San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay Part Two

Sorry that this post is late. The day after we visited Morro Bay, we visited the Cal Poly campus and walked into the canyon behind the college. There's a wide trail running alongside a creek that breaks into a couple of smaller ones leading up into the hills. It's a very lovely trail. Below are four views along the trail.

There were a lot of Western Bluebirds out in the fields, hovering above the grass and perching on top of bushes. There were quite a few young, brown spotty bluebirds flying around. Below are two photos of the bluebirds. The two in the first photo are adults, and the one in the second photo is a young one hovering above the grass.

Western Bluebirds

Western Bluebird

There were a few Steller's Jays high up in the trees making odd noises. A pair of American Kestrels were very upset at them; they must have had a nest nearby. Below is a Steller's Jay in a sycamore tree.

Steller's Jay

As we walked around the Cal Poly campus, we saw a Western Gray Squirrel. They're somewhat large squirrels with gray backs and pale bellies. They are currently threatened by habitat loss and competition with introduced species (mainly the Eastern Fox Squirrel). Below are two photos of the Western Gray Squirrel.

Western Gray Squirrel

Western Gray Squirrel

There were quite a few goldfinches everywhere we went in San Luis Obispo and the Morro Bay area. We saw a few American Goldfinches in Morro Bay, but they were too far away to take a photo. Below are two photos of Lesser Goldfinches at Cal Poly (the first is a female, the second is a male).

Lesser Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch

There also seemed to be a few Pacific-Slope Flycatchers everywhere we went, sitting up in trees or on buildings. We could often hear them calling (a high "seet" sound). There were a lot of them around Cal Poly in particular. Below is one of them sitting on a wall.

Pacific-Slope Flycatcher

An unexpected bird we saw was an American Robin. It was running along the ground with some Dark-eyed Juncos on the Cal Poly campus. It was a male robin with very nice plumage. Below is a photo of the robin.

American Robin

Next to our hotel in San Luis Obispo was a little creek. It was surprisingly full, considering the drought. There was a trail running alongside it, which we explored. We heard a lot of Pacific-Slope Flycatchers and saw a Red-shouldered Hawk while we down there. At night, we could hear a great chorus of frogs. Below are four photos of the creek.

San Luis Obispo and Morro Bay Part 1

My dad and I went to San Luis Obispo last weekend and we did some birdwatching there and at Morro Bay. I'll be posting about the trip in two parts, since there are too many photos for just one post.

On Friday, we spent a few hours driving around to different places. The first place we stopped at was the Morro Bay Natural History Museum. It's a small museum with exhibits geared toward children. It's very nice and has trails and a platform with fantastic views. Below are three views from the museum.

There were quite a few Dark-eyed Juncos (Oregon subspecies) around. They were all singing and hopping around in the trees and scratching at the ground. Below is one of them.

Dark-eyed Junco

There was quite a large gathering of American White Pelicans. We were very surprised to see them, since they are only supposed to be in California in the winter. I guess these pelicans wanted to stay all year long. In the photo below, the white birds in the back are the American White Pelicans. The black birds in front are Double-crested Cormorants.

American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants

There were a few Harbor Seals swimming around, with the tops of their heads and backs peeking out of the water. Harbor Seals are gray and speckled and are found along the coasts on North America, Europe, and Asia. Below are two photos of Harbor Seals.

Harbor Seal

Harbor Seal

There were quite a few Caspian Terns flying back and forth over the water. Below are two photos of them.

Caspian Tern

Caspian Tern

There were also a large number of Turkey Vultures circling around above the hills and beaches. Below is a Turkey Vulture.

Turkey Vulture

Right near the museum was a cormorant rookery, so there were many, many Double-crested Cormorants everywhere, swimming in groups in the water, perching in trees, and flying through the air. Below are four photos of Double-crested Cormorants.

Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorants

Double-crested Cormorant

Double-crested Cormorants

There were a few Snowy and Great Egrets around. One Snowy Egret was walking along the shore, and when another tried to land nearby, it ran at the incoming bird with fluffed-up feathers and a surprisingly deep squawk. The other egret flew away and first one just continued walking. Below is the egret just before it started running.

Snowy Egret

As I said above, there was a huge cormorant rookery in the trees. There were also Great Blue Herons, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, and Black-crowned Night-Herons nesting together with the cormorants. The birds were making all sorts of strange, loud squeaks, grunts, croaks, whistles, and squawks. Below are four photos. The first is an adult Great Egret and two chicks in their nest. The second is a photo of a few Double-crested Cormorant nests. The third is a Great Blue Heron nest (both herons in the photo are immature), and the fourth is of a bunch of nests high up in the trees.

