My Community Scientists: A Cactus Wren Odyssey By Dan Lambert
My Community Scientists: A Cactus Wren Odyssey
By Dan Lambert
It was a sunny Spring morning when the married couple Anhthao Bui and Dan Lambert began their first day of volunteer work for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Land Conservancy (PVPLC for short). Their job was to monitor me (that is, to identify and count as many members of my species as possible). Who am I? I am the elusive cactus wren, but you can call me “C.W.”
According to the book A Bravo for Charlie by Evi Meyer, I am a “medium-sized bird (about the size of a Mourning Dove).” Evi describes me as having “black feathers, white markings, a cinnamon-buff wash” on my abdomen and “a cluster of black spots” on my throat. Not only is it great that Ms. Meyer (a PVPLC volunteer) wrote a book about my kin and I, but she also described us very accurately!
Back to Anhthao and Dan: They packed their birding gear (including binoculars, iPhones, snacks, and a map) and headed out to their assigned monitoring region: Abalone Cove. The map was provided by their trainer, Austin Parker. (Austin is a Biologist and Coordinator of the Cactus Wren Monitoring and Wildlife Tracking Community Science Programs for the PVPLC.)
The community scientists set out to identify and count me and my family members at 9:25 am. It was a crisp, sunny morning with only a slight wind coming off the Pacific Ocean. They had visited Abalone Cove previously with their friend Theodore, but today would be different: they would venture into areas they had not seen before. With the help of Austin’s map, they walked East along Palos Verdes Drive South until they reached Sea Blossom Trail, which Austin had marked in yellow on the map. (This is not the real name of the trail Anhthao and Dan took. I am using made-up names to identify trails in this story to protect my family members, their hatchlings, and their habitats from curious humans. I know how clever you humans are! Once you read about a location, you can find it easily.)
As they made their way down the trail, Anhthao and Dan saw a few brown birds about my size.
“Should we make a note that we saw these birds?” Anhthao asked Dan.
Dan replied “I don’t think so, Dear. This area is not on the map.”
Austin had marked their map with four habitat areas outlined in light yellow: Area 51, Area 52, Area 53, and Area 54. (I have also changed the habitat area names used by the Land Conservancy, to protect the innocent: me and my extended family.) These are the areas where the community scientists were told to look for me. Each area is supposed to contain cactus, which is my natural habitat (and how I picked up the name “cactus wren.”) There are also many other plants and flowers growing in these areas. Some of these plants (such as mustard) occasionally overwhelm (“overtop”) the cacti, thus endangering my habitat. Therefore, the overtopping plants must be cleared away by volunteers. (Please don’t try putting this mustard on your hot dogs!)
Upon reflection, Dan realized Anhthao was right: he began to take notes on various animal species he observed while en route to the first cactus wren habitat on the map (Area 53). On their way to Area 53, Anhthao and Dan encountered lizards, squirrels, a rabbit, and one of my favorite foods: a black beetle! More ominously, they saw five American crows and two common ravens circling overhead. Why is this so important? Because crows and ravens are two of my natural predators. Along with cats, California scrub jays, Cooper’s hawks, northern mockingbirds, and snakes, these animals like to steal and eat our wives’ eggs. An outrage! By monitoring and counting our predators, volunteers like Anhthao and Dan are protecting my species and helping us to survive in a dangerous world.
Anhthao and Dan took a bit of a detour by following Sea Blossom Trail all the way down the hill to the Abalone Cove beach, where they got a clear view of the rocky shoreline and the foamy waves crashing against the rocks. After stopping for a few photo opportunities along the way, they took Sea Blossom Trail back up the hill to Osprey Trail, which led them even higher, where they got a spectacular view of the ocean. I can understand why humans take side trips to look at the Pacific Ocean: it’s a beautiful sight! I can fly to the ocean any time to get a great aerial view. Sometimes I forget that you guys can’t fly unless you’re in a flying machine.
The two intrepid community scientists then took Osprey Trail south to Iberian Point Loop Trail, which (as the name implies) loops around a grassy area in a rectangular pattern. At the northeastern point of this trail, Anhthao and Dan found Area 53. The only trouble was some other humans had erected a wooden fence between the trail and the cacti growing on the hillside below. They looked over the hill but couldn’t find me or any of my kin. There was a yellow line on their map indicating a trail going down the hillside to the beach, but Anhthao and Dan later learned from a park staff member that this trail had been closed a while ago. Maybe some humans had fallen down and hurt themselves while walking down the hillside. With wings like mine it would be no problem to glide down there on a gentle breeze!
Where was I? Oh yes: to make a long story short, Anhthao and Dan’s next stop was Area 54, but they walked right past the trailheads to Area 51 and Area 52 along the way. The good part was they realized they would be passing by these two trailheads on their way back to their car, so why not check out Area 54 first? Getting to Area 54 meant that Anhthao and Dan needed to take Osprey Trail north to Pirate’s Trail, which runs from east to west, parallel to Palos Verdes Drive South.
