Birding the Last King Tides of the Year

                             Sweet Springs Wetlands
King Tides occur when the Earth, Moon and Sun are aligned at perigee (when the moon is nearest the earth) and perihelion (when the earth is closest to the sun), resulting in the largest tidal range seen over the course of a year. In other words King Tides occur when the Earth is closest to the Sun.  * 1 (see end of blog for more on tides)

Yesterday's morning tide was 6.8, the highest of the year.  I arrived at Sweet Springs at 9:45.  The tide was moving into the ponds.  From the small bridge I watched the water slowly cease its forward movement. For several minutes it was still, as if it were resting. Slowly the water began its journey back to the sea.  Within an hour the tide will be moving swiftly.  The higher the tide, the swifter the tide moves out of the bay. I have watched kayakers trying to paddle against the tide.  With great effort they make no progress.

     Two male Blue-winged Teal, one female Mallard
Blue-winged Teal and Mallards were the only ducks feeding in the flooded pickleweed.  There was a Song Sparrow singing which was delightful.  Watched a deer grazing on the far side of the wetlands.  Out from the overlook was a huge flock of resting winter ducks, primarily Ruddy Duck and Greater Scaup with a few Western Grebe on the periphery.  The below photo only shows a small section of the ducks.  Can you find the a Western Grebe?

 I could not linger at Sweet Springs, as I wanted to get to the Morro Bay Marina to get a photo of the  Winter plumage Red-throated Loon that had come in on the tide the day before. Seeing the Red-throated Loon, who may have just flown in from its Arctic breeding grounds, was quite exciting as I have seldom seen one and only at a distance.  (below photo by Roger Zachery.  I did get a photo, but Roger's photo was better than mine.)

 My faithful friend, the Spotted Sandpiper who usually probes in the wet sand along the edge of the marina was sitting on a post.  There were several Pied-billed Grebe,  two Common Loon, a pair of Red-breasted Merganser, and a Partridge in a pear tree.  In the below photo can you find the Red-throated Loon.  It does show, if you squint when you look at the expanded image.

The diving ducks, Brant Goose, and the Avocet were further out.  Most of the shore birds were clustered on patches of pickleweed waiting for the tide to go out.   My last bird of the morning was an Orange-crowned Warbler flitting through the brush. 

The Christmas Bird Count is Saturday, the 17th.   I will be counting yard birds.  Last year I had 23 species.   I have high hopes the local Bald Eagle will fly over.  That would be a real feather in my Bird Count Cap.


1. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun combined with the rotation of the Earth.

                                   Merry Holidays

Birding There but Mostly Here

Atascadero Lake, Atascadero Ca.  A short jaunt over the hill, about 25 minutes, brings you to Atascadero Lake Park. The photo was taken three years ago when the lake was full.  Last year due to the drought the lake dried out, as a result all the feathered inhabitants moved on.  Fortunately this October rains filled the lake enough to bring back some of the birds.

The air was crisp when my friend Mike and I arrived.  We went for a brief walk to check out the best spot for viewing, as there is quite a bit of vegetation along the edges.  Upon returning to the car we spotted Roger Zachary, one of the top birder/photographer in the county, setting up his scope.  Oh my gosh, what great fortune to come across Roger who had been posting to the slobirding yahoo group the birds he had been observing at the lake.

 Roger took the scope down near the edge of the water to show us 5 Common Snipe that were feeding in a slightly moist area along the weedy fringes of the lake.  Prior to Roger's arrival we had been looking for them but to no avail.  We also had fabulous sightings of Ring-necked Duck, male and female. 

The memorable sighting of the morning was of a Bald Eagle as it flew over the lake.  Photo was taken by Roger Zachary at Atascadero Lake.

 Birding the King Tides in Morro Bay - Very high tides cause the migratory shore birds to seek out higher areas when they can wait till the tide goes out.  Thousands of shore birds are densely packed on thin strips of pickleweed far out in the bay.  Most of the water fowl are in the shallower areas where it is difficult to view them.  As the tide goes out the birds move into their favored feeding areas.  The tide was at its highest when I arrived.  From the Marina boardwalk could be seen about 40 Brant Goose and a few Northern Pintail and Northern Shoveler.  Many Snowy and Great Egret were feeding along the edges of the high tide.  There were 20 Avocet close enough to get a great photo, if only one had remembered to bring her camera.

                                 Morro Bay Marina
On the narrow boardwalk a cluster of birders were taking photos of the seldom seen Nelson's Sparrow whose habitat is somewhere out in the pickleweed.  The Nelson's only comes into view when the tide is extreme.  A photo of a Nelson's Sparrow is a feather in a birder's cap. 

The best time to bird the Morro Bay King Tides is an hour or two after the tide begins to ebb.