Pt Reyes National Seashore pt 2 – shark attack mystery!
WARNING – this blog has some pictures that might be disturbing to some viewers. Death is part of the natural world. But the pictures are intriguing, so read on!
After a morning of tracking on the land of the elk, we headed south to another area to check out some of the beaches. Laying on the beach was a not-long-dead female elephant seal that appeared to have been killed by a shark. I’m guessing great white shark based on the size of bites on this large seal, and because there are a lot of them along this coast, an area know as “the red triangle” due to its density of great whites. In the winter time this is part of their breeding grounds. Also, the sign at the entrance to the beach indicating that they were baiting and tagging great whites in the area during Dec and Jan. NOT my first choice for surfing.
shark warning sign posted at beach trailhead / Pt Reyes National Seashore Jan 2012
It was pretty intense to see – the blood had not yet fully coagulated and there was no smell from the carcass. There were a fair number of gull tracks around it and gulls were actively feeding on the carcass, but not a lot of tracks to indicate it had been there for more than a day. I’m thinking that it washed up on the last high tide, as it was resting by the last high tide mark – we were there around 3p and it appears last high tide was in the morning around 6:30a. None of the tracks were around it that one would expect from the night shift (coyotes, etc).
Tide prediction info for Pt Reyes:
01/29/2011 Sat 12:32AM LST 3.0 L 06:31AM LST 6.2 H 02:03PM LST -0.3 L 08:56PM LST 4.5 H
My boots are a size 10 1/2, one of which I placed in the frame for scale. You can see on the photos that the seal appears to have multiple LARGE bite marks that look very shark-like on its body. One of the snaps you can see shredding on the skin like – well, shark teeth had raked through it! The one that was easily measurable looked like at least a 14″ bite, some on the belly looked like they could have been bigger.
female elephant seal - with shark bites? / Pt Reyes National Seashore Jan 2012
 apparent shark bite on female elephant seal #1 / Pt Reyes National Seashore Jan 2012 |
 apparent shark bite on female elephant seal #2 / Pt Reyes National Seashore Jan 2012 |
 apparent shark bite on female elephant seal / Pt Reyes National Seashore Jan 2012 |
One mystery was that its skull was missing. It’s head was still there, as if a hood made of skin, but no skull. Also, it’s curious that more of it wasn’t eaten while it was in the ocean. Could other elephant seals have made an attempt at defending it? Also, there were no vultures feeding on it, though they were around in the sky in the general area. Same with ravens. There didn’t seem to be any vulture tracks around it, or raven tracks nearby (though perhaps they were obliterated by gull tracks). Why weren’t they feeding? Had they already had their fill? Was it too fresh that they didn’t smell it yet due to slight preservation from salt water? Tainted? Interesting questions.
I also wonder if the four surfers that we saw leaving the beach area had read the sign about great whites, or seen the shark-bite-ridden carcass. Perhaps there were five surfers when they first arrived …
Pt Reyes National Seashore pt 1 – elk and badger show
Any day at Pt Reyes National Seashore is a good day. So it was on Sunday.
This day started with some friends at a tracking club at Tomales Point, the place where in 1978 native Tule elk were reintroduced onto the land. The cold wind belied the sun that would eventually heat up the land to feel like a day in April, not the end of January. As the elk (aka wapiti) have grown in numbers, so has the success of the native plants and the entire coastal sage scrub ecosystem where they live. Because the elk are separated from the dairy ranch land to the south by a fence, it’s easy to see the stark difference between the land where dairy cows roam versus where the elk roam. Whereas the cows depend on non-native annual grasses for grazing, leading to the typical closely cropped pastureland with little vegetative variety, the elk’s feeding habits compliment the coastal sage scrub ecosystem and promote biological diversity. In the 30 plus years since their reintroduction the landscape has come alive, a lot of it now covered in low growing scrubby plants and bushes that provide habitat for creatures of all sizes. The dairy ranch land does however provide a lot of habitat for gophers, voles and other small mammals, making it a feasting ground for raptors and other predators like coyotes and bobcats.
And I do like cheese. On my pizza. So it’d be nice to make space for both cows and elk.
