Monarch Mysteries

Now that you’ve tucked away the Christmas ornaments, how about stepping outside to see one of nature’s?

The monarch butterflies are back, and it’s prime viewing time. Every year, these orange-and-black beauties flee the north and its cold winters, winging south to a few select coastal spots in Ventura County and elsewhere.

Here, they search out certain eucalyptus groves where they hang in clusters of hundreds, even thousands, like bunches of bananas. When they take to the air for some midday sun, the sky looks like a butterfly free-for-all.

For a glimpse of this natural wonder, you can look for them on your own or take a guided butterfly walk through Ventura’s Camino Real Park, one of the insects’ favored winter hide-outs. The city’s recreation department offers 90-minute family outings Saturday at 9:30 a.m. and noon. The cost is $4, and preregistration is required.

Susan Williams leads the walks, supplying spotting scopes to participants. With kids in the group, she takes a light approach, providing a butterfly costume for one of them to wear, while she explains the intricacies of these winged creatures and how they survive only seven months at most.

She also touches on the monarch mystery that still baffles scientists: how these intrepid travelers migrate to the same eucalyptus groves year after year when none of them has made the trip before.

At Camino Real Park, there are fewer butterfly roosting spots this year, Williams said, because El Nino-fueled storms last winter took down some prime locations.

In fact, California has about half the monarchs reported last year, but even so it’s an average viewing year, according to David Marriott, who runs the Monarch Program in Encinitas near San Diego. Last year was the best on record.

Marriott, who tracks the migration of the monarchs through tagging, said children at Camino Real found one winged warrior last month that had been tagged in Turlock, some 230 miles away.

“We’re understanding more about our climate by the behavior of the butterflies,” he said. Based on their movements in search of cooler or warmer locations, he predicts a milder winter without much rain this year.

In addition to Camino Real Park, other good coastal viewing spots are Big Sycamore Canyon in Point Mugu State Park, not far from the entrance; and Leo Carrillo State Beach, where rangers can point out the right groves.

(For more information about Ventura’s butterfly walks at Camino Real Park and to register, call 658-4726.)

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Here’s a novel idea: a book discussion group for youths and their parents, grandparents, favorite aunt or any adult. Once a month, Borders Books & Music in Thousand Oaks hosts these get-togethers to talk about a book, usually intermediate or young adult fiction.

Led by Wildwood Elementary School librarian Mary Lock, the next one is at 4 p.m. Sunday, and the book is “The Westing Game,” by Ellen Raskin, a clever mystery that lets the reader play detective. Published in 1978, it won the Newbery Medal.

If you don’t have time to read it before the weekend, next month’s group is scheduled for 4 p.m. Feb. 14, and the book is “The Eclipse of Moonbeam Dawson” by Jean Okimoto.

(For more information, call Borders, 497-8159.)

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There’s more to do these days at the Santa Barbara Zoo than eyeball the animals. The zoo has several special events scheduled for children and families this month.

On Saturday, kids ages 9 to 14 can tag along with a keeper and go behind the scenes to learn how the animals are cared for. The workshop, from 1 to 4:30 p.m., costs $30.

Kids 6 to 12 can do a zoo sleepover the night of Jan. 16 to find out about animal night-life. The kids arrive at 4 p.m. Jan. 16 and depart at 9 a.m. the next day. In between, they watch the keepers put the gorillas to bed, and they take a night hike around the grounds. The cost is $40.

For families who go in for really big animals, the zoo will offer an up-close (but not hands-on) workshop on elephants from 1 to 3 p.m. Jan. 17. Children must be 6 or older. Cost is $30.

(For more information and to register, which is required, call the zoo at 962-5339.)