Great Egrets

Double-crested Cormorants

Great Blue Herons

A couple of Black-crowned Night-Herons were sitting right out in the open below the trees where the nests were. They were fairly close, and didn't seem at all bothered by us looking at them. Below are two Black-crowned Night-Herons (the second one was sitting just beyond a fence).

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Black-crowned Night-Herons

After we'd finished walking around by the museum, we headed over to the Elfin Forest, which isn't really a forest (unless you're a tiny elf), but a wide expanse of coastal scrub with a few trails running through it. We didn't see anything too exciting there, but the views were very nice, and as we stood there looking, the fog in the distance cleared and we could see Morro Rock. Below are two photos of the Elfin Forest (in the second, the hill behind the trees is Morro Rock).

We did see a couple of lizards at the Elfin Forest. Below is a Western Fence-Lizard that just sat there, looking up at us.

Western Fence-Lizard

After the Elfin Forest, we headed over to the Sweet Springs Nature Preserve. It was a very pretty place with tall trees, waterways, and flowers. It looked like it would be amazing in the winter with all of the migrating ducks, and at low tide there would probably be a lot of different shorebirds. Below are two views.

We saw a couple of Western Pond Turtles, which are one of the few turtles native to this area. They are grayish-brownish-green with dark speckles on their bodies. Many populations are in decline, largely due to habitat loss. Below is a Western Pond Turtle sunning itself on a wooden plank.

Western Pond Turtle

There were three young Mallards swimming around together. Below are the three ducks.

Mallards

There were a couple of Great Egrets which, like the Snowy Egrets at the Natural History Museum, did not want to be near each other. Whenever one approached the other, they would squawk and chase each other. Below is one of the Great Egrets fishing.

Great Egret

There was a Red-tailed Hawk nest high up in a eucalyptus tree. One hawk stood there for a while, then took off and landed in another tree. Below are two photos. The first is the Red-tailed Hawk standing on the nest, and the second is of it sitting in the other tree.

Red-tailed Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Just as we were leaving, we saw a Mule Deer eating some plants not too far away. Below is a photo of the deer.

Mule Deer

After the nature reserve, we drove over to Morro Rock. There were hundreds of birds sitting on or flying around the rocks. There were gulls, vultures, pelicans, cormorants, and others flying everywhere. When we first arrived, it was mostly clear, though there was some fog creeping in. When we left, it was so foggy that we could hardly see Morro Rock. Below are two photos, the first of Morro Rock when we arrived, and the second when we left.

As we were driving into the parking lot, we saw several dark shapes bobbing in the water that we initially thought were ducks. However, when we walked back along the road, we were surprised to see that they were Sea Otters floating on their backs. A couple of them were spinning around in the water, while others were rubbing their faces with their paws or sleeping. They seemed to be very used to people and didn't even move when a tour boat came by. Below are four photos of the otters. The second photo is of a mother holding onto her baby.

Sea Otters

Sea Otters

Sea Otter

Sea Otter

There were Double-crested Cormorants all over the rock, in the water, and flying around. Below are two photos of cormorants sitting on Morro Rock.

Double-crested Cormorants

Double-crested Cormorants

There were a few different gull species hanging around. Most of the gulls in the parking lot were Western, but there were a few Heermann's and California Gulls as well. They were all just sitting or standing around on the ground and on top of cars. They left dirty footprints all over the hood of our car. Below are three photos. The first two are Heermann's Gulls and the third is a Western Gull.

Heermann's Gull

Heermann's Gull

Western Gull

White-crowned Sparrows are found all year round in the Morro Bay area, and we saw quite a few of them there, hopping around the parking lot and up on the stones. There were a couple of young sparrows following their parent around. Below are two photos of the sparrows. The first is of the parent sparrow, and second is of the two young sparrows.

White-crowned Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrows

We had heard that there were Peregrine Falcons nesting at Morro Rock, but we hadn't expected to actually see them. However, as we were standing there looking at gulls and cormorants, I looked up and saw the shape of a large falcon. It flew around screeching, and soon another one appeared. They landed together on the edge of a cliff and sat there for a while. Then, suddenly, they took off screeching. They flew around the rock a few times, soaring and diving and screeching loudly all the while. It's always amazing to see Peregrine Falcons, especially in flight. Peregrine Falcons are found throughout the world. In North America, they summer in northeast Canada and Alaska and winter in the southeastern United States and Mexico. They are found all year round in much of the southwest and all along the west coast. They can be found in much of eastern North America during migration. They are blue-gray above and pale below with barred bellies, legs, and tails. They are the fastest animals on the planet, capable of diving at 200 miles per hour. They're very spectacular birds. Below are four photos of the Peregrine Falcon pair.

Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine Falcons

Peregrine Falcon