| Birding - California's
Central Coast - Feb. 3 - 2010 - Birded with Linda. Turi Road -
The hills looked like green velvet. Sun warm. Meadowlarks and Western
Bluebird were numerous. Flocks of American Pipit; Kestrel, Savannah
Sparrow, Says's and Black Phoebe, Western Kingbird, Ca. Thrasher, G. B.
Heron, Wrentit, Bufflehead, Double-crested Cormorant. In the ponds
Green and Blue-winged Teal and Cinnamon Teal, Greater Yellowleg, Northern
Shoveler, White-crowned Sparrow. Morro Bay Marina - Yellow-rumped
Warbler, Common Loon, Golden and White-crowned Sparrow, Kingfisher,
Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, Gr. Yellowleg, Eared Grebe, Bufflehead,
Brant Goose, Black Phoebe, Red-tailed Hawk, Great and Snowy Egret,
Black-crowned Night Heron, Spotted Sandpiper. The little bobbing
Sandpiper was most interesting because it was resting on marina boat
railing. Linda observed Red-tailed Hawks mating in a Eucalyptus tree.
So fortunate to have such great birding so close at hand.
Below - Female Kingfisher |
Birding - California's
Central Coast - Jan. 23 - 2010 - Birded around San Simeon Lagoon.
Creek flowing swiftly with runoff from recent storm. There were no
Mergansers. Many gulls, one Brant Goose, and a Pied-billed Grebe.
Stopped at the Cloisters. The adorable little Sora came made an
appearance. Cloister's pond quite full. Many, many Black-crowned
Night Herons roosting. Saw Northern Harrier & Meadowlark. Below
photo was taken from the San Simeon Boardwalk. Notice that the
tops of the Cypress have been shaved off by the wind. |
| Birding - California's
Central Coast - Jan. 18 - 2010 - Never let a Rainy day Dampen your Birding
Spirit! Due to the rainy and windy weather, Linda's "Bay
Birding Cruise" was cancelled. So began our rainy day, Birding
by Car Adventure - (Total Birds, 58) We drove as far
north as Old Creek in Cayucos. Due to the huge waves and gusty wind
there was little beach. Every place we could get a view of the beach
we stopped. We saw Snowy and Semipalmated Plover; Whimbrel, Godwit,
Willet; Western and Least Sandpiper, Sanderling; Long-billed Curlew;
Caspian, Royal and Forster's Tern; Heermann's, Ring-billed, Western Gull and
an Oystercatcher on the rocks at North Point. From the Cloisters
Road - Black-crowned Night Heron, Starling, Brewer's and Red-winged
Blackbird, and my favorite sighting, 6 American Pipit. From the
Embarcadero - Red-breasted Merganser; Pied-billed, Eared, Horned, and
Western Grebe; Brant Cormorant, Brant Goose, Bufflehead, Common Loon, Brown
Pelican. Driving about a mile along Turi Road - Calif. Thrasher, flock of Western Bluebird, Bushtit, White-crowned Sparrow, Calif. Towhee, Coot, and a Kestrel perched on a utility line. Misc. Birds - Crow, Anna's Hummingbird, Turkey Vulture, Mourning and Eurasian Dove, Scrub Jay, House Finch, Mocking Bird. |
Birding -
California's Central Coast - Jan. 9 - 2010 - San Simeon Lagoon -
Quite foggy at the lagoon, but I did get a good view of 3 male and 3 female
Common Merganser. The three females were pursuing one of the males.
One of the females was more aggressive than the other two. She kept
trying to get closer and the male would move away. This behavior kept
up for about 15 minutes. Other sightings, an adorable bobcat, Sora,
Female Hooded Merganser, four Brant. Up the coast a bit saw several
Black Turnstones and a 3 Oystercatcher and a few Surf Birds. The dense
fog made birding a bit difficult. Photo below - Female Common
Merganser following Male Merganser |
Birding -
California's Central Coast - Dec. 25 - 2009 - Birding
Atascadero Lake Christmas Day. Crisp in the am, sunny and mild in afternoon.
Norma, Harry and I birded around the lake. Saw two Mute Swans that
were accustomed to people. They came up to our feet. Saw 23
species. Favorites were: Phainopepla, Cedar Wax Wing, Oak Titmouse,
Band-tailed Pigeon, Mute Swan, Kingfisher. Next we drove to the Waste Water
treatment plant. Could see No. Shoveler and Cinnamon Teal.
Walked out on a little trail - White-breasted Nuthatch and Northern
Red-Shafted Flicker, Red-shouldered Hawk. Harry and Norma are a
pleasure to bird with. 
Mute Swans can be quite tame. |
Birding - California's
Central Coast - Dec. 13 - 2009 - Birding is great around
Morro Bay. Large flocks of ducks, Brant Geese, shore birds and huge
flocks of sandpipers. Today along Colman Park in Morro Bay, walking
along the great boardwalk - Western, Horned, and Eared Grebe in the same
vicinity - great for comparison. The Pied-billed Grebe was also
there. Up a bit, south of Target Rock, was the winter plumage, adult
Pigeon Guillemot - a real little beauty. When I first arrived it was
sitting on a rock. The gate to the back of the rock continues to be
closed due to the big waves. Both Bob, the Peregrine guy, and birder
Roger Zachary were there. Roger has the area for the bird count on
Sat, and was quite thrilled that he had finally seen a pair of Canyon Wrens.
The men dashed off, hopefully, to see the Long-tailed Duck that has been
seen near the Oyster beds at the end of 3rd. Maybe I will check that
out tomorrow. The Christmas Bird count is on Sat. I have been assigned
to sections 35 & 36 in Los Osos. For the last week I have been
spending a lot of time checking out the L. O. Birds. Last Tuesday saw,
very clearly, a White-winged Dove and 4 Western Bluebirds (Unusual sighting
for my local area). I have my camera at the ready all the time just in
case I spot an unusual bird. Below is a Sea Lion on Colman beach in
Morro Bay. He appeared to be enjoying the warmth of the sun.
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