Last time that I had been to the area was in October (the elk pictures below are from October 2011) – it was during the mating season when the big males are protectively herding their harems of females away from rival males, with whom sometimes they clash with their giant horns. That time of year they are also bellowing out their haunting whale-song-like calls, a sound that reverberates across the landscape and instantly emphasizes being in the presence of wild giants. I feel instantly transported to an ice age meadow with giant elk, mastodons, and wooly rhinos meandering around. How they hold their heads up with such adornments on top is mind-boggling. And a testament to their strength. They are one of the largest deer in the world.
bull elk Oct 2011 / Pt Reyes National Seashore
That day in October the elk came very close to me and I was able to watch them for a long time. As the males were playing the rut game, females with young were taking good care of their “little” ones.
 female grooming young male elk / Pt Reyes National Seashore Oct 2011 |
 female elk / Pt Reyes National Seashore Oct 2011 |
 juvenile male elk / Pt Reyes National Seashore Oct 2011 |
But this day was not about the elk, it seemed. Their tracks and sign was everywhere, but it seemed that the high energy of the rutting season was behind us and the herds lingered in a seemingly relaxed manner far from the roads and people. Instead, our attention was drawn almost immediately to a large amount of badger sign, including recent digs and burrows complete with a few fairly clear badger tracks. No badger sightings, but it’s exciting to know that they are there. The fresh dirt around the burrows/digs also made great substrate to see other tracks from creatures such as gray foxes, bobcats, and coyotes which had come to investigate the holes.
The search goes on for a sighting of a wild badger, long-tailed weasel and mountain lion (I’d settle for seeing them separately, I suppose) …
merlin
no, not the wizard.
well, i suppose it could be a wizard, really – who am i to say.
but it certainly is, at least to my presumably human eyes, visibly appearing as the falcon called a merlin (previously also know by its colloquial name, “the pigeon hawk”) – or Falco columbarius to the learned, let’s-really-put-things-in-a-box-and-take-the-magical-mystery-out-of-life types. <wink wink smile>
i’ve been having a thrill spending twilights with this small falcon (about the size of a crow) that seems to have taken up its wintering residence in the hills above town where I live. every night just after sunset, the bird alights on top of the same perch to sit – not far from where i spend as many sunsets as possible, myself sitting on a rock on that same ridge, to watch the sun disappear for the day over the coastal range to the west. merlins are a somewhat rare species, so seeing one is a treat. to get to spend so many evenings with one has been very special.
during late december i was sharing twilight with the nearly full moon, the planet jupiter (which has been bright in the eastern sky after dusk), and the merlin. all was in alignment.
waxing moon, jupiter and a perched merlin / Sonoma Co, CA
it seems to be soaking in the last bit of light in a “relaxed manner” on its perch. which appears – to onlookers less concerned about becoming a meal (aka me) – to actually be very guarded, alert, and a bit anxious behavior. Not very relaxed, to an onlooking human. That is unless you know how the bird acts when it isn’t relaxed – which is INTENSE. a bird this size, though a predator, has many other predators to avoid, especially as day transitions to night and there is an overlap of “shifts.” Both daytime and crepuscular hunters are about at twilight, meaning plenty of hawks, falcons, and hungry owls just waking up with empty bellies, so it certainly needs to be aware. Though I wouldn’t say it FEARS anything. this is a notoriously tough bird species and a very aware one as well. big attitude in a small feathery package.
i feel extremely fortunate for it to allow me to sit so close to it on its perch (well, me on the ground … usually) while it preens and scrapes its beak before flying into the same bay laurel tree to roost each night.
 merlin / Sonoma Co, CA |
 merlin / Sonoma County, CA |
notice the very long toes – this is a bird that takes other birds right out of the sky in flight. it is a trait shared with other primarily-bird-eating raptors such as other falcons and the accipiter family. those toes immobilize flying prey until the bird can dispatch it with a spinal-cord-severing bite to the neck. it’s been hard to get a snap of him in daylight (I am guessing “him” based on his smaller size and streaked belly), all these shots are after the sun has set (contributing to the grainy quality of the photos). he probably is hunting all through the valley above the russian river and only returns to his perch and roost at night, since i rarely see him during the day when i get the chance to walk up on the ridge. he keeps his work and personal life separate, evidently. this area has a nice mix of chapparal, oak woodland, and riparian zones with lots of birds to feast on – a great place for a merlin to spend the winter.
