Brown Pelican / San Francisco Bay, CA
Forster’s Tern / San Francisco Bay, CA
I, along with all the land here, am yearning for rain.
Here are a couple shots to inspire the clouds above (from my trip to the East Coast recently where I got to play in some snow).
American robin / Lancaster County, PA
Northern cardinal / Lancaster County, PA
Eastern bluebird / Lancaster County, PA
On a recent trip to the East Coast, I was lucky enough to get to see a very rare visitor to the contiguous United States – snowy owls!! I was able to see at least two different snowy owls that have apparently decided to overwinter in Lancaster County, PA (see this article), along with many others that have settled in for the winter in many mid-Atlantic States. Definitely a first for me! And what a sight.
Evidently there is a large population of the owls right now, and many have made their way further south this year than usual as part of what is termed an “irruption.” Typically found in the Arctic regions, these birds tend to like large open expanses that are similar to what is found there – like farmers’ fields and airports (the latter being not an ideal arrangement for any of the parties involved).
These birds I saw were in some farmers’ fields in the heart of Amish Country. The one pictured above was resting in the field right on the ground, it’s head swiveling from side-to-side every few seconds as it scanned for danger in it’s resting state. Eventually it started to wake up, at which time it played with a stick that was next to it and eventually flew up onto a fence post. I wasn’t as close as I had hoped to be, but it was still magical to see them in this environment – 2 foot tall owls (!!) that are almost completely white. Surreal – especially so with Amish horse and buggies driving by as I stood on the roadside watching.
There was another individual a couple of miles south in similar terrain, this owl was really sleeping deeply, and based on its dark, heavy barring it looked to be a juvenile.
As if all that weren’t enough, literally almost across the street from the first owl that I spotted there was a rough-legged hawk – another rare sighting of a bird that typically makes its home in the Arctic during the summer months but is sometimes spotted this far south in the wintertime. One of my favorite birds to see, their plumage as a species is quite varied but often has beautiful browns, tans, and black feathers highlighted by crisp white patches. They are similar to red-tailed hawks but slightly smaller.
I was really thankful to have gotten to see these owls!
Check out this link to a movie that someone took of two peregrine falcons diving at owls at the beach in Stone Harbor, NJ (one of my favorite places to be) – again, surreal!! Now that’s some Jersey Shore drama that I can watch.
Special thanks to my parents for their support in my multi-day snowy owl search!
i don’t have a lot of words right now. one morning at a place like this is the same as reading 1000 books, combined with touching 1000 textures, smelling 1000 smells, hearing 1000 sounds, tasting 1000 flavors, seeing 1000 treasures and feeling a 1000000 heart strings of life.
we were treated at the beginning of the morning just after sunrise to the five resident Otters foraging in the lagoon, and a visitor that I have never seen before in this immediate area … a golden Eagle!
the above picture was of a creature foreshadowing things to come – this red-legged Frog (?) was a precursor to SO many Frog tracks in the sand, along with many deer Mice and brush Rabbit tracks – appearing in the middle of bare sand dunes for reasons unexplained. I surmise the new moon allowed some expanded forays for these normally reclusive species who stick to the cover of the plants on the edges of the dunes during most times.
brush Rabbit tracks
Frog tracks (likely red-legged Frog)
river Otter scent marking on the dunes
Bobcat (on right) and some type of amphibian (Salamander) tracks on left – perhaps an Ensinitas?
deer Mouse tracks with tail drag
beautiful clear front tracks of a red-legged Frog (right) along with deer Mouse tracks on the left
great-horned Owl tracks leading into a take-off spot
great-horned Owl trail …
WOW! what a find!!!! the trail seen in the picture from the left is a great-horned Owl coming in for a landing (final landing spot seen in the center of the picture). you can see it’s wing and tail feather imprints in the sand. also you can see a Raccoon trail diagonally across the picture from lower right to left (occurring after the Owl), along with faint Frog tracks paralleling the Raccoon, and some two-legged tracks at the top.
another view of the great-horned Owl landing spot (along with feather marks in sand!!), and its trail leading away from the landing point – ultimately to a take-off spot around 10 yards away. again, you can see the Raccoon trail across the center, and many other tracks in the background.
great-horned Owl tracks
a beautiful black-tailed mule Deer trail
Sanderling trail (?) … though I’m open to other interpretations … and some faint deer Mice, Frog and insect trails – this was found in the lagoon sand dunes, far from the surf
more Sanderling (?) tracks
another (!) great-horned Owl trail in the sand dunes!
one of my favorites to see live (but seldom a dependable sight), there were plenty of north american river Otter tracks around
the turkey Vultures are always hanging around for a meal, and this (faint) track (among smaller shore bird tracks) showed that they are quick to come in on the remains of shore birds who are predated at the lagoon by a varied cast of opportunists …
Bobcat tracks in sediment / algae
Bobcat trail in sediment / algae
Bobcat tracks (nice shot of front and rear) – based on the size and the shape, we decided it was likely a male
likely a Bobcat scat – it contained almost purely feathers!
