Baywatching

Visit Monterey Bay to go birdwatching? Why not! Avoid the tourist packed Fisherman's Wharf and go to the neighboring pier instead. Yes, there were still some people and yes, lots of boats and yachts moored close by but birds there were! We got a lifer even!

Half asleep on the calm waters of the bay was a bird we had not seen before.

Cynthia: What bird is that?
Me: Scuzza me, but in old Monterey that's a Murre.

Common Murre

Then there were the usual gulls mostly Ring-billed and Western. But also an uncommon Heerman's.

Pelagic Cormorants were busy diving for fish.

No trip to Monterey would be complete without seeing those utterly adorable Sea Otters!

A surprise was when we saw a Pigeon Guillemot! We saw one several years ago on a distant cliff near Santa Cruz. But this one was so charmingly close!

Finally as we were about to leave...

Cynthia: What bird is that?
Me: Like the sea and sand, in a very public wonderland, a Loon at last!

Pacific Loon

Santa Cruisin'

Friday, the last day of our vacation, we decided to swing by Santa Cruz - a city by the ocean and famous for beach bums and surfers. We first visited Pogonip Open Space Preserve - a forest sanctuary on the hilly side of the city. It was here that we were able to finally get a shot of the Chestnut-backed Chickadee.

And we were even rewarded with our third lifer of the trip - a Hairy Woodpecker!

From Pogonip, we cruised the road hugging the ocean stopping occasionally to take in some interesting sights:

Our fourth lifer was also encountered here. The unusual Pigeon Guillemot:

From there it was a long, almost boring  5 hour drive home along Highway 5, punctuated every now and then by some suicidal bug smashing against our windshield.