merlin at twilight / Sonoma Co, CA
Thank you merlin.
great-horned owl breakfast
We stopped in to check on our great-horned owl friends at Tilden Regional Park this evening. The cries of hungry baby owls have long since ceased and I’m guessing they’ve gone (or been escorted by the parents) away to find their own place in the world. The adults are probably enjoying some time alone, building up their energy reserves and getting ready to settle in for the next round of owl-making. We saw this male (guessing based on size) just after sunset bringing a large breakfast snack back towards the grove of trees that seems to be the core of their home territory. A treat to impress the lady perhaps?
great-horned owl with prey / Tilden Regional Park CA
west county raptor tour
I went on an impromtu west Sonoma County raptor tour (and a bit of Marin Co as well) with a fellow raptor enthusiast on Thursday. This unusually warm weather seems to have dispersed the birds so they aren’t packed as densely in their usual winter spots. But we still had some nice encounters on this day, and if the birds weren’t out in force, surely the sun was with temps in the 60’s …
red-tailed hawk / north coast Marin Co CA #1
This red-tail was perched on a fence post right by the road, enjoying the setting sun, when she obliged us by modeling for a few close-up pics. There were large numbers of red-tailed hawks and red-shouldered hawks today, as well as kestrels, but the FEHA’s were hiding from us as were the eagles. The weather has even the birds confused, with many of the red-tails soaring in pairs high above in the blue sky, doing their aerial dances and courtship rituals ahead of schedule. Any clutches laid this early in the year in nests could be at risk if the winter rains eventually do come.
 |
 |
| red-tailed hawk / north coast Marin Co, CA #2 | red-tailed hawk / north coast Marin Co, CA #3 |
After a while, she did give us a bit of a stare when she felt it was time for us to move along …
red-tailed hawk / north coast Marin Co, CA #4
kites and owls and owls and …
golden gate bridge and fennel, view from East Bay / Berkeley
though the early-rising barn owl has been an amazing site, this place in the East Bay has a lot going on BEFORE sunset as well …
burrowing owl East Bay Berkeley CA
there are some burrowing owls that take up winter residence here in the East Bay, and the white-tailed kites also seem to love all the insects, gophers, ground squirrels, and voles that this landscape supports to feed the array of aerial predators.
white-tailed kites
 |
 |
| white-tailed kite #2 | white-tailed kite #3 |
this place has a lot of marshland and aquatic bird life, the great blue heron makes a good living here as well.
 great blue heron |
 great blue heron |
Not a bad spot to be. Whatever fur, hair, scales or feathers you wear.
white-tailed kite and sunset by golden gate bridge
A few more shots of the barn owl that has been getting up “early,” here seen flying with the last bits of sunlight on the bay in the background.
 barn owl over East Bay |
 barn owl over East Bay 2 |
 barn owl over East Bay 3 |
zd
holiday eagles
adult bald eagle Lancaster County, PA
Growing up in southeastern PA, it was a truly rare sight to see ANY birds of prey due to the lingering effects of DDT. Not so anymore – this chapter of the environmental story has a happy ending. Bald eagle real estate is in such demand in southeastern PA that most of the prime spots along the Susquehanna River and other major water ways are taken, so pairs have resorted to nesting near smaller agricultural use ponds which would seem hardly sufficient for birds of this size. But they are there – and thriving, it seems.
adult bald eagle by nest, Lancaster County, PA
This particular pair built a nest last year and we were fortunate to see both the adults and one juvenile, presumably from the brood last year. As we were going to look at the nest one day, another juvenile from another nest flew over my parent’s house (another nest because it is a “second year bird,” based on its plumage – meaning it was hatched a year and a half ago, before this nest was built) …
 |
 |
| 2nd year juvenile bald eagle snap 1 | 2nd year juvenile bald eagle snap 2 |
We shared a few sunsets with one or two of the adults, and it was an amazing gift. You can feel the expansive energy of these creatures, nothing escapes their awareness and they sit with a very large presence over the landscape.
adult bald eagle Lancaster County, PA
water
we haven’t had much of it here in Northern California lately. but recently I was in Pennsylvania and this goose feather quenched some thirst as it sat upon a creek.
