WINDY WEATHER

Fall winds were churning up the bay this morning.  At the Audubon Overlook was a assortment of shorebirds.  Most notable was a Black-necked Stilt (photo taken on Parkfield Road in SLO County).  The Stilt was a beauty; her graceful long legs were very pink.  She was among a mixed flock of Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher (photo), Western Sandpiper, and two Black-bellied Plovers.

The wind was such, that as the graceful Stilt attempted to move and feed in the shallow water, the wind blew her sideways.  The other birds, not having the height of the stilt were not blown about.  Black-necked Stilts have the second-longest legs in proportion to their body of any bird, exceeded only by Flamingos.

 Working my way through the Los Osos sewer construction, managed to get to Cuesta Inlet and Pecho Willows.  Although quite windy on the west facing side of the bay, it did nothing to hamper a feeding frenzy that had just begun.  The first to arrive were the Terns, next Double-crested Cormorant, and finally Brown Pelican.

I find the intense noise of the sewer construction extremely distracting on my limited birding skills.  Tomorrow morning; no later that 8:00, I am promising myself, that I will bird in peace and quiet, Islay Creek mouth, and the campground at Montana de Oro St. Park.

CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER

I had to post the sighting of this adorable beauty.  On a little side street across from Sweet Springs I spotted this little darling working a shrubby oak.  I was very close to it and got a great look.  This is the time of year the migrant warblers come for a brief visit.

The photo is borrowed from the internet,; it looks exactly like the bird I saw. 

BIRDING THERE AND HERE

Passed through Pacific Grove on the way home from a visit with relatives. (The photo is much to blue. I was experimenting with a new photo App. ) Birds were few and far between.  Although, along the road, feeding in the muck of a golf course pond sprouting numerous golf balls, was a small cluster of shorebirds - one Whimbrel, 4 least Sandpiper, and a bird I had not seen for several years, a Dunlin; it has a slightly thicker, down turned bill, and is a little larger than a Least Sandpiper.

Meandered down fog shrouded Hwy 1 -  Pulled off at Piedras Blancas.  No view of lighthouse due to dense fog.  On the beach, Godwit, Willet and a large flock of Heermann's Gull - nothing to write home about.

This morning checked out the low tide at Morro Strand North Point.  Low tide is the perfect time to see the Oyster Catchers, Turnstones and Surf Birds feeding on the rocks, but to my amazement, there were no rocks, as they had been completely covered by sand, which goes to prove the adage, "nothing stays the same."  I was enjoying the scampering of Semipalmated Plovers when a woman with a unleashed dog appeared. Obviously she missed the "No Dogs Allowed on the Beach" sign.

Oh well, I'll check out my home turf.  Along the Baywood boardwalk grows a couple stands of blooming Fennel.  Feeding in them were four Yellow Warblers.  Now that was a major treat.

Not far out from the pier, a feeding frenzy was in full progress.  Elegant, Royal, and Forster's Tern, along with Brown Pelican were diving for the little fish.  There were scads of Double-crested Cormorant, Harbor Seals, and gulls, looking for leftovers.  Sound of Feeding Frenzy http://youtu.be/j2alkP3MCLo

 If I had to rate the last few days of birding, foggy Baywood would be numero uno.