Osprey – one of the NINE raptor species that we were treated to seeing on this day (Osprey, northern Harrier, white-tailed Kite, Kestrel, peregrine Falcon, turkey Vulture, Red-tailed hawk, Ferruginous hawk, and golden Eagle!). My friends also saw a Cooper’s hawk as they were driving out.
Red-tailed hawk on dunes
these snowy Plovers, a highly endangered species, were using human tracks in the sand as wind breaks from the increasing gusts coming in from the ocean – it was pretty adorable
this peregrine Falcon was not welcome company for the Kestrel who was attempting to escort it out of the area
the “mud hen,” or Coot – top of the menu for many predators at this time of year here. when the Otters come by, they move to the shore and band together, waiting for them to pass
for reasons still not understood (by me), the Ravens were harassing the Red-tailed hawks as usual. perhaps it is for fun or to prove social status … fun, being something that the Ravens seem to incorporate into their lives all the time, evidenced by their frolicking in the air lifts caused by the oncoming winds into the dunes. seeing them play in the air is like watching Otters in the water, the energy is simply fun!
lots of black-tailed mule Deer around in the fields, where we also saw lots of Badger sign
Coyote tracks
a cool shot of some black-tailed mule Deer tracks in the sand (with some two different bird tracks on the right of the frame)
the only animal signs that I might have expected to see and didn’t on this day were the grey fox and jack rabbit. grey Fox sign isn’t often seen right in this area, but jack Rabbit is. curious.
what a great day out at Point Reyes National Seashore, this place is such a gift – may it be protected for all this diversity of life to thrive, always.
zd
There are too many photos and stories from yesterday to rush this tale, which I don’t have time at the moment to honor properly – but here are a few teaser photos until I do. Honestly, books could be written about what is found in any few square feet of space in places like Abbott’s Lagoon. The richness and density and variety of life in this area, along with many friendly substrates that record so much of it to see afterward, is just such a gift.
The above picture is of a Great-Horned Owl landing spot in sand – you can see where it landed, and in the foreground is the imprint of its wing feathers in the sand. You can also see the trail of it walking away, out of the frame to the top left of the picture … a trail of about 15 feet, where it took to the air again.
Black-Tailed Mule Deer Buck
Ferruginous Hawk
Bobcat tracks in algae/sediment
… in this odder month.
A few coyotes too on this beautiful day on the coast with sunshine and little wind with highs in the 60’s.
coyote and the Pacific
This otter, one of the five “regulars” at the lagoon, was chowing on a large bass. A few of them caught some large bass as a small number of wary coots looked on from the edge of the water (they are also on the menu). Usually we just see their sign on the banks, but lately I’ve been getting a show.
north american river otter
north american river otter
north american river otter
juvenile gull
harbor seal in the surf
I spotted a raft of sea lions heading south in the water at a fast clip – they were taking turns breaching a few hundred yards off shore, often totally coming out of the water. It seemed they were feeding, as opposed to avoiding a large shark (also a possibility, as this area is in the “red triangle” aka great-white shark breeding grounds).
breaching sea lion
sunset coyote
The rare spotted skunk made itself know a number of times one day a few weeks ago out at Point Reyes National Seashore … sadly one of them was road kill. But, it offered a chance to really check out it’s feet (which, consequently, I paid for by having a smelly hand for three days). They are smaller than the striped skunk, but equally as smelly. Very cute though.
spotted skunk
spotted skunk rear left foot
spotted skunk front feet
spotted skunk rear right foot
spotted skunk trail
spotted skunk trail
An otter day. And an otter moment. In a very odd month.
north american river otter
It was this one’s turn to use Nature’s all natural giant sand dune litter box.
north american river otter
north american river otters
a ferruginous hawk
This fella was really into the rut. The doe, not so much …
black-tailed mule deer buck and doe
He was catching some serious air, hot in pursuit.
black-tailed mule deer buck
None of us did so well in our pursuits this month, it would seem …
black-tailed mule deer buck
Morro shoulderband snail
Morro shoulderband snail and trail
receded lagoon bed
black-tailed mule deer ma and fawn
beautiful dune grasses
muskrat
red-tailed hawk
juvenile peregrine falcon
north american river otter tracks
feralzach 