This one was near the eagles’ nest. More on that later …
night owl
barn owl and golden gate bridge
Sometimes you don’t have to go far to see amazing things. Actually, you never do. It’s just a matter of LOOKING. As it has been here in the East Bay, just minutes from where I stay. I feel very fortunate to witness it.
barn owl by berkeley east bay
It’s the time of the owls.
barn owl east bay berkeley
As I understand it, barn owls don’t typically wake up and fly out until well after dark. Lately though, this particular barn owl has been coming out in this warm Bay area weather just after sunset, allowing me to get some photographs and share a few moments of the hunt. It’s something you never forget. The owl soundlessly brushes over the landscape like a gently held paint brush – sometimes fluttering, sometimes gliding – then dropping down onto its unsuspecting prey.
 |
 |
 |
| barn owl on the hunt | barn owl on the hunt 2 | barn owl on the hunt 3 |
dark morph RT
I have been seeing more (or aware of more?) dark morph red-tailed hawks lately. This amazingly beautiful bird was right on a power line tower by the road as I was speeding by at 55mph, but I turned around to check it out. I try not to stress birds when I see them by getting too close – it’s amazing, as soon as you turn attention on them, even from even a far distance, they are often stressed unless you are careful about how you control your energy and focus. I observed this one from outside my vehicle for a few minutes, from a distance, and it then flew towards me and circled above for one or two cycles. So beautiful.
dark morph red-tailed hawk
 dark morph red-tailed hawk |
 dark morph red-tailed hawk |
 dark morph red-tailed hawk |
I consider it an honor and a gift if they choose to be photographed, or even viewed, at a close distance. This one seemed to want to say hello.
thanksgiving
All the turkeys have taken cover or are already hiding in an oven, fryer, or bbq … but this fellow was up early trying to dry out from the heavy rains and catch his own thanksgiving day brunch. I was thankful to see him.
a wet adult red-shouldered hawk
aerie of eagles
adult golden eagle
That all changed for me in the beginning of November when I made my first trip to San Benito County, located just south of the San Francisco Bay Area, where right now there is an incredible density of golden eagles, ferruginous hawks, and other raptors who seem to have come there to spend the winter, or have paused there to feed on their way further south. Presumably the allure is the huge number of ground squirrels that are now being displaced from their burrows as farmers start to disc plow their fields. San Benito County is covered by a lot of grassland, chaparral, and farmland and is known as a prime birding spot, but the gathering of so many golden eagles this year seems to be a very special occurrence. There have been reports of there being up to 30 golden eagles visible in the sky at one time.
golden eagle over grasslands
On both days that I’ve spent there, there was seldom more than a five minute period when there weren’t golden eagles and ferruginous hawks in the sky around us, along with the more ubiquitous red-tailed hawks, kestrels, turkey vultures, and ravens.
It was also an amazing chance to see the varied plummages of the ferruginous hawk, our largest hawk here in the U.S. (slightly larger than the red-tailed hawk). Generally these birds are only seen in CA during the winter after they have migrated south from their summer breeding grounds. Their most typical plummage is composed of almost completely white undersides with some rust/rufous highlights and streaking, particularly on the legs, and a darker top side that contains greys, whites, and rust colors. But some of the birds have very dark coloring (called a dark morph) meaning their feathers are almost all a dark brown. Then of course there is everything in between. Absolutely beautiful birds.
 adult ferruginous hawk 1 (light morph) |
 adult ferruginous hawk 2 (light morph) |
 adult ferruginous hawk 3 (dark morph) |
adult ferruginous hawk 4 (light morph)
In addition to golden eagles we saw some adult and juvenile bald eagles – one of the juvenile bald eagles flew DIRECTLY over me and seemed to be checking me out as I was snapping photos. It was a great opportunity to see the differences between the juvenile golden eagles and the juvenile bald eagles.
 juvenile bald eagle |
 juvenile golden eagle |
It was some beautiful open space, some of the areas still had some of the native oak woodland trees and plants that hadn’t been cleared for grazing land or farming. Along a creek that wound through the hills by the road there was some nice riparian habitat, and in there I heard wild pigs and saw a bobcat.
