had the most enjoyable and educational day today, November 16, 2005, on Barbara
and Ernie Eddy's
Montaņa de Oro Bluff
Nature Walk.
Click the thumbnails below to see larger images - images are semi-self-describing to some extent by their file names.
Nineteen delighted participants
had the most enjoyable and educational day today, November 16, 2005, on Barbara
and Ernie Eddy's
Montaņa de Oro Bluff
Nature Walk.
The group walked for several hours all of the way from the trailhead at Spooner's Cove to the southern boundary of the park property and back.
The old Spooner's Cove ship loading ramp was
evidenced by this rusty anchor point seen at the water's edge
.
Ernie pointed out that the fragile Sea Palms
at the water's edge somehow survived the crashing waves experienced at today's
high tide.
There were many birds along the way, including
these beautiful Black Turnstones
,
Black Oystercatchers and Cormorants (both Double-crested and Pelagic)
,
and a Say's phoebe
.
Barbara Eddy
kept up a fast pace
,
but everyone was so interested
in everything that we often had to be reminded to keep up
.
The many rock formations
along the way kept the eyes busy in between the harbor seals
,
the Sea otters
,
and a Coyote
.
A quick pop into Coralina Cove
proved to us that one needs to check the tide charts before doing serious
tide-pooling.
Ernie explained that these tar seeps
are naturally occurring formations, and not the result of pollution.
We were welcomed at the southern end of the
trail with this charming sign
reminding us that someday soon perhaps there will be access to the pristine
property just further on.
On the return trip we saw the obligatory
California Poppy
and a hovering American Kestrel
.
We were unsure of the Kestrel's
identification, but we encountered Steve Schubert leading a
Camp Keep outing, and he helped us out.
Thanks Barbara and Ernie Eddy, for what had to be one of the best-received walks of the year.
Postscript: Steve Schubert photographed this bobcat near the metal shed
between the Ranch House and the Campground hosts
during his second Camp Keep outing that day.
Photos (unless noted otherwise) and report are by Mike Baird. Corrections are always appreciated - please e-mail mike at mikebaird.com and include "ignorefilters" somewhere in the subject line