California Dreaming

Having just returned from sunny California, I am still trying to get my bearings.  The three hour time change is not too much of an adjustment for me, but the laundry and e-mail catch-up is intense.

 But nothing is as intense as the blue of the Pacific Ocean.  Days later, I am still reeling from the sights and sounds along the Pacific Coast Highway.  Who knew nature had these hues of aquas and blues?  This sets a whole new standard for waterfronts. And just  think, this is free to all, it is part of Los Padres National Forest!  It goes to show that our National Parks may well be America's Best Idea, and this may well be the most beautiful park in America.

The West Coast is full of fun and aquatic themes.  It was a great honor to do this trip with my daughter JJ, who is a wealth of knowledge of all things aquatic. That is because she is an aquarist at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach, California. We made numerous stops along the Pacific Coast Highway, Rte. 101, and ended our first day's journey in Monterey, California.

Fisherman's Wharf in Monterey is a delight to the eyes and a wonderment to one's ears.  There was much bellowing and roaring going on beneath the pier!

 A closer look and we found the noise was coming from a congregation of California sea lions.  They seem like a comical lot, but J.J. informs me that they are not to be messed with.  Sea lions males weigh in the 600 pound range and most of the beasts carry scars from battle.  The females often show injuries as well.  They may seem harmless enough, but the best advice is this- they are wild animals- so keep your distance.

Fortunately, my camera has a decent zoom lens.  All seemed tranquil enough with this mother and her pups. Lesson one with aquatic mammals: Sea lions have ear tabs, seals do not. These little fellows are sea lions.

JJ Soski, Michelle Soski Goodman, and Cheryl Harner

As I go though my hundreds of photos and numerous videos, I hope to share a little of the wonderful sights and sounds we witnessed in Southern California.  Los Angeles is probably not a place I would choose to live, but I was thrilled to visit my "pups" who are both currently in California.

Hopefully, you too will enjoy the charismatic sea mammals, shore birds and rarities we discovered all along our trip.  The best part was sharing this time with two daughters who are both are unique and interesting  individuals.  

I would especially like to thank them for sharing this beautiful and bio-diversity filled coastal adventure! 

All Glory and Glare

There are plenty of birds to see in California.  I don't want to say that "birding is easier than botanizing", but honestly- even with different plumages and dimorphism of the sexes- it is far less confusing than sorting thousands and thousands of native vs. non-native plants.

Western Grebes are as common as they are beautiful.

 Two grebes that I hoped to get on this trip were the Western Grebe and the very similar Clark's Grebe.  The major difference is the location of the eye in reference to the black plumage on their heads.  Western Grebe can be found in salt, brackish, and fresh water.  Clark's can be in the same locations- however they are much rarer.

Many Westerns were seen, but the Clark's eluded me.  In all fairness, my birding was all-take-it-as-it-comes.  Never once did we set out to see a Clark's Grebe, and if we had made more of an effort we would have had more "success".

Males Surf Scoter in breeding plumage.

 Scoters come in several forms and both Surf Scoters and Black Scoters were easy enough to see along the coastal beaches.  This particular bird was feeding in the shallow waters of Bolsa Chica Wildlife preserve.  Although we do see Surf Scoters in Ohio, we do not get them in this breeding plumage.  The Californians call these boys "skunk heads".  The outrageous clown-colored bills are used for foraging shellfish, i.e. clams.

American Coot and Cinnamon Teal (male)

Cinnamon Teal is a western bird and a real rarity in Ohio.  In fact, I have only seen one before- and it was a female.  To witness this attractive cinnamon colored male was just "duckie".  It is best to see birds where they belong and learn about their behaviors and foraging habits in their native range.  Outlier birds are fun to chase, but one should study a species in their normal range when opportunity allows,

Surfbird

Surfbird!  This is a western speciality.  Honestly, when I first saw this bird- I didn't know what it was!  What I did know: it was something I had never seen before.  A little diligence with a field guide soon made its identity clear.  The stubby, two-toned beak was the biggest clue for me.

Surfbirds foraging along the breakwalls.

Surfbirds forage the mosses and rocks along breakwalls.  My first thought when encountering them was how similar their shape and behavior is to Purple Sandpipers. However, purple pipers are not found on the west coast and Surfbirds are not on the east coast.

Black Oystercatcher

This bird was as obvious to identify as it was to locate! It is rather difficult to hide from birders and non-birders alike when one flies about with an orange beak and piercing golden eye.  Their loud piping calls draw attention as well. Black Oystercatchers- unlike their eastern counter parts, the American Oystercatcher- forage on break walls and rocks.

 My daughter took to calling them "Orange-beaked Flotsam Chickens." She is generally better at identifying fish species.

While this is by no means representative of all the birds we saw in and around Los Angeles, it is but an overview of the most memorable water-related birds. I am still trying to "recover" from all that sunshine and glare off the blue waters.  Thank goodness I am back in cold, cloudy Ohio!

Birds in Paradise

Weedpicker has escaped the cold of Ohio for a week-plus trip to sunny California to visit Shark-girl, my daughter who is an aquarist working at Aquarium of the Pacific.  We toured around a bit in Santa Monica and enjoyed balmy 70 + degree weather.  Of course I am smitten with the botany, but have little knowlegde of California plants.  There may be more non-native plants growing in California than there are native plants.  These warm zones can be a botanical challenge.

Bird of Paradise

 Some plants I recognize from my years in the florist trade. Birds of Paradise, Strelitzia reginae, seem to bloom in every park and garden.

Santa Monica from Ocean Ave.

The traffic is rather intense, but I manage to head directly to the oceanfront parks and beaches.  There is much beauty to be found, even in these urban environments.

Fully equipped BSBO backpack.

A fully prepared urban birder takes a backpack equipped with layers of clothing, water, sunscreen and bird field guides. One surfer even commented on my nifty BSBO back pack, expressing some awe that I was a "birder" and continued to  ask me about warbler migration. 

Heermann's Gull

 The main order of business was to find a Heermann's Gull.  It is a west coast gull that I have been dreaming of seeing on this trip.  This stunning gull has a white head (in breeding plumage) and a distinctive orange bill with a black tip.  Juveniles are all smokey dark, with a back bill.  They are close in size to our common Ring-billed Gull.

Heermann's Gulls breed to the south of California in Mexico and migrate north for winter.  Their population is considered near threatened, and 90- 95 percent of them all breed on one island. Isla Raza has recently been protected in an attempt to stabilize their numbers. 

One Heerrmann's in a sea of Western Gulls

Another "life gull" (since I have never been on the west coast before) was the stately Western Gull.
It is a large-bodied bird with a dark mantle, yellow bill and distinctive pink legs.

It is of no small concern to me that I have arrived at a stage of birdiness that I enjoy sorting gulls on the beach.  Who knows what depravities I will succumb to next?

I am headed back to the beach today, maybe I will get better photos of the sea lion "surfing" just off shore. Maybe not. Either way, it is all an adventure to me.