Fluid Flow

If you think that doesn’t sound good for the birds, you are right.

Early this morning a bobcat jumped to the first rock off the mainland at the the south end of Point Lobos invading a cormorant and gull rookery. Mayhem ensued. Dozens of birds, young and adult, were killed.

A sated bobcat spent the afternoon sleeping. I assume that it will wander off the rock tonight.

I am fully mixed here. A bobcat has to eat, that is a given. And we aren’t suffering any shortages of gulls and cormorants. But the carnage was a little more than appalling. And there is no way that that the cat can eat all of the birds it killed.

But, I won’t be calling for cat proofing the island. Nature is just a a little harsh sometimes.

After logging many hours at Point Lobos, I finally produced a single decent hike write up over at EveryTrail.com

Point Lobos Birding at EveryTrail

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While I have been making regular birding excursions to Point Lobos, this was the first time that I actually set a route and stuck with it enough to write a decent description of the hike.

Black-crowned Night Herons

My goal is to actually cover all of the trails at the reserve and perhaps create a decent guide. But I needed a starting point and hiking the park perimeter is a good start.

From here, I can add an out and back, or some inner loops that I have already done, or just go out and do some more birding.

Now that the why is out of the way, lets deal with the what. It was a good day of birding.

I met Ranger Chuck on the trail and he told me of Brandt’s Cormorants in display and nesting Black-crowned Night Herons.

Brandt’s Cormorants

This caused the only detour of the day, as I wasn’t planning on going out on the Bird Island loop. But I can’t resist cormorants in display so off I went.

From there I went inland along the South Plateau Trail. I got glimpses of Spotted Towhees, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, and Dark-eyed Juncos and a few poor shots off.

I have never been overly enamored with this trail giving its proximity to Highway 1, but you can see a number of woodland birds along the trail.

An April shower hastened my hike down to Whaler’s Cove, where I took shelter in the Whaler’s Museum. If you haven’t checked it out, it is worth a look.

Once the rain stopped I continued along the North Shore Trail. The highlight here was a couple of seals playing with a lost kayak paddle.

I flailed in my attempts to get decent shots of tree swallows and White-throated Swifts. The California Quail and Bewick’s Wrens also alluded me.

The last segment of the hike was back along the South Shore Trail. While the Sea Lions were abundant at the point, I didn’t see and Sea Otters or Gray Whales this trip.

More photos on Flickr.

Last Friday as I was coming back from Modesto, I stopped off at a couple of parts of the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge north of Los Banos. As is typical for a mid-day, week-day side trip. I saw one other person.

That is usually good for birding, but the mere presence of my truck was enough to set off the ducks on the water. I guess they have learned to associate trucks with guns.

American Coot

So I didn’t get any good views of ducks, but there were coots and lots of shorebirds that didn’t seem to mind the truck. There were also lots of Red-winged Blackbirds, Western Meadowlarks and a couple of raptors to see.

The first stop was at the West Bear Creek Unit (about 15 miles north of Los Banos. The location features a 2.5 mile auto tour that loops around some of the wetlands. About halfway around the loop is a rest stop with pit toilets. The loop would be an easy walk, which would probably afford better birding (see above regarding ducks).

Northern Harrier

But it was a little too cold and windy for me, so stayed in the truck. I did, however, turn off the stereo and open all the windows so I could hear as well as see the birds. Still I am certain that I missed some of the smaller and elusive habitants.

While I spotted a jackrabbit, it was gone before I could bring my camera up. A Northern Harrier prowled the area, living up to his former name “Marsh Hawk”. I was pleased to see and shoot a few Western Meadowlarks, though my shots showing their breast markings were not so good.

The smaller shorebirds were concentrated at the north end of the loop where the water appeared shallower. Here a couple of American Avocets and a few Black-necked Stilts joined a large flock of Long-billed Dowitchers. Also along the shore was a Killdear, a Greater Yellowlegs, and a few peeps that I couldn’t get a good view of.

