We were supposed to be heading to Elkhorn Slough and Big Sur yesterday, but with a forecast calling for rain, and possibly snow levels down to 100 feet, we reconsidered. This is coastal California and we're just not wired for birding in the cold. And I was really not relishing the drive down Highway 1 to Big Sur with the potential for snow or ice on that curvy road. Well, maybe third time will be the charm.
So I stayed home, got a bunch of things done, then rewarded myself with a few hours at Hayward Shoreline. It's been years since I'd birded there and it was a long overdue trip.
![100_8221](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5178/5481511475_800307d700_z.jpg)
Hayward Shoreline, on a chilly but clear day by the bay...
(The title of the diary refers to some problems I was having in publishing it, now resolved. But might as well leave it, since the day's adventure was a result of original plans not quite working out.)
Since I was just fitting the trip in after a day of doing chores, I didn't really plan it carefully in terms of tides. Which is normally a big factor when birding in a tidal marsh. So the birds had clearly been there at some point, but they were a bit further out on the mudflats during my visit.
![100_8214](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5176/5482110056_a82d811450_z.jpg)
Looks like there were lots of birds here not too long ago...
It didn't take long to start seeing them, though. Following a curlew as it flew, I noticed another bird perched on a bit of scrub just beyond it...
![100_8215](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5019/5482110150_da2ec7d515_z.jpg)
Curlew's to the right, perched bird right in the center.
It was a merlin - a large pale female that looked almost prairie falcon-ish in size. I'm pretty sure it was a prairie merlin - richardsonii - because she was so light in color, and lightly marked. After several minutes she took off across the marsh and finally landed on this bit of ... well, I don't know what it is. Kinda looks like a mast from an old shipwreck, but from other angles, it looked like an old power pole. I'm including this picture not because it's a great photo of her, but because it's just such a cool thing she's sitting on. (she's perched just above the disc shaped thing)
![100_8217](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5294/5482110268_fe64eb5cfb_z.jpg)
enhydra lutris enlightens us on what this thing is.
There was a lot of activity further out on the mudflats, almost beyond binocular view. But down in the channels and sloughs, a number of birds were working for their meals. I saw a few Great Egrets walking along, looking into the sides of the channels at eye level, and it looked like they were stabbing into the mud like sapsuckers hitting a tree trunk. New to me - I don't think of them as "vertical" feeders, only stabbing downward for a meal. But I guess it's that I've never been around them in these circumstances.
There were also many Long-billed Curlews working the channels. This one paused its search to eyeball a jet that was flying over on a approach to Oakland Airport.
![DSC_1374](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5218/5481510293_6d7ba3ecde_z.jpg)
It was a treat to get so close to so many curlews. They're lovely birds, but they usually seem to be much further away. Normally a scope-bird rather than a bino-bird. Gorgeous in the late day's sun.
![lbcu 1_1409](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5140/5482109888_526b1efdfa_z.jpg)
There was a pair of Canada Geese who weren't quite tame (no begging for food, thankfully), but also weren't particularly nervous about people. This one let me get in close for a portrait...
![DSC_1390](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5254/5481510509_e13da13ceb_z.jpg)
... before deciding it had urgent business to attend to down in the mud.
![DSC_1394](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5213/5481510743_7f92db918f_z.jpg)
San Francisco looks very different from this angle - looking up toward the city, with the mass of Mt. Tamalpais in the background. (The slight tilt is due to my unsteady stance, but I don't know how to fix it... any geniuses out there who can help?)
![DSC_1384](http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5212/5481510401_dd9cf3ed82_z.jpg)