 CA ground squirrel |
 valley oak tree silhouette |
 loggerhead shrike |
 adult golden eagle |
 juvenile golden eagle |
roasted bay nuts a delicious success
The experiment of roasting the bay nuts was a success – they were a bit overdone, but they tasted delicious! As I chew them, they have a “burnt popcorn” taste (in a good way) which then evolves into a more mellow buttery textured taste having notes of coffee and bitter chocolate. Amazing!!
I preheated oven to 350, then put them in the oven on a large cookie sheet for 30 minutes, shaking/stirring them every 2-3 minutes. Next time I would go with an oven temp of 400, stir a bit less and shoot for a cooking time of 20 min in hopes that it would remove some of the burnt popcorn taste. Perhaps drying them prior to cooking for a longer period of time might make them taste even better (I only dried them for about a week).
day sleeper
I happened upon this sleeping beauty in the Alexander Valley last Friday …
barn owl
I had an amazing hike in the Alexander Valley that day on a ridge that I had never been on before. The views were astounding – peak elevation of 1500 ft allowed a view of the entire Alexander Valley to the east and north, and an amazing view of Mount St Helena cropping up out of the valley to the west.
As a bonus, this CA Bay Laurel tree along the way had HUNDREDS of recently dropped bay nuts laying below it. I’ve been hoping to find some this Fall so that I could try roasting them as a tasty treat – or, if they don’t turn out well, to give away as Christmas presents.
CA Bay Laurel tree
This effervescent tree provides a lot of food and shelter for wildlife and also historically for native people (as well as tools, such a bow staves). The leaves can be used in cooking dishes similar to its relative of culinary fame, though it is MUCH stronger (so it needs to be used in much smaller quantities). The nuts look like small avocados (and it is actually related to the avocado, I’ve read), with a green fleshy exterior covering a large nut. The nuts can be roasted after the flesh is removed and once they are allowed to dry, and the result (if done properly) is a delicious treat that looks and tastes like a mix between a coffee bean and a cocoa bean.It can actually be ground up and used to make a coffee-like beverage or a substance similar to chocolate (though I’ve not done this).
The nut contains a stimulant similar to caffeine, so it can only be consumed in small quantities. I’m looking forward to roasting these little gifts and seeing how they taste!! I love this tree.
finally! a new post
It’s been too long!! It’s REALLY hard for me to spend any extra time in front of a computer during Autumn, so I haven’t posted here in a while, but now that I have less daylight to wander I can start sharing the bounty of what has been a spectacular couple of months.
This is my favorite time of year here in Northern California … the weather, the quality of light, the warm nights and clear mornings, and the changing cast of birds as the migration and dispersal of this year’s young occur. The hot weather from a late summer has departed along with the abundant smell of tarweed, fennel and coyote bush, and is now replaced with cool, crisp air and the smell of crushed grapes, burning wood, and other odoriferous crops (who’s legality is a matter of differing opinions).
Today I was able to spend another amazing day by Jenner in Sonoma County, just above the Russian River where it flows out into the Pacific Ocean. The red-tailed hawks were not as prevalent in the skies today, presumably due to the sustained 25 mph winds, but they were hanging out on the low posts.
red-tailed hawk
The resident red-tails were staying busy harassing ferruginous hawks which seem to have chosen this area to spend the winter, and the resident kestrels were also out in numbers.
female kestrel
Lots of Western bluebirds, European starlings, and Western meadowlarks feeding in the grazed cattle fields along the coast …
Western meadowlark
As I left my clifftop perch after an amazing sunset unobscured by fog or clouds over a very calm ocean, I walked over lichen covered rocks with the full moon and Jupiter by its side both leading my way back towards my vehicle. Within the rocks I found some left-overs from the local winged predators.
full moon and Jupiter over lichen covered rocks
king’s canyon np and sentinel 77
It has been said that John Muir enjoyed King’s Canyon above Yosemite, and I can understand why. And he felt that way even BEFORE all the humans swarm into Yosemite every summer.
