A Coastal Stroll

Snowy Egrets tango

I needed time alone.  And time to think.  I wanted to be among strangers.  Or so I thought. 

I rented a bed at the Monterey Hostel where I would casually stroll to the Fisherman's Wharf and watch the Sea Otters while enjoying some clam chowder. Along the way, I watched everyone, humans and wildlife, interact with the ocean.  I've been wanting the ocean life lately.  I used to live near Monterey about 18 years ago.  Being back in this coastal town brought back a flood of good memories. 

Juvenile Western Gull

How could have so much time passed?! Why haven't I come here more often to visit?

Pelagic Cormorant

Instead of accidentally seeing a sea otter like most tourists do, I intentionally found several in the appropriate habitat munching on some tasty shellfish. Monterey's coastal kelp forest helps maintain a healthy population of these endangered mammals. I lost myself within my own thoughts while watching these magnificent creatures. 

Sea Otter

I grabbed a bowl of clam chowder and sat alone enjoying the anonymity.  I hadn't birded alone like this for a long time. California still feels foreign to me but I am comfortable with that feeling now. It's the reason why I don't live there anymore.  But I wasn't there to live.  I was there to "just be". In my humble opinion, California is a great place to visit, but it's not a great place to live. $$$$$  Everything is $$$$$$$$. The coastal towns are crowded BUT there are gems hiding everywhere in these areas. You just have to know where to look. Luckily for me, I'm a birder and most of the places were off the beaten path away from the tourists. 

Black Oystercatcher

 When dear friends suggested they'd like to visit after my pelagic, I was excited.  I hadn't seen my friends Laura and Chris for years!  In fact, Laura was pregnant with her first child when I last saw her.  Now, she has two full grown girls!  Where does the time pass???!!!!  So many thoughts went through my head.  We were babies when we began teaching all those years ago.  Laura picked me up in her then boyfriend's car and we went to school together as new first year teachers. Our parents were around the age we are now.  I sat drinking my coffee enjoying their company.  It was hard to say good-bye to them by the end of the day.  And I realized that I really didn't want them to leave. I had missed my friends. 

I missed laughing with them and doing the random stuff like we always used to do in Northern California. Here we were once again, former roommates, all standing together and not doing much of anything except enjoying each other's company.  

Oak Titmouse

After they left, I took one last walk with my friend Lynda.  Together, we had dinner and watched raccoons feed along the rocky shore.  When we said good-bye, I was alone again.  But this time, I didn't like it.  What an interesting thing to be surrounded by old memories and comforted by the presence of wonderful friends. 

I went to bird several places within walking distance and had fun. The key to traveling in California is to stay close to where you need to be so that you don't have to drive.  Driving is the worst in CA! So I did everything on foot.

Townsend's Warbler

California can be pricey, especially the Monterey/Half Moon Bay area. And then there's San Francisco!  I have found some cheaper alternatives for a trek back there again, but I want to bring Micheal with me. He needs to see this area.  

Mixing birding and friends together is the best kind of bird adventure possible. While I enjoy those quiet moments of concentration and just being, I also look forward to having fun doing....whatever. 

We went to a place called "Lover's Point" and sure enough, we found two of them making out on this bench! It was actually quite beautiful. 

But no matter where we go, I always keep my eyes open for a possible new bird.......

Rhinoceros Auklet

And so it would happen.  My next life bird, the Pigeon Guillemot, hung out around the shoreline of Lover's Point. 

Pigeon Guillemot

Another was bathing nearby!  Either way, it was a cool encounter and a fun photo shoot!

On our last day, we had a group photo taken in the famous Cannery Row district. 

My trek to Monterey is not over. I had one last day to bird and do some studies. Stay tuned for more........

Overpopulated

After our trek to the botanical gardens, we went for lunch and then breathed deeply.  Our next life bird, the Black Turnstone, was going to be a challenge.  It wasn't finding the bird that was the challenge as it was more about finding the patience to get to the area! 

Surbird(left) and Ruddy Turnstone(right)

I have never been in a more crowded space than Los Angeles.  Well one could argue that Mexico City as well as many other urban spaces are just as bad. I don't know.  LA traffic is the worst. To get to our location, Marina Del Rey, we had only to go 14 miles.  It was the longest 14 miles I have ever driven.  Everywhere we turned there were people.  Every inch.  Every space.  Full of people. 

Spotted Sandpiper

Micheal said that this would be a bad place to escape from the zombie apocalypse. I agree.  He bases our birding locale safety on Walking Dead standards. It took us TWO hours to drive fourteen miles.  Our birding destination, however, was pretty amazing.  But the trek getting there was not. 

The WHOLE walkway was like this the ENTIRE time. 

Once we found a parking spot, we mentally unwound and stretched out. That in itself was a miracle!  Why??  Well, everywhere we turned there were bikers, skaters, walkers, runners, fisher folk, and drivers! Some listened to 80's boardwalk music! We ran into one birding couple from Vermont who declared there were no birds in the area, but they were stuck in a bad spot afraid they'd be hit by oncoming traffic. And I don't blame them. There was very little room to bird.  One wrong turn and we would have smacked into someone.  So the challenge was to tune out all the noise pollution and watch out for the traffic. As for the Vermont couple? They gave up and left.

Caspian Tern

Okay, enough complaining:) You've been warned.  Just know that birding this spot along the Ballona Wetlands area is one of LA's best birding hotspots.  

 I had a lot of special challenges for this trek.  One was capturing cormorants in their breeding plumage.  Cormorants can be tricky, but they are really beautiful birds when breeding season arrives. 

There were birds everywhere and it was difficult to focus.  The weather was gorgeous and there certainly was a lot happening around us.  Normally when people see the common Double-crested Cormorant above, they just think, "Meh."  But I dare you to look at them in their breeding plumage.....

Double-crested Cormorant

They have orange faces with "ears" and some even come with whiskers!

Brandt's Cormorant

The blues of the Brandt's Cormorant mesermize. Their sapphire eyes and chin are gorgeous. 

Pelagic Cormorants

And then there's the deep purples of the Pelagic.  Their breeding color preference?  Red. It was a real treat to see these birds up close and personal.  Stunning birds!

Of course, SoCal winter birding would be incomplete without the sighting of a beautiful Surf Scoter. 

Surf Scoter

Eventually we found a quiet causeway and walked out towards the ocean.  There, on the rocks, we found our lifer Black Turnstones.  I couldn't believe our fortune!  

Black Turnstone

We enjoyed our views of the birds and then slowly walked back to our car at sunset.  Instead of watching birds, we sat and watched the people.  Many wore headphones and seemed to need their space.  

Personal space.  There is nothing quite like it, especially when there is constant noise all around you. We left Los Angeles for the last time.  I will never be coming back here again.  We have two more return treks left for Southern California(outside the LA area) before we start heading up into the Pacific Coastal regions. Here is my ebird report from the Ballona Wetlands area. 

Our journey required us to visit one last space.  And it was absolutely gorgeous and far away from the urban sprawl.  Next week we explore the beautiful Santa Catalina Island for another exotic bird, the Spotted Dove.  For you ABA listers out there, this one is countable.  So stay tuned for more....