This September and October, Point Reyes’ daytime skies are filled with migrating raptors on their long journey southwards towards warmer wintering grounds. At nighttime, Tomales Bay is aglow with the light of billions of bioluminescent organisms—glittering night lights. Salt marsh dodder is out for spooky season in its full bright-orange, silly-string splendor, and coyote brush’s magical cloud-like seeds catch the autumn wind. And of course, one mustn’t forget the majestic tule elk’s bugle echoing across the water and land. There is so much magic in the air…what marvels will you find at the Seashore?
Spooky Season in the Salt Marsh
It’s officially spooky season, and salt marsh dodder (Cuscuta salina) is out for the occasion in full splendor. Found in Point Reyes’ salt marshes (coastal wetlands which flood and drain with the tides), this native plant nets a web of bright-orange, stringy stems over the marsh’s salt-tolerant plants, such as pickleweed.
The dodder is known by a variety of eerie names, including devil’s guts, love vine, strangleweed, witch’s hair, and witch’s shoelaces. Because its saffron vines are leafless, the plant is unable to photosynthesize and relies on parasitizing other species to satisfy its nutrient and water needs. It drapes over salt marsh flora such as pickleweed—which grows prolifically in the Seashore’s marshes—and attaches rootlike structures to the host, drawing out its stores. This parasitism typically stunts host plant growth, but can become deadly if the tangle of dodder becomes too thick and blocks access to sunlight. Spine-chilling, isn’t it?
While exploring Point Reyes’ marsh habitats, you may spot some orange dodder spreading across the landscape. Look closely for tiny white five-petaled flowers growing in clusters along the vine.
Migrating Raptors
This September and October, raptors are on the move. Scanning the Seashore’s skies, you may spot dozens of species of migrating raptors—such as northern harriers, broad-winged hawks, and peregrine falcons—flying southward along the Pacific Flyway towards their wintering grounds. There, they’ll find warmer temperatures and more abundant food sources. Though their journeys are long (peregrine falcons travel up to 15,500 miles round trip each year), they seem to cut through the sky effortlessly.
As it turns out, raptors have a secret to their smooth moves; they take advantage of the daytime “thermals” to travel long distances. As the sun hits the earth’s surface, pockets of warm air rise up in tall columns. When a raptor enters one of these invisible thermals, it can easily ascend thousands of meters and glide to the next heat column. This strategy allows these magnificent migrators to avoid flapping, saving a huge amount of energy. Songbirds, on the other hand, typically migrate under the cover of night, largely to avoid the hungry beaks of the sun-flying raptors.
Thermals are strongest during late morning and midday—meaning that this is the best time to see raptors gliding over Point Reyes! While many raptors migrate, some stay in the area all year long. Look to the skies to spot both migrating and resident raptors.
← Photo: peterselmayr via iNaturalist
Glistening Night Light
It’s an autumn night on Tomales Bay. Owls converse through cool air, every now and then interrupted by the sharp crack from a bishop pine. Waves lap against the sandy shorelines and shimmer…are they catching the moonlight? But it’s a new moon. Reflecting light from the stars? But the glimmers are too distinct, too well-defined as they twirl in the swells. In fact, the waves are glowing bright with the light of billions of bioluminescent organisms.
While bioluminescence is visible in the Bay year-round, small single-celled “dinoflagellates” light up the water most brightly in autumn. At this time of year, the northwesterly winds that churn up marine waters during other seasons diminish, and conditions become calmer. This still weather allows layers in the water column to separated and become more distinct, with cooler water laying low at the bottom of the Bay and warm waters lapping above. The plankton flourish in the warm surface waters, and when a paddle, a hand, or a jumping fish disturb them, they radiate a flash of blue-green-white light.
How lucky we are to live in a world filled with Noctiluca scintillans, glistening night lights.
Bioluminescence is best viewed from June-mid-October, especially during new moons. Many enjoy experiencing the glimmers while kayaking with tours.
For safety, it is important to recreate on Tomales Bay at night time only with experienced individuals.
← Photo: Zichen Wang via iNaturalist
Coyote Brush Seeds
This October, look out for landborne clouds dotting Point Reyes’ grassy landscapes. From late fall through winter, female coyote brush (Baccharis pilularis) plants release large amounts of cottony white seeds, forming soft cloud-like puffs; to some, the widespread fluff also resembles tufts of coyote fur covering the bushes. Male flowers are much less showy—they’re smaller and yellow with a sweetly floral scent.
The coyote brush’s magical seeds are specially designed to catch the wind, thousands of silken, tiny (less than 1/16 inch!) parachutes carrying the next generation into the distance. The breezes introduce them to their new home, where they settle on soil damp from winter rains and germinate. The little sprouts begin growing their long taproots, which will eventually reach over 10 feet over the plant’s 10-15 year lifespan. Because of their abundant seed production and long tap roots, coyote brush is a “pioneer species” which readily grows back after fires or floods.
As you explore Point Reyes’ grasslands or chaparral ecosystems—such as along Abbotts Lagoon Trail or Bull Point Trail—you’ll likely see the “landborne clouds” produced by the coyote brush dotting the landscape.
← Photo: berkeleyscottandrews via iNaturalist
Tule Elk Rut
While hiking at Tomales Point, kayaking on Tomales Bay, or driving out to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, you may hear a distinct bugle echoing across the water and land—the majestic tule elks’ mating call. Every August-October, males warble this call to attract females into their harem, as well as scare off rivals. The testosterone-ridden elk clang and shove their antlers together to defend their access to harems (breeding herds), and urinate and roll in vegetation in hopes of wooing potential sweethearts with their smell.
Today, visitors can easily hear and see tule elk perform their mating rituals in Point Reyes, but it hasn’t always been so easy to observe these dramatic displays. In the mid-1800s, tule elk numbers plummeted to—by some accounts—less than thirty individuals due to hunting and displacement by cattle. The elk received official protection from hunting in 1971 with the Behr Bill (Senate Bill 722), and in 1978, ten tule elk were introduced to Tomales Point. The hundreds of elk at Point Reyes and thousands of tule elk thriving in twenty-two herds across California can be traced back to the original group of thirty survivors.
There are three tule elk herds across the Seashore—the Tomales Point herd (easiest to spot), the Drakes herd, and the Limantour herd (most difficult to spot). Tule elk are often grazing at Tomales Point or along the road to Drakes Beach. See the “Tule Elk Viewing” NPS webpage to learn how to view elk safely and successfully.
← Photo: Stacy Hayden via iNaturalist
