A group of gulls way to the north on the beach included the usual Westerns, but also both Heermann’s and Glaucous-winged Gulls. There were some moderately large swells which would make it hard to see any sitting seabirds. The early morning light was bright on the close waves, but the fog I feared made it hard to see much further offshore. The air was already warm and although the fog was beautiful I was concerned that it would hamper my visibility.Īt the lower pond I quickly added new birds Brown Pelican, Great Egret, wigeon, mallard and other ducks, but the shorebirds that I had read about on ebird must have been at the southern end, too far for me to see. A distant White-tailed Kite disappeared into the ground fog. Patty was at the parking lot with my scope. I couldn’t find a cowbird, but maybe a smaller number of these parasitic birds is something to rejoice at after all. A flock of blackbirds in the bare ranch fields were mostly Tricoloreds, fantastic. A male Northern Harrier, glowing almost orange in the early sunshine, cruised over the coastal shrubs. I enjoyed the mostly downhill route to the Abbotts Lagoon parking lot. A Spotted Towhee called “waaanngh,” quickly followed by a Pacific Wren, then Song and Golden-crowned Sparrow. I rode down to the main entrance to the state park as the “dawn chorus” started above the sound of the still yipping coyotes. It was 6:50 am and time to get on my bike. My thoughts were interrupted by the soft, but distinctive staccato whistling of a Northern Saw-whet owl., what an incredible bonus. I was already thinking about the day ahead of me heading to the coast at Abbotts Lagoon and then the long ride back Las Gallinas and Hamilton, a birding “breakers to bay” on bicycle. The stars were fading as the predawn light brightened. Fortunately I did, the barking sound of a Northern Spotted Owl. I walked down the Jepson trail, hoping to hear a less common owl. I had hardly moved from my car in the parking lot above Tomales Bay State Park, In the background a Great Horned Owl also called. I was thrilled to be starting my Point Blue Conservation Science(PBCS) Birdathon in such a dramatic fashion.Īside from the sky display, several coyotes howled and called out in stereo all around me, adding to the sensory show. The celestial show was even more special in this fog prone coastal zone. Orion stood out in the southern sky while in the opposite direction an incredibly bright planet, Mars, glowed above a crescent moon. The stars were brilliant at 5:45 on the morning of October 13.
Thank you, David and all of your sponsors! NovemOne of our top fundraisers of our 42nd Annual Bird-A-Thon, David Wimpfheimer shares his day of birding for conservation below. Birding by Bicycle from the Breakers to the Bay
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