{"id":229212,"date":"2017-01-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-01-20T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sdnews.com\/news-from-the-mission-trails-regional-park-foundation-jan-20-2017\/"},"modified":"2017-01-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2017-01-20T08:00:00","slug":"news-from-the-mission-trails-regional-park-foundation-jan-20-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/news-from-the-mission-trails-regional-park-foundation-jan-20-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"News from the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation \u2014 Jan. 20, 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"

por Jay Wilson<\/p>\n

The Mission Times Courier is adding a new feature to their coverage of Mission Trails by including a special monthly calendar of park activities. There will also be more in-depth articles about things to see and do in the park, like the following about Mission Trails\u2019 eight-legged friends written by one of our own park rangers.<\/em><\/p>\n

Spooky, crawly arthropods? <\/strong><\/p>\n

With winter upon us, what better way to get in the spirit than to visit Mission Trails Regional Park, the \u201chostess with the mostess!\u201d Get up close and personal to a naturally made spiral or funnel web that might have a cool spider on it eating and sucking the juices of its prey that\u2019s already dead \u2014 hopefully.<\/p>\n

Want to see bats? We got them, too! Just a bit after sunset, be sure to look up and you just might see some cute bats flying overhead. Our local bats are insect eaters, while other types of bats eat fruit, pollen, nectar, small animals, fish and even blood. Don\u2019t worry though, I\u2019ve yet to hear of one trying to eat a human.<\/p>\n

Still, there\u2019s something in the park even cooler than bats \u2014 tarantulas. Tarantulas live in warm habitats around the world, ranging from rain forest, desert and scrubland. Most tarantulas are found in South America but you won\u2019t need to book a flight to South America to see them.<\/p>\n

\"News<\/a>
Tarantula (Courtesy MTRPF)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Instead, donate some of that money you\u2019re going to save on airfare to the MTRP Foundation and head on over to the park. Our local tarantula (in the geunus Aphonopelma<\/em> and family Theraphosidae) can vary from black, to grey, to brown. Although tarantulas are for the most part nocturnal, you might get lucky and see one during the day.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no need to be afraid of tarantulas; they are fairly docile and tend to mind their own business. However, if threatened, they will rear up on their back legs and expose their fangs. When seriously threatened, most tarantulas will use their hind legs to flick the barbed \u201curticating\u201d (irritating) hairs from their abdomen into the eyes of would-be attackers, such as birds, snakes, rodents, other tarantulas and the Pepsis wasp \u2014 also known as the \u201ctarantula hawk.\u201d Don\u2019t become another attacker. Always keep in mind that although they pose no serious threat to humans, tarantulas do have venom and can bite.<\/p>\n

During the fall mating season, a mature male ditches his burrow in search of true, happy, endless love. Not really. They just want to find a receptive female to mate with. Male tarantulas may walk for a significant amount of time to find a female, but the neat part is that this is when people are most likely to come upon a tarantula. When a male finally finds a female by scent, he approaches the entrance to her burrow and taps (like a true gentleman should) on the thin strands of web that lead into her burrow. If a willing female is drawn to the male, she will exit the burrow and the mating will commence.<\/p>\n

However, the male doesn\u2019t stick around, because if the female is hungry, she may make her babys\u2019 daddy her next meal. I like to call this the \u201ctwo-for-one special.\u201d Females live longer than males and can live up to 25 years, whereas males only live up to eight years. A good time and place to see a tarantula here is at dusk around the grasslands, so be on the lookout.<\/p>\n

\u2014MTRP ranger Araceli Dominguez<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Music and Art in the Park<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The concerts listed on the calendar include a special concert on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at 2 p.m., featuring the Quartet Luminoso, which is comprised of a cello, a viola, a violin and a clarinet.<\/p>\n

The current art show \u201cMission Trails Mixed\u201d features six local award-winning artists presenting a variety of media. Their sow will be in the Visitor Center Gallery through Feb. 3.<\/p>\n

The next show features acrylic and mixed media art by award-winning artist Katheryn Gail Ackley; it will be shown Feb. 4 through March 3.<\/p>\n

Donate and get involved<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Any day of the year is a perfect time to donate to the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation and continue supporting its goals to educate, preserve and project one of San Diego\u2019s unique natural environments. Visit mtrp.org and click the \u201cDonate\u201d button. While you\u2019re on our website, make sure you are registered to receive the MTRP e-newsletter to keep up with all the news and activities at the park. Our e-newsletter is free, and your email address is secure.<\/p>\n

\u2014Jay Wilson is executive director of the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation. Reach him at jwilson@mtrp.org<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n

Recreation Events at Mission Trails<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[Editor\u2019s note: for arts and music events at Mission Trails Regional Park, see our Arts Calendar on Page 23.]<\/em>\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jan. 22 \u2014<\/strong> Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center; Family Discovery Walk, 3 p.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Jan. 23 \u2014<\/strong> All programs are free<\/p>\n

Jan. 25 \u2014<\/strong> Trail restoration, 9 a.m. at East Fortuna; Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Jan. 28 \u2014<\/strong> Park beautification crew, 8:30 a.m. at East Fortuna; Nature Walk, 8:30 a.m. at Kumeyaay Lake Campgroaund; Guided nature walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center; Birding Basics class, 1 p.m. at Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Jan. 29 \u2014<\/strong> Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Feb. 1 \u2014<\/strong> Trail restoration, 9 a.m. at East Fortuna; Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Feb. 3 \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>All programs are free<\/p>\n

Feb. 4 \u2014<\/strong> Wildlife tracking walk, 8:30 a.m. from Visitor Center; Mountain Bike with a Ranger, 9:30 a.m. from West Sycamore; Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Feb. 5 \u2014<\/strong> Nature Walk, 8 a.m. from West Sycamore; Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Feb. 8 \u2014<\/strong> Trail restoration, 9 a.m. at East Fortuna; Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Feb. 11 \u2014<\/strong> Habitat restoration crew, 8 a.m. at Kumeyaay Lake Campground; Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center; Discovery Table, 10 a.m. at Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Feb. 12 \u2014<\/strong> Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Feb. 15 \u2014<\/strong> Trail restoration, 9 a.m. at East Fortuna; Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center<\/p>\n

Feb. 18 \u2014<\/strong> Guided Nature Walk, 8 a.m. from Kumeyaay Lake Campground; Trail improvement crew, 8 a.m. Kumeyaay Lake Campground; Guided Nature Walk, 9:30 a.m. from Visitor Center; Star Party, 5:30 p.m. at Kumeyaay Lake Campground<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Jay Wilson The Mission Times Courier is adding a new feature to their coverage of Mission Trails by including a special monthly calendar of park activities. There will also be more in-depth articles about things to see and do in the park, like the following about Mission Trails\u2019 eight-legged friends written by one of […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1008,"featured_media":229213,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"11558","_seopress_titles_title":"News from the Mission Trails Regional Park Foundation \u2014 Jan. 20, 2017","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[11547,11558],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-229212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-mission-times-courier"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1008"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=229212"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/229212\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/229213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=229212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=229212"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.sdnews.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=229212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}