I’m convinced.
King's Canyon NP - view to the East on Kings Canyon Scenic Byway
You’d think I took that shot from an airplane (except of course for my shadow!), amazingly we weren’t even up at the highest point. The road is a bit harrowing.
One of the best experiences was at night, right by Sentinel campground near Cedar Grove, after midnight on the night after a full moon. A large dead Jeffrey Pine stood encircled by cedars, black oaks, doug firs, and other trees – but still reigned supreme in the moonlight. It was like walking in a dream.
sentinel 77
Roaring River Falls was spectacular, especially the emerald pools of water that sat below – they held many gifts.
We also managed to see the grove of giant sequoia trees called Grant Grove, home to one of the largest trees and living things on Earth – named the General Grant Tree. Time seems to slow down when walking under these giants, and you can’t help but feel transported back in time – fully expecting to see a dinosaur lurch out from behind one of these incomprehensibly large trees. Pictures can’t capture their enormity.
One last shot of sentinel 77:
tilden owls
The young owls are still hanging around at Tilden Regional Park in the hills above Berkeley, but they are starting to spread out. We caught them just at sunset as a heavy layer of fog was permeating inland.
great-horned owl perched atop pine
This young one teetered at the top of this tree on a seemingly impossibly small perch for a bird so big, begging for food from its parents in its distinctive great-horned owl voice before launching off towards the grove of trees that holds the nest and its siblings.
great-horned owl take-off
crater lake
Wizard Island in Crater Lake, volcano in a volcano
It is completely understandable that Natives who lived, and live, around this magical place restricted who could view the lake, a body of water that fills the cavity left behind by the catastrophic volcanic explosion, then collapse, of Mount Mazama. Staring into this giant cauldron that holds one of the ten deepest lakes of the world, from nearly vertical cliffs 1000 feet above the surface that seem to want to pull you down into the water, one is simply mesmerized. In a slightly uncomfortable way, feeling strange emotions arise seemingly unwarranted and unexplained. Some spawned from the beauty and magnitude of the place, some from the left-over energy that exists after something so cataclysmic happened, even if it was just almost 8000 years ago. There was a feeling of uneasiness I felt there. How could the land NOT retain an energetic imprint left-over from what had occurred there?
The water is a deep but vibrant blue, but it is CONSTANTLY changing, sometimes appearing purple, white, orange, yellow. It reflects the sky above in its clean, pure, and clear waters – perhaps it is reflecting more than we know.
 view from East rim of Crater Lake |
 view of Crater Lake from the South Rim |
view from South Rim at Crater Lake
At its maximum the lake is six miles across. It is unreal to look at the edges of the rim of the original mountain that surround the lake at an average of 7000 or 8000 feet above sea level, and realize that you are peering into the center of what had once been a giant volcano which stood over 14,000 feet above sea level. It’s unfathomable that a piece of rock could disappear, or relocate, so quickly. You can see the profile of where the mountain would have once stood – yet, there before you is this emptiness. As I was leaving, there was a curious cloud formation that formed above the lake at what could be imagined to be where the peak once stood – it looked like a volcanic plume of ash, exploding and rising high into the sky above. Unforgettable.
mimic volcanic eruption in the clouds above Crater Lake
faux sky Crater Lake
magic / Crater Lake
above Crater Lake, West Rim
Wizard Island in Crater Lake
into the land of the volcanoes
Wow. Volcanoes, pumas, ospreys, red-tails and eagles – I don’t think it gets much better. Words and pictures really can’t capture the landscape and experiences on my recent trip up through Northern California, central Oregon, and central Washington. But I’ll give it a try.
On the northbound drive on I-5 just before we veered off on US Route 97, Mount Shasta greeted us in the last bit of light from the day with a peek at its snowy peak , denoting the end of the dry, hot Central Valley of California, welcoming us up into the cooler mountainous high desert lands and giving us just a glimpse of what was to come. The land of the volcanoes on the eastern side of the Pacific Ring of Fire, known as the Cascade Volcanic Arc.
