We all know about the resident coyotes, raccoons, opossums, and skunks, but the UCSB campus and vicinity is also host to much more exotic critters, such as foxes, bobcats, and even bears:
“The Santa Barbara Wildlife Linkages Project was initiated after bears were seen at the mouth of Devereux Slough, along Atascadero Creek, and on UCSB campus because these sightings provide powerful evidence of the viability of our local coastal corridors. This study is a pilot project for a larger Santa Barbara county wide project designed to understand how we can gather data, identify crucial linkages and design policies and programs to improve and protect important corridors that enhance the viability of all our open space areas, provide wildlife viewing opportunities for people and support a functioning food web” (source).
“UCSB is ideally located for zoological studies. UC Santa Barbara’s opportunities for first-hand observation and study of a wide range of animals can be matched by few institutions worldwide. The proximity of the Pacific Ocean and the variety of adjacent inland habitats allows students to examine an enormous range of live aquatic and terrestrial animals both in the field and laboratory” (source).
According to the Campus Lagoon Bird Survey Summary Report taken in March, 2012, there are on average 50 bird species that are seen per survey with a total of about 104 to 117 species seen over the course of a year in the lagoon area due to seasonal changes in the bird use. The lagoon and island provides habitat for the many birds on a seasonal basis, with the highest numbers of occupants during the winter season and the lowest during the summer. The island works for pelicans, double crested cormorants, great egrets, snowy egrets, and great blue heron as a resting spot (source). These numbers include about 14 different species of birds of prey, or raptors, that can be seen on and around the UCSB campus (see The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity & Ecological Restoration’s guidebook called Raptor Watch: Birds of Prey of the UCSB Campus by Heather Liu).
The Ellison Hall Courtyard gets its fair share of this wildlife. The accompanying photos were taken by staff and students in the UCSB Department of Geography, and, given the plethora of cell phones with built-in cameras these days, we hope more of them will be taken and shared.
Article by Bill Norrington
