Shorebird Migration Begins and Wafting Jasmine

Shore Birds migrating southward are beginning to arrive in San Diego County. Through fall and winter, various ducks, sandpipers, and plovers will be spotted in increased numbers in the county’s coastal wetlands. Best bird-watching spots include the Tijuana River estuary, south San Diego Bay, the San Diego River flood channel, Peñasquitos Lagoon, San Elijo Lagoon, Batiquitos Lagoon, and Buena Vista Lagoon.

Grunion Season Ends during the late evening hours (generally after 10 pm and before 2 am), following the nocturnal high tide, August 27 though August 30. Grunion tend to spawn on wide, gently sloping beaches such as Silver Strand, Mission Beach, Pacific Beach, La Jolla Shores, and Del Mar. New regulations have been approved that allow a daily bag and possession limit of 30 grunion per person, effective June 1, 2022. The fish can be collected using the hands only (fishing license needed for persons 16 years of age and older). For more information, visit wildlife.ca.gov/Fishing/Ocean/Grunion.

Jasmine’s Thick, Sweet Odor wafts on the night breezes this time of year, especially throughout the older, well-landscaped neighborhoods of San Diego. The exotic odor is produced by the flowers of true jasmines (genus Jasminum), as opposed to the so-called “star jasmine” (genus Trachelospermum) which blooms in the late spring and early summer.

The Milky Way appears at its most glorious during August and September evenings free of moonlight (this year, the most favorable evenings occur from August 30 through September 11). You’ll need to be in the mountains or the desert to see it clearly; too much artificial light in or near the urbanized parts of San Diego County renders it all but invisible.

The above comes from the Outdoors listings in the Reader compiled by Jerry Schad, author of Afoot & Afield in San Diego County. Schad died in 2011. Planet information from SkyandTelescope.org.