The Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) is a small shorebird on the Endangered Species List. Under pressure due to human recreation because, their need to nest in open sand just above the high tide mark, means the birds enjoy access to few of their original breeding grounds. Thanks to conservation work done at Coal Oil Point Reserve in Santa Barbara however, Sands Beach has not only remained open to the public, but has beome one of the most prolific breeding sites on the West coast, with an average of forty chicks fledging every season for the last five years.

Tide, weather and time ... a few feathers lie between a few grassy stalks not far from a more permanent seastack on a southern Oregon beach.

The California Poppy (Eschscholzia californica) is the California state flower. It does well in disturbed areas, is drought tolerant and self-seeding. Although it has been recognized for having potential as an invasive species in other parts of the world, it has ironically been displaced by annual invasive European grasses in large parts of its original southern California.