Birding Estero Bluffs Pocket Beach

Estero Bluffs State Park Ca. stretches north four miles from Cayucos to villa Creek.  I was meeting Mike at the Villa Creek parking area.  The morning's goal, a small pocket beach, a tad south of the creek.

As we progressed through the park numerous delightful trails led to views of Estero Bluffs' dramatic, rocky coastline.

The pocket beach was full of surprises.  We had a marvelous view of the beach and the birds from our perch on the bluff.  The darker birds in the damp sand are adult and juvenile Heermann's Gull; the grey and white birds, Western and Ringed-billed Gull; the white birds, Elegant and Caspian Tern, and more than likely there were one or two Royal Tern.  Two of the Caspian Tern can be seen in the below photo.  Look for a very red bill.

Here and there, particularly on and around the kelp, were Black Turnstone (below).  They become nearly invisible when feeding on kelp.  

Black Turnstone was not the only one with a taste for kelp flies and their larva.  Joining in on the feast were Willet, Whimbrel, Godwit, Long-billed Curlew, Killdeer, Black and Say's Phoebe, and an American Pipit.

Kelp flies breed on decaying kelp.  A female lays five clutches of 80 eggs each, a total of 400 eggs; the larva feeds on bacteria coming from the decaying kelp.  The warmer the weather, the faster the kelp decays, the quicker the eggs hatch.  Their life cycle is about 30 days.

A tad south of the pocket beach, a Black Oystercatcher was feeding as a wave broke over her.  She flew out of the surf and onto a higher rock.  Although a rare happening, Black Oystercatchers are capable of swimming.

The rocks the Oystercatcher was feeding on have eroded out of the Franciscan Complex which dates back about 140 million years to the late Jurassic Period.  It was rather mind boggling when I realized the Oystercatcher was feeding on a rock that was created during the late Jurassic, and that under my feet were 140 million years of geologic history. 

Like all the state parks on the Central Coast, Estero Bluffs is free and well worth a visit.

Estero Bluffs State Park - Villa Creek Beach

                 
Estero Bluffs State Park begins directly after the community of Cayucos.   The park follows along Highway 1 for about 5 miles until the road takes a slight curve inland. 

Between the highway and the Pacific Ocean is a vast grassland dotted with a few greenish serpentine rock clusters and the occasional clump of brush. 

Destination of this morning’s birding adventure, Villa Creek Beach, located at the northern end of the park.  Several days ago migrant Mountain Plover had been sighted.   I had high hopes that at least one of the three that had been seen by local birders would appear in my binoculars.  

 As I was following the trail to the beach, I asked a gentleman birder if he had seen the Plover.   He said he had and that it was easy to see. 

                             Mountain Plover
After walking a few yards along the beach, I spotted the Mountain Plover, (first time sighting) chasing flies with her cousins the Snowy Plover.  I was delighted to get a photo of the Mountain Plover, as it was constantly on the move chasing kelp flies.  While watching the Plovers two of the Snowy got into a rough and tumble disagreement, feathers were actually flying.  (Photo - Snowy Plover often rests in small depressions.) 

Other birds on the beach: American Pipit, Black-bellied Plover, Killdeer, Godwit (below photo), Whimbrel, and of course, my faithful friend, Black Phoebe. 

After the beach I walked through a few acres of the Grasslands:  Red-tailed Hawk, Loggerhead Shrike, a very cheeky House Wren, Western Meadowlark, American Pipit, numerous White-crowned Sparrow, excellent sightings of Savanna Sparrow, and Black Phoebe.  Birding Villa Creek Beach and the grasslands was absolutely "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious."