. But also when you're out there walking, you'll notice different sizes and shapes of birds will be getting um ducks, different kinds of ducks through there and color still size. All those things give you some tips to start to categorize them and and maybe learn their names because you know when you go to a party and you learn somebody's name and you learn more about them. It makes it more interesting. Same thing with nature, you know, names can be like a first step in getting to know and connect to the natural world. I also think just sitting standing still and watching when I wait and watch, I'm usually very rewarded. But it takes time. Um And but that also has all kinds of great mental health benefits as well as opening up the opportunity to kind of appreciate our natural world and and birds especially

MARTIN:

well and it's definitely not easy to kind of slow down. I hate saying these days, but it does feel like these days it's just harder to take a moment. Um see what's around you. I don't know about you, but I feel like a little locked to a screen more than normal. I don't know my phone is always going off or something. So to have a little moment um to be quiet and watch something and bringing up those Flasher birds. That is my favorite thing. I see them on the beach when I walk along. And what's crazy about when you get those big flocks of birds is sometimes I'll be walking and they'll come right at me and it looks like they're just going to hit you and then all of a sudden they'll duck and it's

VANDER MEER:

great.

MARTIN:

Yeah.

VANDER MEER:

Yeah. Some of the shorebirds you see on the beach, a real common group might be the Sandra wings and if you watch them running up and down the wave slope, they look like little wind up toys, you know, going to, you know, back and that's that's another wonderful One of our many, many shorebirds we have in this area is one of the things that makes a Humboldt base so special is how it supports so many. And sometimes during migration up to like 500,000 shorebirds depend on the habitats and the healthy environments around Humboldt bay, right. That's a lot of birds. That is a lot of birds and they are marathon champions. They fly fast, some flying high jetliner. That's crazy. So you know, in part part of my joy and study nature, just being awestruck and um and ever full of wonder about how, how these things make their way in the world

MARTIN:

and it's a good time to do it for a variety as well because maybe if there's lots of different things moving at different times, maybe you can go out one day and see one type of bird and then a week, a month, you know of it will be a different type of variety as they move in and out of Humboldt bay is what it sounds like.

VANDER MEER:

That's right and you know, there's a couple of great resources out there. Um Our local Redwood Region Audubon Society offers free guided walks on saturday morning at 8 30. So if you want to dip your toe into real bird nerdiness and especially now the fall migration, saturday mornings at 8 30 or a great time. Um if you want to know more about specific short birds that are out there, e bird, you know, believe it or not, a bird is a great source of info about what's happening specifically around Humboldt Bay, It's just community scientists, gathering information and sharing it all in one place. So if you want to really nerd out, get on e bird. So those are some of my tips

MARTIN:

and e bird is local. It's local because I find myself sometimes when I try to look at birds, it'll show you birds from all over the place and it's a little bit harder to narrow it down, you can narrow it down to

VANDER MEER:

in Ebert Ebert is, it's kind of a worldwide thing that you can zoom in and find out who's been seeing what in your particular area. You can zoom in on the map and go, oh my gosh, there's a rare bird alert. Yeah, you can. So that's, that's a great way. Uh, if you want to start exploring, um, what, what people are seeing out there.

MARTIN:

Very cool. And those guided walks very cool to, um, in terms of meeting people who are maybe like minded how I said, it's kind of hard to get away from. It's also really hard to meet people who you maybe have something in common with. So even just for a nice little chat to learn something to get some cool facts to know to exercise and lower your blood pressure on a Saturday. Like winning combo.

VANDER MEER:

It is a winning combo and I wanted to plug before our time's up an event that's coming up, not this Saturday. Um, but it's coming up the next saturday is the Humboldt Trail Summit. So all these wonderful trails that exist in Humboldt County and new ones are being built and connecting people to the outdoors, connecting communities connecting us to wild places. The trail summit is where like minded trail fans and trail supporters go to get the latest scoop learn what's cooking. Uh, come get the latest update on when we can connect that. Arcadia to Eureka, Humboldt bay trail and, and much much more so that's gonna be in Eureka next saturday the 24th. So I just wanted to, I'll probably remind you next week too. So.

MARTIN:

Perfect. So what can somebody expect there? Would you just a little bit of information? Is it a thing that you stopped by momentarily? Is it something that you're gonna hang out for a little while?

VANDER MEER:

It starts at nine and we'll have a resource fair with like 14 different organizations that you could just go up to the table and say, hey, I want to know how to connect the Annie and Mary Trail and you can talk to those people or the little river trail up in Trinidad, there'll be a resource fair and then at 10, the county will give a brief update, a big talk. This is all at the Sequoia Conference Center, you know, for like 15 minutes updating us on county trails and Senator Mike McGuire will be there giving some really exciting updates on the great redwood trail that will ultimately connect san Francisco bay all the way up to Humboldt Bay, which is A really visionary project. So he will be there. They'll be cooking. There'll be refreshments. they'll be like minded folks. it should be a really great event and it starts at nine, you can just drop in the fair if you want to stay for the whole thing goes until about 1130.

MARTIN:

Cool. All right, well I love that. I'm sure that Senator Mike McGuire. He, he likes to get on when I, when he can, I have the feeling I will probably be hearing from him soon. Um because he loves Yeah, yeah. He likes to come on and talk about the cool things that he's doing and I mean connecting san Francisco to here with. I mean that's something if if you're working on it, you want to be heard. That that's what you're spearheading. You know, that's a good one. That's a people-pleaser,

VANDER MEER:

definitely. It's a good, good thing to work on across all kinds of different perspectives.

MARTIN:

Very cool. So that's next, let's see. Yes. Next Saturday,

VANDER MEER:

24th

MARTIN:

24th.

VANDER MEER:

Okay. Mark.

MARTIN:

And

VANDER MEER:

there's more information on it on the Humboldt um, Trails Council website, which is um, trails dot org.

MARTIN:

Perfect. So do we have now? I like how you've been stepping outside the box just a little bit in your musical choices. I like this. You're really getting the hang of it. Do you have a maybe a shore bird song, a migration song? A what do you do you have anything in mind today?

VANDER MEER:

You know, I was challenged. I always try to look around and I'm not really fond of giving the kids songs out there. So I'm like, alright. Songs of birds in it at least. And the first thing that came up was a title that I didn't even realize the actual title of this song. It's Three Little Birds by Bob Marley which is actually also known as Everything's Gonna Be Alright. It's a great song.

MARTIN:

Alrigh,t perfect. Not at all. I had I was like man maybe a migration song cause same. I was like bird, you don't wanna go too literal, you wanna. So nicely done. You have out d jade me yet again. So I appreciate talking to you Carol and we'll talk next week a little closer to the Summit Trail. But I hope some people hear this and do a little bit of bird watching.

VANDER MEER:

Alright. Sounds wonderful. Have a great damage.