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge at EveryTrail

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After spending about an hour at the W Bear Creek Unit, I continued down the road to the main part of the Refuge. The site is about two miles off Highway 165 on Wolfsen Road (about 6 miles north of Los Banos), and offers two auto trails, one around a large Tule Elk preserve and one around the wetlands for viewing waterfowl.

Great Blue Heron

I chose the waterfowl route, which may have been a mistake. A large portion of it along the river was closed. Next time, I will do the Tule Elk route (or both).

I did see a couple of bull elk across a wide field. But chose not to try for a photo through the fence. I could just make out that they were bulls in my binoculars, the camera would have had no chance.

Not to say that the waterfowl tour was poor. But most of the birds that I saw were along the road out to the hunters parking lots and would have been missed if I had stuck to the abbreviated route. I am assuming that the full route is closed for portions of the year.

White-faced Ibis

Perhaps the highlight of the day was a flock of White-faced Ibis in breeding plumage. Normally these birds seem completely misnamed.

When I have seen them before, they were nondescript and dark and only their form suggested “ibis”. In breeding plumage, however, they are a mix of almost iridescent purple and green and you can actually see a white ring around their bill.

I also a encountered a cormorant (double crested?) who flew parallel with me as I drove down a dike road. It would have been a great shot, but there were safety considerations.

Other birds were a Western Kingbird, Western Meadowlark, Great Blue Heron, and Great Egret. All in all, if you find yourself traveling between Turlock and Los Banos with a little time, there is good birding here.

It is probably even better if you get out and walk.

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge - 2 at EveryTrail

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More photos on Flickr.

Brown Pelican Flies Off The Endangered List:

After nearly 40 years on the brink of extinction, the brown pelican has made a substantial enough comeback that it will be removed Wednesday from the endangered species list, The Associated Press reports.

(Via NPR News: Top Stories.)

I have lived long enough to remember when it was rare to see these birds. Now I see them every time I go to the coast. Banning DDT was probably the key to their survival. Score one for the humans.

Welcome back pelicans.

Now let’s save the red-legged frog, checker-spot butterfly, and a myriad of others on the list.

I am not sure why. Perhaps it’s because I am approaching 50 (in a year or so), perhaps it’s because I am reading Farley Mowat’s “final” memoir, I am not sure.

It certainly isn’t because I have something to write. I have never had a desire to write. Prose and poetry do not leap from my keyboard. The only time that my writing has achieved passing marks is in journalism, geology, and one composition class at UCSB, where the teaching assistant did not mind my simple and direct approach.

It isn’t much to hang your hat on.

But I do like telling stories and I have lived long enough to have a few.

So I have started an outline. The two top headings are “Timeline” and “Themes”. I don’t know where this is going to go, but it seems worthy of exploration.

So I spent a couple of more days at Humbug and hiked up the hill again. I think that Humbug may be habit forming.

I was surprised to see that the campground was not full. While there are definitely more people in the park than last November, the campground is not crowded. I did not have anyone in the adjacent sites for the two days I was there.

Little has changed in the camp, the one site that was flooded in November is still closed and coated with a layer of dirt. Brush Creek is still flowing to the north, but has moved outside of the big rocks on the beach. The waves are trying to form a lagoon, but for now, the creek is winning.

A crowd of Western Gulls has taken to the beach and are using the creek as a bath. They are only disturbed when you get too close or bring a dog to the beach. They will let a person get within about 50 feet, but any dog within 200 ft will get them flying.

The Black Oystercatchers are a little more skittish.

On of my goals for this trip was to climb Humbug again, but use the “West Trail”. This trail did not exist when I first tried in 1966. For tradition, I took the “East Trail” when I went up two years ago.

The West Trail is a little steeper (getting you to the summit in 1.5 miles instead of 2.0 miles) and offers a few glimpses to the north of Port Orford and Cape Blanco.

The West Trail traverses the southwest side of the mountain and once you are there, you are greeted with solitude. The road noise from 101 disappears. You might hear an song bird or a few sea lions barking 1000 ft below. Most likely you will just hear your footsteps. It is scary silent.

