My friend Kim and I took a mental health day and ran away from home. Our destination: Point Reyes National Seashore, a tiny sliver of California jutting out into the Pacific. On our way down we stopped at the San Pablo NWR located just west of Vallejo and saw quite a few birds. See Daily Bucket - A Quick Turn off the Highway to San Pablo National Wildlife Refuge.
Point Reyes is a unique peninsula separated from the rest of California by Tomales Bay. It sits on the Pacific tectonic plate while the rest of California sits on the North American tectonic plate with the San Andreas Fault separating them. You can actually see the fault via a trail from the visitor center. Because of its unique location, Pt. Reyes is a major stop for migratory birds. Migrating Gray whales swim less than 100 feet from the lighthouse point.
The Daily Bucket is a nature refuge. We amicably discuss animals, weather, climate, soil, plants, waters and note life’s patterns.
We invite you to note what you are seeing around you in your own part of the world, and to share your observations in the comments below.
Each note is a record that we can refer to in the future as we try to understand the phenological patterns that are quietly unwinding around us. To have the Daily Bucket in your Activity Stream, visit Backyard Science’s profile page and click on Follow.
We visited several spots on the peninsula including the Abbott’s Lagoon trail, the lighthouse, historic lifeboat guard station and the visitor’s center. The weather was perfect, bright and sunny with a little bit of ocean breeze to keep us cool.
We didn’t make it all the way down to Abbott’s lagoon but we could see several great egrets along the shores. The coastal scrub was full of sparrows while turkey vultures and red-tail hawks soared high in the skies.
A song sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Another Savannah Sparrow
White-Crowned Sparrow gathering nesting material
Poppies in full bloom
We then headed to the lighthouse which is situated on the westernmost location on the point.
We were lucky to find docents there with a scope and hints on how to see a whale. The scope was not trained on the ocean but on a Great Horned Owl’s nest situated in a cavity on the cliffs.
Great Horned Owl hiding on the nest
Gray whale females are migrating north with their calves:
There are two spouts — mother and baby
Birds are also migrating:
Surf Scoters flying north
Some of the other birds at the lighthouse:
Western Gulls resting on the rocks below the lighthouse
We then wandered over to the historic lifeboat station. As we drove along the narrow roads we saw this:
Red-Tailed Hawk on the fence
Mule Deer on the grassy hillside
At the historic lifeboat station:
Elephant Seal pups sleep on the beach. Mom seals stash their babies on a beach away from the herd as the Bull Seals will kill the babies if they get the chance.
A pair of Double Crested Cormorants sleep on the lifeboat dock railing.
We had planned on visiting Drake’s Beach next but they had already closed it for the day to protect the main Elephant Seal herd.
We also stopped by the visitor’s center and spent a little time birding at the picnic grounds. We could clearly hear the machine gun ratta-tat-tat of a woodpecker but couldn’t find him in the thick woods.
California Scrub Jay
Brewer’s Blackbird
Raven strolling through a field of flowers
Not a Black Phoebe but I haven't been able to identify.
We didn't see any Tule Elk this time. In the past, we have seen a number of elk up on the highland area.
Refreshed by nature and some thrilling sights, my friend and I headed back to Sacramento and our responsibilities, but not before dining at an amazing Italian restaurant in Novato.
Sunny days are behind us as rain started falling Friday night and is expected to continue through the weekend. Next week looks to be cooler weather and a chance for more rain mid-week.
What’s up in your neck of the woods?