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.

If you don’t know of William Brewer’s journal, “Up and Down California in 1860-1864″ you need to find it and read it.

As part of the Geologic Survey of California, Brewer covered much of the same ground that we do today and provides wonderful details of California at that time.

The book is available online, but you really should buy and carry it with you to read before you drift off to sleep in your tent.

Here is one of my favorite passages:

Monday, June 23, I visited some hills alone, and sent Gabb and Hoffmann on a longer excursion back, with the mules. The event of the day was their meeting, in a narrow ravine, a large she-grizzly with a cub. Now this is the worst kind of a customer to meet, and as they came upon her very suddenly, matters did not look well. She faced them at first, scarcely thirty feet distant, then slowly retreated. They took the hint, and both parties escaped unharmed; the two bears leisurely climbing the steep bank of the ravine on one side, the geologists climbing, less leisurely by far, the steep bank on the other side.

And another:

At Tomales there are several houses, but the only one where we could get “accommodations” was a very low Irish groggery, kept by a “lady.” The place was filled with the Irish potato diggers, all as lively as the poorest whiskey could make them. One Irishman had just made some two hundred dollars by a contract for digging, and was celebrating the event, freely treating—in fact, he was just at the culmination of a three days’ spree. The “rooms” of the house were far from private, the beds not highly inviting, and the customers twice as many as the accomodations. Drunkenness, singing, fighting, and the usual noise of Irish sprees were kept up through the night. Much to my disgust I had neither “bowie” nor “Colt” along, so could not command the exemption from meddling which those companions would have insured. Now, I don’t mind the discomforts of the field, of sleeping on the ground, of diet, dust, lizards, snakes, ants, tarantulas, etc., but from drunken Irishmen, from Irish groggeries, from “ladies” of that description, “Good Lord, deliver us!”

It is a good read.

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.

California experiment successfully concluded:

Around this time 10 years ago I was wandering around downtown San Jose on a sunny Saturday. I had a day to kill after my interviews at the San Jose Mercury News so I roamed the city’s mostly empty streets…

…now we’re working through our second bust, which has pummeled the paper and put many friends out of work. In three weeks I’m joining them.

(Via Tom Mangan’s home page.)

Tom Mangan, who’s Two-Heel Drive blog introduced me to the hiking blog genra as well as a number of Bay Area hikers is leaving the Bay Area.

Happy Trails.

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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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

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

For years, I have been driving over the Pacheco Pass on my way to other locations. Often it was during the spring and I was off to windsurf on O’neil Forebay. It is usually windy in the spring there. That is something to keep in the back of your mind, since the forebay sits at the bottom of Pacheco Pass.

View to the South

At the top of Pacheco Pass is the relatively new Pacheco State Park. In 1992, Paula Fatjo, the great-great granddaughter of Francisco Pacheco, donated the land to create a state Park. Ever since then, I have been interested in checking it out.

So last Saturday, I went there with a group of docents from the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Apparently they make these sort of hiking/birding/photography excursions fairly regularly.

I was pleased to be hiking with someone who new the area well. So I didn’t have to figure out which of the half a dozen trails to try. We went out on the Spikes Peak trail and climbed up to the Tunnel Monument trail and started down it to the Pig Pond trail. From there, we headed back to the barn. The Spikes Peak trail is steep in places, but the Tunnel Monument trail is shorter and steeper (the preferable route depends on whether steep up or steep down is easier on your knees).

Wild flowers

Throughout the hike you are walking on open hills with patches of oak trees. The vistas are great,  on a clear day you should be able to see the Sierras. But the views to the south, west and north are equally inspiring. On a less windy day, you should be able to see a variety of birds, from raptors to meadowlarks to smaller song birds that frequent the oaks.

With the wind, however, birding was a little limited. Though I saw Kestral, Western Meadowlark, Yellow-billed Magpie, Oak Titmouse, Anna’s Hummingbird, Western Bluebird, Cliff Swallows, Turkey Vultures, Great Blue Heron, and the ubiquitous Canada Geese.

There are also lots of wild flowers right now. After we got back to the parking lot, we joined up on a guided tour by one of the park docents. He provided lots of information on the various flowers and plants. As usual, this went in one ear and out the other.

More photos on Flickr.

Pacheco State Park at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:GPS Geotagging

A recent post on Two-Heel Drive inspired me to revisit Uvas Canyon County Park. I was last there as a boy scout about 35 years ago. I remember it being a fun trip because it didn’t require the usual death march with a 25 lb backpack (on a 90 lb boy) that most of our camping trips included (don’t ask about my early hikes at Pinnacles).