You work your way up a number of switchbacks, occasionally crossing over to the north side of the mountain where you are once again greeted by the drone of 101. Just below the summit you link back up with the “East Trail” and walk a few hundred feet to the summit.

There was a downed tree across the regular trail so I had to take an semi off-trail route to get to the top. As a result, I discovered the benchmark at the top. It was something that I missed the last time I was here.

The summit of Humbug isn’t awe inspiring, it is really just a little clearing with just enough trees to block your view to the south. But, you have to remember you have just climbed one of the highest points on the Oregon coast. I had the place to myself, so enjoyed a banana before starting down.

While walking down the East Trail I started to focus on the main dynamic of the mountain, the fallen trees that rip open new habitat. It is these openings that allow the diversity of plants and animals on the mountain.

While you might not notice it, it is a very dynamic environment. And not one that I would like to hike in during a storm in December.

More photos on Flickr.

Humbug Mountain at EveryTrail

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Great-tailed Grackle

So my bird books tell me that Grackles are found east of the Rockies. And before today, the last one saw was in Dallas, TX.

So I was a little surprised this morning when I saw a black bird with a long tail flying along Del Monte Ave. in Seaside. I drove around the block and confirmed that I had seen a Grackle.

Next I went home and grabbed my camera. While I would never imagined it, there are at least half a dozen Grackles making their home in Seaside.

Beautiful plumage!

On the trail

Yesterday, I went out to Henry Coe State Park again. I suppose that this is getting to be a habit, I mean I have been there twice in the last two years. But really, I am just trying to catch up since it took me 47 years to make my first visit.

Yesterday’s hike was a reunion of sorts for a few Bay Area hiking bloggers, with Tom Mangan of Two-Heel Drive fame and the Winehiker himself, Russ Beebe. It has been a couple of years since we last hiked together.

Russ picked a route that started out at the Coyote Creek entrance at the south end of the park. We started climbing north along and above a branch of Coyote Creek.

Bullock’s Oriole

Most of the way through oak forests. Around lunch time we got out of the oaks and into the more open grassy hills. At our lunch stop we were serenaded by a meadowlark, though couldn’t see him until he flew.

Unfortunately, that describes the birding opportunities. Lots of voices, but few sightings. Notable in the sightings were a House Wren near the trailhead and a Bullock’s Oriole a probable Cooper’s Hawk. There were also a number of Starlings, more than I care to see.

Iris

The wildflowers, however, were out in abundance. We saw dozens of different species and with Russ’ help, I actually remembered a few species. Probably the most spectacular were the patches of Chinese Houses. Though the patchs of false lupine, poppies, ithuriel’s spear and blue-eyed grass, were also impressive.

The thing that I enjoy most about a hike like this one is that it reminds me of why I love central California. While I took a break from hiking for a number of years, the hills, oaks, birds, rocks and flowers haven’t changed.

velvet ant

Now I am getting to see old “friends” that I haven’t seen in years.

The afternoon was spent climbing up a bit more as we headed east, almost getting run over by a Search and Rescue truck, and then heading back south, down some steep slopes to the car.

All told, we hiked 9 miles and climbed around 2000 ft. Just enough to make your feet ache and legs and shoulders sore for a couple of days.

As usual, I have more photos on Flickr.

Henry Coe State Park at EveryTrail

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Common Yellowthroat

Not sure how this happened, but I had never seen a Common Yellowthroat before yesterday.

I have a pretty good idea of the birds in the area and the birds that I have seen. So when a new one pops up, it is always a bit of a surprise.

And when it is a relatively common one, I have to kick myself and ask, what have you been doing all these years?

Oh well…

Three falcon chicks hatch atop San Jose City Hall: “For a mother who just watched three offspring hatch — and is watching her fourth egg — Clara appears to be in excellent health today from her perch atop San Jose City Hall.”

(Via Mercury News: News.)

More good news. Once again, I think that $300 million for a platform for falcons to nest is money well spent. For all the stuff that goes on inside the building, I am not so sure.

Update: Make that four new falcons. I don’t think even Ford could do as well.