School and Group Programs
Mandala of the Seasons: Spring
Spring Weather
As the spring season arrives in the Marin Headlands, the wetness of the winter storms is gradually replaced by the combination of sunshine and wind. The prevailing Northwest winds can be quite strong and gusts of up to 30 miles per hour are common. The relentless wind scours the beach, picks up sand, strips moisture from the plants, and causes upwelling off-shore. These conditions can quickly fatigue even the most sturdy. Hikers can prepare for these harsh conditions by wearing sunblock, carrying a light jacket and layers, and drinking plenty of water
Spring Animals
The deafening chorus of frogs and the piercing metallic shrieks of the red-winged blackbirds boldly signal the arrival of spring in the Marin Headlands. After a cold and rainy winter, the warmer and sunnier climate of spring marks a period of incredible growth and productivity. Many birds in the Marin Headlands, such as the great-horned owl, the killdeer, and numerous songbirds produce chicks during this time.
Great Horned Owl
Photo Credit: Tim Morgan
In the spring of 2002, a pair of great-horned owls built a nest in a pine tree just outside the Headlands Institute office building! These usually elusive animals and their two chicks provided students and visitors with the rare treat of seeing owls and their behavior firsthand.
At Point Bonita, harbor seals are a common and cherished year-round resident. Springtime is the pupping season, and we frequently see pups resting along with the adults on the rocks near the Point Bonita Lighthouse.
Gray Whale
Photo Credit: Kip Evans,
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Spring heralds the arrival of another marine mammal, the gray whale. In March these majestic animals begin migrating north from the protected lagoons of Baja, Mexico, where they give birth, to their feeding grounds in the Bering Sea of Alaska. Gray whales travel up to 12,000 miles each year! On their journey north, they stay close to the coast and even occasionally visit the San Francisco Bay. In the Marin Headlands a whale sighting is a much celebrated spring treat. If you are on the coast in April, keep your eyes open for a gray whale's spout!
Spring Plants
Nourished by the winter rains and lengthening days of spring, the hillsides of coastal scrub awaken with colorful speckles of wildflowers that accent the greening vegetation.
Footsteps of Spring
Photo Credit: Br.Alfred Brousseau,
Saint Mary's College
One of the first flowers to bloom in the windswept Marin Headlands is called footsteps of spring (Sanicula arctopoides). Although this lowly flower is usually overlooked and often trampled by passersby, it holds a distinguished place as the leader in the progression of the spring wildflower bloom. The later blooming California poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is most famous for being our state flower. John Thomas Howell, a botanist who authored a dichotomous key to Marin's Flora, wrote of the California poppy, "In its abundance, this colorful plant should not be slighted: cherish it and be ever thankful that so rare a flower is common!"
California Poppy
Photo Credit:
Br.Alfred Brousseau,
Saint Mary's College
The Marin Headlands host a bewildering diversity of wildflowers in the spring. Other plants that you could expect to see flowering in this season include checker-bloom, milkmaids, blackberry, blue-eyed grass, shooting stars, and California buttercup.
Spring Water
The continental shelf off
San Francisco bay's coastline.
Right off the coast of California, a dramatic and important change happens each spring. The consistent winds combined with the coastal currents and shape of the ocean floor begin a process called upwelling. Upwelling occurs when the prevailing winds blow warm surface water away from the coast, causing cold water to be drawn up from the bottom of the ocean to replace it. The deep, cold water is rich in nutrients that have filtered down from the ocean's surface.
Diatom
Photo credit:
GEK Microscopes
Once the nutrient rich waters are returned to the sun-lit surface, they feed a massive phytoplankton (plant plankton) bloom. The dramatic explosion of microscopic plant life causes an increase in the population of zooplankton (animal plankton) that eat the phytoplankton. The abundance of zooplankton means plenty of food for small fish. In that manner, the upwelling enhances the entire food web of coastal California, making this one of the richest, most productive regions of the world.
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