Northwestern California

 

We entered California and took a side trip to the Jedidiah Smith National Forest and the beautiful Coastal Redwood trees on our way to Crescent City, California.  We spent a week at Lighthouse Cove RV Park.

We had many days of fog but it cleared for us to do some birding of the many nesting colonies on the rocks.  This is Castle Rock, a 300+ foot National Wildlife Refuge, home to Tufted Puffins, Cormorants, Common Murres, Brown Pelicans and 5 Gull species.  Visable by scoping but not a camera.  This young Glaucous-winged Gull photo bombed this image.

Common Ravens have been plentiful along the beach through the years.

Numerous Ravens were digging in the beach sand for worms,

Small prey in beak for large bird.

Juvenile Raven with a bad hair day!

Black Oystercatcher probing the rock jetty for oysters and clams.

What an eye for beauty!

Sea Fig or Hottentot Fig

Red-necked Phalarope feeding, twirling in circles.

Very noisy California Seals seranaded us day and night 

between blasts of the fog horn every 7 seconds.

Sea Lion playing "I spy"

Time to go fishing!

Noisy and animated!

Black Turnstone

Fireweed, pioneer plant on disturbed sites.

Dungeness Crabs 

Teasle in bloom with thick fog drenched Bumblebee

Western Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull dragging a Sea Star

 

Five of the ten Whimbrels that landed near us on the beach.

Whimbrel fly-by

Surfbird

How's this for camoflage?  A Wandering Glider.

Area towering Redwoods provide nesting branches for.....

these small Marbled Murrelet seabirds.

This species is threatened by Raven, Crow and Jay predation.

This Redwood Sorrel plant blankets the forest floor.

The large sorrel leaves are green above and dark red underneath.

 

Red-shouldered Hawk concentrates on the California Ground Squirrel below

So it is farewell to Lighthouse Cove and south to Humboldt Bay.

Enroute we drove through Elk Country and were rewarded with a resting herd by the road.

This Bull Elk seemed to be in charge!

Heermann's Gull at Humboldt Bay

Wandering Tattler wandering through large clam bed.

One of thousands of Marbled Godwits feeding at low tide.

A few Long-billed Curlews were also taking advantage of this fertile feeding area.

Large Land Snails were fairly common.

A few Whimble joined the feeding frenzy.

Elegant Tern catches a fish along the South Jetty, A new year bird for our growing list.

Common Murre

Common Murre shaking off water after diving.

Common Loons willl make their winter home here.

Back to the Giant Reedwoods and the beach as we head south.

It's wonderful to see the creative Hand of God everywhere we go.

Love & Prayers,

Ty & Ida Baumann