Thursday, April 24, 2014

Malibu to Morro Rock


From Malibu we drove north through the Santa Monica Mountains; through Thousand Oaks and Fillmore to Santa Paula, enjoying the fragrance of the citrus blossoms and avocado orchards.  We spent a day at Piru Lake Recreation Area near the Sespe Condor Sanctuary.  Ty walked 7 miles to see the California Condor nest cave nestled high in the canyon.  He was rewarded with the rare Condor circling the sheer cliff face.  While waiting back at the RV, Ida had a beautiful adult soar straight overhead across the blue sky.


Pictured is the cave where the condors are nesting.  Later we both saw three Condors riding the updrafts with the turkey vultures.
Cassin's Finch










While in Santa Paula we had a few interesting bird sightings such as this Cassin's Finch and the Oregon Junco fledgling below.


We also had a chance to see two movies at the nearby theater.  "Noah" was interesting but took dramatic liberties from the biblical story.  And "Heaven is for Real", based on a true story was very inspirational and we recommend you see it.
Oregon Junco Fledgling 

Western Fence Lizard

California Quail


We drove through the north end of Santa Barbara with it's beautiful landscaped homes and gardens into the Santa Ynez Valley where we stayed Easter weekend at Rancho Oso.  We walked very nice wooded trails and had many migratory birds: Bullock's & Hooded Orioles, 7 species of Warblers, and a Golden Eagle flyover.  Plus these beautiful California Quail and we heard Mountain Quail from the steep hillsides.

Costa's Hummingbird


We put the hummingbird feeder out and it was soon alive with 4 species of hummingbirds and the Acorn Woodpeckers tried to tip the feeder for a drink.
Black-headed Grosbeak











In the flowering trees (unknown species) we had Black-headed Grosbeaks and Western Tanagers

We enjoyed the outdoor Easter Worship service with a local visiting pastor.. trying not to be distracted by the calling birds nearby.
Western Tanager

Morro Rock


We drove through the well known Scandinavian village of Solvang and walked the trails of Nojoqui Falls County Park where we added Purple Martins exploring nesting cavities in a large Sycamore tree.


We settled into Morro Dunes RV Park near the 580 foot monolith Morro Rock perched on 50 acres at the oceans edge with miles of sand beaches to the north and Morro Bay's estuary to the south protected by 5 miles of sand dunes.
Peregrine Falcon




We spent hours at the base of this rock scanning the sheer cliff cavities for the nesting pair of Peregrine Falcons.  Visiting with a local birder who monitors the nest, (who has watched this site for many years) we learned that the chicks had hatched last week.  We watched the falcon stoop on gulls and song birds taking prey to the young.  We shared with many people the high perching falcon through our scope.
Black Oystercatcher

Sea Otter


Many other interesting creatures were  along Morro Bay.  The Black Oystercatchers gathered food as the tide went out.  Sea Otters played in the kelp and were a delight to watch.  There were 7 near the rock playing for hours.  We had Am. Avocets, Black Brant, Marbled Godwits, Long-billed Curlews, Whimbrel, Willets, and nesting Snowy Plovers.  We added Pigeon Guillemots for the year, and lots of loons, cormorants, egrets, and gulls.


Band-tailed Pigeon

Hermit Warbler

One day we drove east through the Santa Ynez Mountains stopping at Cerro Alto campground in the National Forest and found Band-tailed Pigeons, Hermit Warbler, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Hutton's & Cassin's Vireos, and Swainson's Thrush.
Yellow-billed Magpie














Driving back through the Santa Ynez Valley of pastureland and live oaks we found 9 Yellow-billed Magpies.  This species is not found in any other state but California.


We finished up our stay here by visiting 2 State Parks, Morro Bay and Montana de Oro.  We loved watching the beautiful waves splashing up on the miles of rocky cliffs.

Tomorrow we start up the Big Sur and into the California Redwoods.

Blessings and Prayers to all.
Ty & Ida

Monday, April 14, 2014

Long Beach to Malibu Beach


A last walk along Long Beach's - LA River before leaving brought a pleasant surprise: a skate scooting through the water above the mussels.

We drove around the high cliffs of Palos Verdes Peninsula with it's beautiful old trees and lighthouses.






At Fermin Park was this 140 year old fig tree.


We followed the Pacific Coast Highway to our home for the next two weeks at Malibu Beach RV Park.  We were welcomed by this Rufous Hummingbird in the many blossoming plants along the hillsides.  We are perched about 500 feet above the beach and on clear days we can see for miles.





We walked to Solstice Canyon National Recreation Area several days and found some interesting birds and animals.  This Wood Rat was 30 feet up in a hollowed tree.
Nanday (Black-Hooded) Parakeets

Audubon's Warbler

Wrentit



The best part about being here is the opportunity to spend time with our oldest son Travis and his wife Tina.  He rented a car for us to drive in and out of the amazing L.A. traffic.  We went to different parks to bird; spent time at Santa Monica checking out the farmer's market; spent a day at the L.A. Zoo with lots of interesting birds and animals; and precious time just visiting.
Santa Monica Pier and Beach

Townsend's Warbler

Koala at L.A. Zoo


The nearby Malibu Lagoon was full of gulls, terns and shorebirds - the best find - Surfbirds.
Calliope Hummingbird















We put out a hummingbird feeder at our RV site and had many interesting visitors check it out.
Allen's Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Nanday Parakeet



One of the fun projects we took on was trying to find as many species of parrots and parakeets that are thriving in Southern California.  We found Yellow-headed Parrots and Blue-crowned Parakeets near Imperial Beach; Red-crowned and Lilac-crowned Parrots near San Diego; Red-lored Parrots by Oceanside; Yellow-chevroned and Mitred Parakeets in Los Angeles; and Black-hooded (Nanday) Parakeets near Malibu Beach coming into our RV Park.

One species left to find - the beautiful Rose-ringed Parakeet.  We contacted a local bird expert who told us where to find them.  Early Sunday morning we drove the PCH south to Vista del Rey and practically parked under the roost tree where we could hear them waking up.  One by one they flew out calling then coming down to these beautiful red flowers picking petals and eating the ends off.


Time to leave the LA basin and beaches and head north through the Santa Monica Mountains hoping for a glimpse of California Condors soaring above.


Love & Prayers until next blog.
Ty & Ida