California Coastal

Sunset on the Beach

Waited for sunset at San Clemente, to shoot at the pier.

Sunset at the Pier

This the pier at San Clemente, California. I waited quite awhile for the sun to set, hoping for nice color. I liked the way the sunset reflected on the water and the sand.

Gaviota State Beach

Coming home from up the coast last week, we made a stop at Gaviota State Beach. It was a beautiful cool day, and was a good pit stop.

Through the Pier

At Gaviota State Beach there is a small pier off the beach. It doesn't make as dramatic view under the pier as larger piers, but I liked the criss-cross wood overhead.

Tree with Moss

On the road inland toward Solvang, the hills are dotted with large old gnarled oak trees, many adorned with hanging moss. This old snag is an example, with woodpecker holes and moss.

Tree at Los Alamos

This great old tree was photographed from the park at Los Alamos, CA. I loved all the gnarled branches, bending every which way.

Yellow-billed Magpie

The primary reason for this trip up the coast last week was to see this bird, a Yellow-billed Magpie, for my 2018 year bird list. This bird is endemic to central California, unlike the Black-billed Magpies that are much more widespread.

Magpie Perching High

Another view of the Yellow-billed Magpie. The birds were perched high up in very large oak trees, so were hard to photograph. Once in awhile one would perch out on a limb, like this one, and I could get a shot. Even so, this was cropped greatly.

See My Yellow Bill?

A view of the Yellow-billed Magpie in a park in Los Alamos, CA. They were in large oak trees that are the favored tree of this bird, which is endemic to Central California.

Searching for Food

This cute little raccoon was working the bottom of the shallow water at Oso Flaco Lake out of Santa Maria, CA. He was with several other raccoons that day, and was fun to watch.

Playing in Water

These cute raccoons were in the shallow water at Oso Flaco Lake out of Santa Maria, CA. They were pawing at the bottom of the lake, presumably looking for something to nibble. I saw at least 6 raccoons in the lake.

Hey, Wait for Me!

The three raccoons were in the shallow water at Oso Flaco Lake, out of Santa Maria, CA. At one point they started walking really fast, and the last one kept trying to catch up. It was very cute.

Run!

Something must have startled these three raccoons, because suddenly they stopped their foraging in the lake and ran for cover. I had never seen raccoons run before--it was fun to watch.

Run, Run, Run!

Another shot of the running raccoons. As soon as they got to the cattails, the disappeared from sight and did not come out again while I was there.

The Rock

This monolithic geologic formation, Morro Rock, is popularly referred to as The Rock. Many species of birds nest on the rock, including Western Gulls, Pelagic Cormorants, Pigeon Guillemots, as well as a pair of Peregrine Falcons. This is a painterly version of The Rock.

Morro Rock Sunset

This view of Morro Rock has had painterly effects applied.

Sunset at The Rock

Morro Rock at day's end.

Sunset in Morro Bay

At the end of a day of birding and photography, running between the raindrops, I was in downtown Morro Bay, ready for dinner, looking out into the sunset.

Western Gulls

This was the most common gull along the bay this winter.

Morro Bay Marina

Blue sky and water after the rainstorm the night before. Lovely reflections of all those sailboat masts.

End of the Day

This image shows Morro Bay with moored boats. This vuew is near The Rock. The sunset was pale that day, after a cloudy, rainy day.

Coral and Shells

An arrangement of coral and shells from the shell shop in Morro Bay.

Abalone Shell

From the shell shop, a close-up of the center of a colorful abalone shell.

Pearlized Shells

In the town of Morro Bay there is a great Shell Shop, supplied with a great variety of beautiful sea shells. I couldn't resist taking some shots of the shells.