![]() ![]() ![]() The Monarch larva eats only the milkweed plant. Be sure to experience their magic this fall and early winter at Natural Bridges State Beach. For about half a year, milkweed is the Monarch's home, super market and maternity ward. The monarch butterfly is just one of several Santa Cruz migratory wildlife mascots. The park maintains a demonstration milkweed patch where visitors may view Monarch eggs, caterpillars and chrysalides. On chilly days when the temperature drops below 60 degrees, the butterflies cluster together in the eucalyptus trees for warmth. These winter flowering trees are also a convenient food source for the butterfly. The grove contains eucalyptus trees which are located in a canyon, providing the Monarch needed shelter from the wind. Santa Cruz, CA - Natural Bridges State Beach is a 65-acre California state park in Santa Cruz, California in the United States. Access to the preserve area is limited to a handicap accessible boardwalk and observation area. This is the only State Monarch Preserve in California. The Monarch Grove has been declared a Natural Preserve, thus protecting the Monarchs and their winter habitat from human encroachment or harm. ![]() In the spring and summer, the butterflies live in the valley regions west of the Rocky Mountains where milkweed, the only plant a Monarch caterpillar eats, is plentiful. The area's mild ocean air and eucalyptus grove provide a safe roost until spring. From roughly mid-October through mid-February, the Monarchs form a "city in the trees." The park's Monarch Grove provides a temporary home for up to 100,000 Monarchs each winter. Call (831) 423-4609 for current visitor center hours and special events. ![]() The ParkStore/Visitor Center is open most weekends and some weekdays. An aquarium features animals found in the tidepools. ParkStore/Visitor Center The ParkStore/Visitor Center features displays on the monarch butterflies and other features of the park. Low tides reveal sea stars, crabs, sea anemones, and other colorful ocean life.Äirections Take Swift Avenue west from Hwy 1, or follow West Cliff Drive north along the in-town bluffs until it ends at Natural Bridges. Further along the beach, tidepools offer a glimpse of life beneath the sea. This beach, with its famous natural bridge, is an excellent place to view shore and ocean birds, migrating whales, and seals and otters playing offshore. The best time to see monarchs in the park is usually from mid-October to late January. Visitors can see thousands during the butterflies’ peak season. California became part of the United States after the Mexican-American War.Natural Bridges State Beach is world-renowned for its yearly migration of monarch butterflies. The citizens of Mexico used what is now Natural Bridges State Beach as pasture land for their cattle. Governance of the area was transferred from Spain to Mexico after the Mexican War of Independence. The population of Native Americans was greatly reduced by European diseases to which they had no resistance. Their crafts included shellfish jewelry and baskets.The displacement of the natives began with the Spanish colonization of the Americas when missionaries and soldiers brought the Ohlone into the missions. They made tools from locally found stones and shells. The Ohlone raised medicinal plants and herbs. The Ohlone were a semi-nomadic tribe that hunted game and marine mammals and supplemented their diets with shellfish, fish, edible roots and shoots, acorns, nuts, and seeds. The Monarch Butterfly Natural Preserve is home to up to 150,000 monarch butterflies from October through early February.HistoryThe first inhabitants in the Santa Cruz area were small groups of Native Americans. It is also well known as a hotspot to see monarch butterfly migrations. The park features a natural bridge across a section of the beach. Natural Bridges State Beach is a 65-acre California state park in Santa Cruz, California in the United States. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |