Yesterday, 12 October 2024, was October Big Day, an annual community science event hosted by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and their eBird app. Each Big Day is a snapshot of bird diversity, and the October date is timed to catch migratory birds. The goal is to record how many of each species you observe, either…
Birds
Black and white
One of my favorite seabirds is the pigeon guillemot (Cepphus columba). According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithololgy, pigeon guillemots should be present along the California coast year-round, but I seem to see them only during the summer breeding season, when they forage close to shore. Having first to incubate eggs, and then to feed…
An inadvertent voyeur
A week ago I was with a group of students at Moss Landing, where we spent a couple of hours watching birds on our way down to Fort Ord Natural Reserve for an overnight camping trip. The visit was well-timed: we arrived at low tide so there was a lot of mud flat exposed, meaning…
Shooting white birds
Since the fields at the marine lab flooded, birds have been gathering in the vernal pools. It’s frog-hunting season for the herons and egrets! This morning there was a group of about a dozen egrets were stalking prey in the area near the old road, and I finally had my camera with me to take…
Brunch al fresco
It feels like forever since I’ve checked in on the cormorants at Natural Bridges. I simply haven’t had time to mosey down there, take a gajillion photos, and then deal with them on the computer. But today I thought I’d give myself until lunch time to play with photos and such, before I hit the…
Springtime in the sea and in the air
This week was my spring break, and although I have more than enough work to catch up on, I decided that each day I would spend a few hours doing something fun before or after getting stuck in with adult responsibilities. I didn’t set up formal plans, but knew I wanted to collect a plankton…
New kids on the rock
For the second year in a row (that I am aware of, anyway), the Brandt’s cormorants (Urile penicillatus) have claimed the last remaining arch at Natural Bridges as a breeding rookery. I remember being so excited at “discovering” them in 2021. Anyway, they’re back again, building piles of algae into nests. BTW, if you’re keeping…
Great Backyard Bird Count, Day 2
Date/time: Saturday 2022-02-19, 08:00-09:30Location: Natural Bridges State ParkWeather: Chilly (8.3C), as sun hadn’t yet risen above the roofs of the houses nearby; very light breeze For Day 2 of the 2022 Great Backyard Bird Count (GBBC) I went to Natural Bridges, not suspecting that I would be able to ID and count so many species…
Great Backyard Bird Count 2022
This weekend, 18-21 February 2022, are the four days of the Great Background Bird Count. This is a global community science project in which people go out and document bird life. The beauty of a project like this is that is available to anyone who has a window to the outside. Of course, anybody can…
Butterflies
I go to Natural Bridges quite often, to play in and study the rocky intertidal. But at this time of year, before the low tides really get useful, there is another reason to visit Natural Bridges—to see the monarch butterflies (Danaus plexippus). Natural Bridges State Park is a butterfly sanctuary, providing a safe overwintering spot…