Central Coast Splendors - Birds and Flowers

The goal of the morning was to look for spring wildflowers on the Junge Ranch Trail - located about 1/4 mile north of San Simeon Creek.  The scenic one mile trail hugs the coast.   In 2004 the Junge Ranch property was added to the Hearst San Simeon State Park. 


San Simeon State Park -  From the Washburn parking/picnic area -  A few steps to the boardwalk, turn toward the sea and you have arrived at the San Simeon Beach Lagoon.  Overhead sped hundreds of Swallows feeding on insects and gathering droplets of mud.

The swallows were building mud nests that were tucked under the bridge where the deck meets the the huge bridge supports.  Now for the sometimes hard part of birding, identification - an easy task if Swallows were ground feeders.  Finally, after much pondering, I concluded they were Cliff Swallow and Northern Rough-winged Swallow. (I do enjoy the pondering)

 What took me by complete surprise was the size of the lagoon.  Winter/Spring storms had opened the lagoon to the sea.  Gone was the natural gravel berm that kept the ocean at bay.  The Lagoon was now considerably larger. 

On the far side of the lagoon, standing in shallow water, were five Caspian Tern, possibly taking a break on their flight north to East Sand Island in Oregon’s Columbia River Estuary where a huge breeding colony of Caspian Tern is located. 

 While observing the Terns four Bufflehead, 3/M, 1/F splashed down. I was rather surprised when they landed directly in front of me.  (above photo male Bufflehead) Only observed one precious Snowy Plover. 

 Next stop, the Junge Ranch Trail to look for wildflowers

     Chocolate Lily - Fritillaria biflora (2-3 in.)
Some of the flowers are tiny and barely noticeable.  I used binoculars to locate the  inch Chocolate Lily patch. 

 California Native wildflowers are bountiful on the Junge Ranch Trail. 
Some of the Wildflowers were: Blue-eyed Grass, Sun Cups, Thrift, tiny Redmaids, Butttercup, Fiddleneck, California Poppy, and one very special flower. 

           

 The special flower was alone in it's universe, one small lavender flower, a flower I had never seen before.  It was a Monterey Mariposa Lily (Calochortas uniflorus), considered a rare plant due to its limited distribution.  Coincidentally I'll be visiting Point Lobos in Monterey in a few weeks and guess what I will be looking for, yes, a Monterey Mariposa Lily.  (and birds of course)

           Seaside Daisy - Erigeron glaucus

Birding San Simeon Lagoon

Met up with Harry and Norma Catchpole at Shamel Park in Cambria. The first bird of the day was a Spotted Sandpiper.  It's cute little rump bobbed up and down as it walked along the edge of the narrow Santa Rosa Creek Lagoon.  Four Great Egrets were roosting in the willows that lined the creek.  Over the sea, Brown Pelican flew.  No doubt about it, we were going to have a great day of birding. (above photo - San Simeon State Beach) (below photo - Harry & Norma at Santa Rosa Creek)

Our goal of the morning was to bird the San Simeon Creek Lagoon.  We were hoping to see the White-faced Ibis that I had seen in the lagoon two days ago. A boardwalk leads over a wetland to the beach.  We had only walked a few feet when we spotted four female deer walking along the edge of the wetland. We looked at them; they looked at us, and with cautious optimism they meandered on their way.

The lagoon was shallow; along the edges lay a thick layer of algae.  Immediately, sharp eyed Harry spotted a Black-necked Stilt with a broken leg.  The Stilt was able to fly and appeared to have no difficulty feeding.  While looking for the Ibis we watched, a sub-adult or first year Peregrine Falcon Bathing; now that was a treat.  As we continued watching,  three Turkey Vultures landed close to the Falcon.  We were quite sure we heard the Peregrine say, “too close for comfort,” as she flew north.

As we walked along the edge of the lagoon looking for the Ibis or anything with wings, we were amazed by a Great Blue Heron who was not in the least bit bothered by our presence.

Besides Mallards and Coots, the only birds we noticed were Killdeer, a Spotted Sandpiper and a Great and Snowy Egret.  Giving up on the Ibis search we headed over the beach to the water's edge.  Not wanting to waste a birding moment, we looked for Snowy Plover as we trudged through the gravely sand. Yeah, we spotted two of the little darlings.  When not moving the Snowy Plover tends to be invisible. (below photo - Snowy Plover)

 

 Along the edge of the water, a mixed flock of Whimbrel, Willet, Godwit, Long-billed Curlew, and one lonely Black-bellied Plover.  Missing from the beach were Gulls and Terns.

Located at the south end of the boardwalk is a small bridge over San Simeon Creek.  Willow branches dip into the still water - a perfect habitat for Green Heron.  It took us awhile to locate the Green Heron, as it was in the shade and bent over the water. While we watched it snag a fish with its stiletto like bill, a King Fisher was dashing back and forth across the peaceful creek.

Before lunch, which is always an important part of the day, we wanted to check out the bird activity from San Simeon Pier.  At a distance we saw a small collection of Common Murre,  and fortunately, one Murre very close to the pier, which allowed us an intimate view of the little darling.  Out to sea were thousands of Shearwater, flying by in a stream were Brown Pelican.

Resting on the shore was a small flock of Elegant Tern.  While we were looking at them, a Peregrine Falcon swooped down, causing them to take flight.  The powerful Peregrine took after one of the Terns.  Repeatedly, the Peregrine dove on the Tern, talons ready to grab on to its victim.  Feathers flew, and by some miracle the Peregrine accepted defeat and flew off.

Thought for the day - One Good Tern Deserves Another

On the 8/24 blog,   http://birdingthecentralcoast.blogspot.com/2015/08/morro-bay-return-of-sandpipers.html    The question - "How many Dunlin do you see in the photo?  Are the smaller birds Western or Least Sandpiper" The answer - 9 Dunlin and Western Sandpiper.