Beyond that, there was a lot about Uvas that I didn’t remember. For example, I didn’t remember (and Tom at Two-Heel Drive failed to mention), the wonderful “Deliverance” feeling that you get while driving up to the park. The road gets narrower and narrower and suddenly your surrounded by these little shacks where “No Trespassing” signs abound and you are wondering if you missed the turn off to the park.

Upper Falls

Then you finally see the little sign telling you that the park entrance is a mile up the one lane road. But the banjo music is still playing in your head, until you realize that these little shacks run a good half million, at least. The music returns when you get to the park and start hiking and hear shotgun blasts behind you (where you need to drive out to reach civilization again).

I am not going to try to describe the hike details, I was mostly there for birding and pictures. The birding opportunities were minimal (but I was there mid-day so I didn’t expect too much). I heard far more birds than I saw.

I did the waterfall loop and tried to take “different” waterfall pictures. Using the light coming through the spray and stuff like that. There were lots of good shadows to play with, so I tried to play with the light as best I could.

It still seemed a little early for flowers, but Spring is definitely on its way. The Larkspur were blooming, Poison Oak was starting to leaf out and there were a number of other little flowers that were in bloom.

Painted Lady

The coolest thing about the hike, though was that it coincided with a major migration of Painted Lady butterflies.

I started to see the butterflies on my drive up from Monterey. I noticed them crossing the road between Castroville and Prunedale. I stayed with them as I moved up to Gilroy and on to Uvas. In the park, they were coming down the canyon in groups of two to four. Individuals would occasionally stop to rest, but were very wary of any movement around them. It took me quite a while to get a decent shot of one.

Once I got to San Jose, I realized that I was still in the middle of the migration.

The trip from Uvas to San Jose was also eventful, I saw a couple of male Wild Turkeys in display and a coyote. More Pictures are available on Flickr.

GM Wild Turkey?

So I spent the weekend in Pinnacles National Monument and made three hikes in three days. Today, I can almost move. It was a great weekend. For once, it wasn’t too hot, in fact at times it was down right chilly.

As I did last year, I came down early and got in a hike before the rest of the group arrived. For the hike, I decided to try something new and went a couple of hours up the North Wilderness Trail. This is an unmaintained trail that splits off the trail up to the Balconies Cliffs and runs up Chalone Creek. It eventually wraps around and comes down into the west side of Pinnacles. I didn’t take the trail that far. I followed the trail up the creek for about 2 miles. It was easy hiking except for the places that you had to step over downed logs (unmaintained means that they don’t clear the trail with chainsaws).

I saw no one else on the trail and was continually frustrated in my attempts to get photos of a spotted towhee. I heard and saw plenty of them though. I also saw lots of woodpeckers and pheobes, but I wouldn’t describe the birding as good. The highlight of the hike came when I was almost back to the trail head and spotted the first Coast horned lizard that I have seen in years.

I got back to camp at about 4 to find a few of our contingent had made it. Within five minutes of arriving I had my second highlight of the day. A bobcat walked across the road and sat down next to a tree long enough for me to grab my camera and get some shots. It then calmly walked up the hill and dissapeared into the brush. It was the second big (wild) mammal that I saw on Friday. On my drive into the park, spotted a coyote on the road behind me.

So Friday was a good day.

It rained a little over the night, but nothing to write about. It was, however, damp in camp the next morning and when we started our hike up the Condor Gulch Trail on our way to the High Peaks. With a crowd of 11 hikers, I gravitated to the back so I could spend some time taking photos and listening for any birds that hadn’t been scared off by the folks up front.

This strategy proved successful when I rounded a bend and saw three vulture-like birds circling at about eye level in the canyon in front of me. Identifying birds through my camera lens is not an exact science. So it took me about a minute to realize that these were not vultures but condors. This was the first time that I had ever seen condors soaring up close. This was without a doubt the highlight of the weekend.

After that we went through the High Peaks, stopping for lunch at the top, then dropped down to Bear Gulch reservoir. This was followed by a run the full length of the Bear Gulch caves. I figure that I was 14 or 15 the last time I went through the upper caves. And it was definitely easier then. Back then, I was shorter and smaller, wasn’t carrying a backpack, and didn’t have an good camera dangling around my neck. I only came close to dunking the camera once. But that was enough, I don’t need to go through the Upper caves again.

At the end of the day, my legs were sore, my feet were sore, and I had enough chaffing to wonder how Sunday’s hike was going to go. But I had a reasonable sleep Saturday night and the hike on Sunday went well. As long as I kept moving. The climbs were not bad, but the descents pounded on my feet, knees, and back. The last couple of flat miles back to the trail head were agonizing. After I was done and sat down, I could hardly move.

But it was a great weekend and I would do it again in a flash.

As usual, I am posting my shots from the trip on Flickr.