Birding Bob Jone Trail and Beyond

 Sunday - Avila Beach, Ca. - Bob Jones Trail - Mike Baird and I were standing on the foot, bike and golf cart bridge that crosses San Luis Creek hoping to see the Common Goldeneye, a sea-duck, native to the lakes and rivers of Canada, the northern U.S., Scandinavia, and Russia. (female on left)  About three minutes after we arrived on the bridge the fog lifted.  The Goldeneye were close and we got great views.  They are a large duck and very beautiful.  The male's eye is a bright orange; the female's eye is a soft golden color.

 On either side of the bridge is the Avila Beach Golf Course where hundreds of Canada Goose, one Cackling Goose and multitudes of Coots were feeding on the grass.  As we progressed up the trail, actually it is a road/trail for about a mile, we came upon an unusual sighting.  A family of Western Bluebird were taking turns drinking from little pools of water that had accumulated on the yellow seats of a maintenance vehicle.  (trail is above the maintenance yard)  Two other birds of note, an Acorn Woodpecker perched atop a tall Red Cypress and a Great Blue Heron looking for edibles on a dry hillside.   

Miscellaneous Sightings in the Great Beyond of Morro Bay 

 In a Eucalyptus tree a Turkey Vulture was doing her pre-flight warming exercise.  At night the body temperature decreases.  To fly they have to increase the body temperature.  By spreading their wings, they increase the area the sun will be warming.  The spread wing stance is called the "Horaltic Pose."  Not only does the Pose dry the wings and warm the body, it also bakes off bacteria that forms on the legs from feeding inside a carcass.

Lately I have been fascinated by the movement of Ruddy Ducks.  A couple thousand spend the winter on Morro Bay.  They are always accompanied by a scattering of Greater Scaup.  They are usually in a large spread out flock, appearing to be resting, but in motion.  By expanding the photo you will notice the perky tail of the Ruddy and the bright white cheek of the male; upper left is a Bufflehead; the Scaup is the darker duck with the larger head. 

Below is a Google Map that shows the location of the Avila bird sightings, from left to right -  1) X is where the Goose were located.  2) bridge over creek, Goldeneye, 3) Bluebirds, Woodpecker, 4) Great Blue Heron.    

An Unusual Sighting At Montaña de Oro

Sara and I, volunteers at Montaña de Oro State Park, were on the Bluff Trail headed toward Spooner's Cove Overlook.  The day before, Sara with her photographer husband Gary, experienced an unusual bird sighting. 

When Sara and I reached the overlook we could see a wake (group of Vultures) about 17, peacefully perched at the end of the bluff.  Fortunately the area was cordoned off with single wire fencing which kept visitors on the trail and away from the Vultures.

On the jagged rocks below perched 8 more Vultures.  Lower down the rocks a lone Vulture was pecking on a deer carcass.  The carcass was in the shadows and nearly impossible to see from the top of the bluff.  Fortunately, the day before Gary had taken a photo.  Notice the beautiful deep brown feathers.  Vultures have a keen sense of sight and smell.

What we wondered was why only a single feeder, and what had caused the deer to fall off the cliff? Our best guess - the deer was chased by Coyotes or a Mountain Lion.  What ever the cause of the deer's demise, the Turkey Vultures, natures recyclers, had a fine feast.

Morro Bay Marina Boardwalk - High Tide Birding

Morro Bay Calif - High tide is an excellent time to go birding from the Morro Bay Marina Boardwalk.  An incoming tide causes the shorebirds to feed in the pickleweed; the higher the tide, the closer the birds are to the boardwalk. 
 
Today observed huge flocks of Godwit, Willet; a few Long-billed Curlew (top photo); and one Whimbrel.  Here and there, Black-bellied Plover and Dowitcher.   In wetter areas several Killdeer and a solitary Spotted Sandpiper (above photo).  Farther out in the estuary were Great Blue Heron, and Great and Snowy Egret; even farther out, a flock of Avocet.

All the shorebirds birds were busy feeding until a Turkey Vulture (below photo) made a low pass, causing panic and chaos, thousands of birds took flight; the sound of the wings was music to my ears. In a few minutes the shorebirds were back feeding, their worries over for the moment.  Do believe Turkey Vultures enjoy teasing shorebirds.
 
On the inland side of the boardwalk, in the extremely dry vegetation, birds were sparse - White-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow,  Bewick's Wren, a glance at a Palm Warbler, and to my delight, a Fox Sparrow - my second sighting of the year; the first was sighted on Alcatraz Island (the previous blog post). 

Before the boardwalk, there was a path along the edge of the estuary.  At high tides the path filled with water and for days afterward was totally unusable.   Now, one can leave their hip boots home and bird the estuary with ease.