Watsonville Wetlands Watch

First People Meet Second People: Ohlone Indians and Early Spanish Explorations

Please join us on Tuesday, Jan. 10 when State Archaeologist Mark Hylkema, presents a fascinating look at the local prehistory and native lifeway before European contact. Mark will reflect on what it was like when grizzly bears and the Ohlone people dwelled here. He will also review aspects of the Spanish, Mexican and early American periods.

The presentation is from 6:30 to 9 p.m. at the Fitz Wetlands Educational Resource Center top of the Pajaro Valley High School campus, 500 Harkins Slough Rd. Watsonville. Admission is free but you must reserve a seat online at (https://www.eventbrite.com/e/first-people-meet-second-people-ohlone-indians-and-early-spanish-explorations-registration-29587410742). For more information, contact Kathy Fieberling at 831-345-1226 or kathy@watsonvillewetlandswatch.org.

Bald Eagle Update

A new eagle has fledged! In my last eagle report I noted that one of the bald eagles that had been nesting here on Harkins Slough since 2014 died, and that the remaining adult appeared to have found a new mate this spring. Until now, we didn’t know if they raised any chicks this summer in their nest in the eucalyptus trees across the slough from our farm.

Then our eagle-eyed daughter saw an adult flying with a fledgling just before Thanksgiving. The baby obliged by perching on a tree in our restoration area long enough for us to get a good picture. The young eagle is as big as his or her parents, but won’t develop the white head and tail for a few years. This is now the fourth eagle to be born and survive to adulthood on Harkins Slough.

The eagles are a reminder that nature is resilient, and that human efforts to be a positive force in nature can pay off. We can’t completely undo damage that has been done, but we can create conditions that are more favorable to letting nature resume its course.

Watsonville Wetlands Watch wishes to thank Jeanne Byrne of High Ground Organics for contributing this article and keeping us updated on the progress of Eagle nesting in the sloughs.