SATURDAY BIRDING

9:00 a.m., Morro Strand State Beach (photo). Weather overcast, mild, no wind. Tide on the way out. Heermann's Gull in large flocks. Feeding along the surf line were Long-billed Curlew, Whimbrel, Godwit, Willet, and 4 Black-bellied Plover. A few Surf Scoter could be seen in the ocean.

Cloisters Park - In January, for the Morro Bay Bird Festival, I will be leading 2 "Easy Birding" walks. I was delighted to see that fall birds had arrived in the park. In the large field south east of the lawn were Bluebird, Red-winged Blackbird, Meadowlark, White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrow. Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron were numerous around the pond. In the shrubbery were Wrentit, Spotted Towhee, Bewick's Wren, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow-rumped Warbler, and one Orange-crowned Warbler.

My last stop was Pecho Willows. Without too much effort saw the Black and White Warbler, a most magnificent bird. (Before I got into birding, I thought all Warblers were yellow.) Nearby were two vocal Hermit Thrush. What I really wanted to see was the Canada Warbler, as I had never seen one before. After about an hour of wending my way through the tangles, doing my best to avoid poison oak, and eventually, with help from a fellow birder, got a great look at this beautiful fast moving darling. At times it was directly in front of my face. Needless to say, that made my day.