I have been unofficially surveying Snowy Plovers for Point Reyes Bird Observatory and have been assigned the Laguna Creek mouth as a spot to keep tabs on, so I stopped there. My prior visit turned up zero Snowy Plovers, so I was surprised to find 31 plovers there, of which 12 were banded. Here is a photo I took of a banded Snowy Plover:
PRBO captures individual birds of this threatened species and places four color bands, two per leg in a unique combination that allows them (and me) to identify the individual in the field. I record the color combination (in this case OG:AW, starting with the left leg, top to bottom, O for Orange, then G for Green, then right leg, A for Aqua over W for White) and email the observations to PRBO.
My real destination for the day was Bean Hollow State Beach, just south of Pescadero in San Matteo County. A blue whale with fetus washed ashore there in early October. The whale remains are attracting gulls as scavengers, and surprisingly Northern Fulmars, seabirds that are seldom seen from shore, especially this close. Below is the sad scene of what's left of the whale carcass, mostly skin (there were also some big bones nearby) being scavenged by gulls and fulmars:
Fulmars exist in different morphs or colors (as do homo sapiens). Below is the more common dark morph fulmar:
Notice the specialized "tubenose" above the bill and some darkness around the eye which lends this species an "angry" appearance.
Now here is a light morph fulmar:
Many photographers have been going to Bean Hollow to try to photograph the fulmars. Photos of swimming birds are okay, but most photographers feel that flying birds make for more special photos, especially with a seabird like a fulmar. Though I don't have a professional grade camera or lens, I was able to get some decent flying fulmar photos such as:
and
There were also some very cooperative Black Turnstones at Bean Hollow and I was happy to get this photo of these rocky shorebirds:
Very pleased with my results at Bean Hollow, I stopped at Rancho Del Oso, a part of Big Basin State Park, on the way back. This is one of my favorite birding spots in Santa Cruz County, but it was getting into the late afternoon so I wasn't expecting much bird activity. But I did come across a nice mixed flock of songbirds including some confiding Wrentits, a unique species that is more often heard than seen:
I also got a pretty good photo of the common Western Scrub-Jay with a nice background of vegetation:
And some California Quails who seemed to be sharing a secret:
Finally, I stopped at a spot along West Cliff Drive and got some interesting photos of Sanderlings and Whimbrels, but I haven't had time to process those photos yet. So, even though I didn't see my family or eat any dead birds, I had a great Thanksgiving photographing some live ones. I am also very thankful to have shelter, ready access to food and clothing, transportation, my binoculars and camera and my family, too.
Maybe next year, Thanksgiving will be even better.