As the Lamberts walked, they found themselves being outpaced by cars and motorcycles on Palos Verdes Drive South. You humans always seem to be in a big hurry to get somewhere in your driving machines. By volunteering to identify and count endangered animals such as myself, you have the opportunity to exit your machines once in a while and use the legs God gave you. You won’t see us cactus wrens wasting time building machines: we like to stick to cozy nests to keep ourselves and our families safe and warm.
The community scientists found Area 54 by taking Holy Light Trail uphill to Hillside Trail, which led them to the summit of a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. By this time, it was nearly 11:00 am: time had passed very quickly as Anhthao and Dan took in the natural beauty in every direction. The pair was pleasantly surprised to find cacti growing on both sides of Hillside Trail: up and to the left was a healthy grove of cacti. Down and to the right were more cactus groves on the cliffside. There was only one problem: no cactus wrens! After a few more photo ops, Anhthao and Dan retraced their steps down the bluff, and alongside Palos Verdes Drive South, until they arrived at the trailhead for Area 52: here was a wooden, A-frame obstacle with a sign reading CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. However, the park staff members on site had already informed Anhthao and Dan that their status as community scientists for the Land Conservancy gave them the privilege to use closed trails. (Keep that in mind, my human friends: if you volunteer to help me and my family, you will be treated like VIPs!)
A park employee named Michael directed Anhthao and Dan back to Pirate’s Trail, which leads to Area 51. At the trailhead, the two community scientists saw a trail leading gently up a long slope. They followed Pirate’s Trail up to the summit of a hill and were rewarded with a beautiful, 360-degree view of the Peninsula.
“Look!” Dan said. “You can see the Wayfarer’s Chapel from here.” He pointed in an easterly direction.
Anhthao looked in the direction of Dan’s outstretched finger. There it was! “One of my favorite places!” she replied.
Anhthao and Dan followed Pirate’s Trail as it crept upward and to the left in a “u”-shaped pattern. After ducking under the low-hanging branches of an ancient tree, they found it: Area 51 is a healthy grove of cacti growing at the summit of a scenic hill. However, the community scientists experienced a sense of déjà vu because they encountered the same problem from Area 54: my extended family and I were nowhere to be found! Anhthao and Dan were beginning to truly understand just how elusive I am. They thought about how lucky they were to have witnessed my courtship ritual during their training session.
Dan’s friend Tony once told him about playing the board game Apples to Apples and coming up with the incredulous term “Extreme birdwatching.” Dan had never thought he would actually participate in a session of extreme birdwatching until he and Anhthao arrived at the trailhead to Area 52. The community scientists stood on Pirate’s Trail and looked in a southerly direction, down a steep hillside. The trailhead for Holy Light Trail was marked with another A-frame obstacle adorned with a sign reading CLOSED TO THE PUBLIC. Beyond the obstacle, Holy Light Trail meandered all the way down to the beach. To the right of this rocky path lay a large, PVC plastic water pipe, running parallel to Holy Light Trail. Anhthao and Dan looked down to the foot of the hill and could see that the pipe emptied at the beach. To Dan, the pipe looked like an enormous black snake: it was about 3 feet in diameter and hot to the touch from the late morning sun. It was 11:30 am. After checking their watches, Anhthao and Dan found it hard to believe how time seemed to disappear while they prowled the Peninsula in search of me.
As often seemed to occur during their first monitoring expedition, there was good news and bad news for Dan and Anhthao: the bad news was that the community scientists encountered some slippery and unstable spots as they carefully crept down Holy Light Trail toward Area 52 and the beach. The good news was that they found Area 52: a patch of cacti to the left of the trail. Even better, the couple discovered that they could also see Area 51 and Area 53 from this spot. In fact, Dan found that if he used his binoculars, he could clearly survey each of these habitat areas for signs of my family members. You probably know what is coming next: (I told you humans were clever creatures!) You guessed it: there were no cactus wren to be found.
As Anhthao and Dan made their way back to their car, they were joined by two park staff members: Michael and his partner, Eddie. Eddie asked the Lamberts whether or not their monitoring mission had succeeded.
Dan thought about the question for a moment before answering. “Well,” he responded, “yes and no.”
“What do you mean?” Eddie asked.
“We didn’t find any Cactus Wren today,” Dan answered. “But then again, we spent nearly three hours exploring this beautiful landscape.”
Anhthao smiled and nodded. “You’re right, Dan! Don’t forget: we also got some great exercise this morning.”
Will Anhthao and Dan see me again on one of their volunteer expeditions? Probably. Who knows? Stay tuned for my next epic story and you will find out!
To find out more about volunteer opportunities, please email info@pvplc.org or visit www.pvplc.org.
--Your friend,
C.W.
About the Author:
Daniel Lambert is an educator and writer from Inglewood, California. He teaches English at California State University, Los Angeles and East Los Angeles College. He also teaches Communications for Colorado Technical University Online.