Mount Shasta (pic from return trip)
high desert red-tailed hawk
I saw some familiar friends along the way – in the flat, dry scrubland scape of Oregon’s high desert, perched on a lone tree, was a red-tailed hawk dressed in some unique plumage. At first I thought its head was bald, but then realized that it was just a very light color. Perhaps the sun exposure in the high altitude desert caused this coloration, perhaps it was partially due to its molting feathers. It’s eyes were a brilliant orange color, and it’s body feathers had brownish-orange spots woven into its back. It seemed like I was dreaming to watch this beautiful creature, as its shape and color seemed to shift with each movement it made.
The Columbia River Gorge in WA is a long winding monumental cut in the high desert landscape, a drastic change to the relatively flat and dry land that extends as far as the eye can see.
Columbia River Gorge near Vantage, WA
After cooling off with a swim in the river, a bald eagle soured overhead with a fresh catch in its talons. It spiraled up towards the sun until I couldn’t see it.
bald eagle by Columbia River near Vantage, WA
It turned out to be one of three bald eagles that I saw on the trip, the last one being a first year juvenile bald eagle by Mt Shasta on the return trip. There were more red-tailed hawks than I could count, and many many osprey nests as well. Passing through Klamath Basin, one of the premier birding spots in the Western US, we saw large numbers of birds including white pelicans, always a treat. I also saw my first nighthawk in Tumalo State Park, near Bend, OR, flitting above my campground on night three as the sun set – just after finding what appeared to be a mountain lion track not far from the campsite. Ironic because we had mounted on our dashboard our version of the “dashboard Jesus,” our official trip Protector and Guide – a mountain lion!
We seemed to find osprey nests everywhere in Klamath Basin around the lakes, and one morning we were treated to quite a show.
osprey and baby at nest in Klamath Basin
Except for a western detour around Mt Shasta, all the other visible volcanoes were constant companions in our view to the West. One would come into view as we drove north, then slowly make its way around and behind us over a period of hours as we traveled at 70 or 80 mph. Most of these volcanoes are over 14,000 feet. You could feel their life as they stood like sentries over the landscape that they’ve helped to shape over millennium.
Mount Adams in WA
Then there is Crater Lake, located in Oregon at Crater Lake National Park … and it deserves an entry all to itself.
vole baby vole (and more owl pics)
How many times does a man just “happen” upon baby voles in his path? Well, evidently at least twice – for some.
A few years ago I came upon some baby voles at Lake Sonoma on a trail as I was paused watching the sunset. I heard them first – their tiny, barely audible squeaks were undeniably the sounds of young animals begging, and I eventually found them on the hillside behind me. After watching them for a bit, I left them and walked for a while, thinking their mother would return to satiate their cries with her milk. But as I came back to the spot, they were still crying – so I made a nest for them to shelter them from the cold and from the obvious view of predators, and gave them a blessing to find their mother and survive the night. The next morning, not able to accept the unknown outcome, I returned to the lake – one had survived, but it was obvious that the mother was not returning (probably it had been eaten), so I took the remaining baby and brought it to the visitor’s center at the lake for them to take to wildlife rehab.
Most people don’t even know what a vole is (it’s a small rodent that looks similar to a field mouse, a very important part of the food chain in healthy ecosystems in many parts of the world). They tend to be a large part of the menu for many animals in this area including coyotes, bobcats, hawks, owls, foxes, snakes and more.
Sunday night we walked up to a trail head at Tilden Regional Park and came upon two people that were standing over a baby vole that they had just found on the heavily used path. It looked healthy but its eyes were not yet open, so I decided it was best to move it off the asphalt surface which was used by many bikers, walkers, runners and dogs. I was hoping the mother was still around (i.e. not a meal yet) and would find it if we put it back in the grasses by the trail.
vole baby #1
As I scouted for signs of the nest or a good place to put it, we heard another one making soft squeaking noises a few feet away, also on the asphalt, so I grabbed that one too. It was even smaller and also still had unopened eyes.
2 baby voles
We decided to survey for any more, and within a minute or so we found a third one in the grass by the trail! At this point I had a handful of voles, and was a bit confused with exactly what to do with them. We WERE going to see the owls … hmmm. Owl offering?
3 baby voles
I joke, I joke.
We wouldn’t give them to the owls.
WE ate them.
Actually, we decided to get them a little distance off the heavily used path, but not too far so that if their mother returned she could find them. Since their eyes were still not opened, they were probably not weaned yet and would need their mother for food. We hiked for a while and when we returned after dark, there was no sign of them. I tend to be of the opinion that it is better to hope their mother returned to feed them, and if not, that the natural way is a better fate for them – survival or not – than the shock of being toted somewhere in a car to try to be rehab’d. Good luck little voles.
But the night was not over. It was to the voles’ eternal partner that we went, the great-horned owl family that we’ve been following. On this evening we were able to position ourselves in a good spot by the trees frequented by the two or three fledglings, and as the darkness cascaded down around us in the grove of trees, the young ones began their loud begging in the trees around us.
great-horned owl fledgling 1
We could feel the energy of the young night creatures as we took our positions in the blackberry and poison oak underbrush under the pine trees that they call home. They had some inquisitive looks for us before they made their way off to harass their parents for their next meal.
great-horned owl fledgling 2
There was one that seemed to be calling just on the other side of a tree that I was standing behind. I maneuvered into blackberry bush to my left just enough so that I could get a look around the tree that was five feet in front of me. Lo! (I needed to use the term “lo” someday) There in the next tree, about 10 feet past the one I was peering around, was one of the fledglings at just above eye level.
great-horned owl fledgling 3
An amazing gift to be in the presence of these magnificent birds.
During our hikes earlier we also had some visits from our friends, the red-tails – not far from the owl grove, south in a eucalyptus covered hilltop, a red-tailed hawk family finished their hunting for the day.
red-tailed hawk hunting at sunset
owl grove
The past year I’ve had a lot of intense experiences with owls, and it seems the owl and baby bird sightings continue. In the form of owl babies. Tilden Regional Park in the mountains above Berkeley is an easy place to get away from the sensory overload of city life, it’s close-by and a wonderful place to immerse yourself in a natural landscape. And it has an amazing variety of plants, birds and other wildlife. At one particular spot, on different occasions, we’ve spotted great-horned owls, barn owls, Western screech owls, and Northern saw-whet owls. But in the Spring, this particular spot became the sole domain of a great-horned owl family. After a few nights in a row of seeing and hearing them, I decided to do an early morning expedition to try to get some better light for photographs.
adult great-horned owl just after dawn
During the end of winter when we walked up here, we could hear the hooting calls echo through the cavern-like pine trees at the top of the wind and fog buffeted hilltop. These sounds have now been replaced by the screeching, begging calls of juvenile great-horned owls, evidence of a successful nesting season – and a non-stop prodding of the parents to keep filling their hungry bellies. The parents are busy from just after sunset until after dawn each day making sure the young ones get fed, and based on their incessant calling, it seems their job is never done. There are at least two fledglings, possibly a third. In the fading (or dawning) light of day it’s hard to see, much less photograph, these large and beautiful birds.
two fledgling great-horned owls
The fledglings are still very fuzzy looking, and though they can fly short distances, they still don’t have their adult plumage or hunt for themselves yet. They do, however, have their parents’ extremely intense stare. When one of these creatures stares directly at you with those large yellow eyes, you never forget it.
As I made my way through the blackberry and poison oak undergrowth of the forest that they call home, I came face-to-face with this VERY stealthy squirrel. Not the safest neighborhood for a squirrel – it was directly under a tree that the owls frequent. I expect the next time I see him he might be in owl pellet form.
fledgling great-horned owl
To behold their silent but huge presence glide from the trees on wings five feet across in the dying light of day evokes what I would bet to be the same feeling as seeing a ghost float out of the shadows right in front of you. Brief immersion into a world most humans don’t usually see, and afterwards lingering doubts, leaving one wondering if it really even happened.
sun rise moon set
Fantastic morning views of the sun rise and moon set with Mt St Helena in the background to the East and the coastal range to the West, sitting atop the ridge above Healdsburg.
California quail family shared the first rays with me on a rock of their own …
feralzach 