San Luis Obispo Bay

Yesterday we took a little tour in Dan’s pickup over to San Luis Obispo Bay.  We went to Pismo Beach first for lunch of clam chowder in bread bowels at the famous Splash Cafe. Next we drove on around the bay through Shell Beach and Avila Beach to Port San Luis where we walked out on the pier. I took this photo of Charlene & Dan on the pier with San Luis Obispo Bay in the background. We saw a good number of birds and I was able to add photos of a Surf Scoter and a Rock Pigeon.

First Flowers of Spring

Yesterday while hiking the Eagle Rock Nature Trail I noticed my first wild flowers of this spring.  One of the ones that caught my attention was this yellow violet.  I assumed it was the Wood Violet I was familiar with in Oregon, but on further research last night I discovered it was a different violet, the California Golden Violet. We also saw some paintbrush and some other flowers I hope to identify today.

El Chorro Regional Park

Yesterday we made it to San Luis Obispo and got set up in El Chorro Regional Park where we hope to stay for a yet to be determined number of days.  This is a large and varied park and today we tried to flavor it all.  We started with breakfast at the golf club-house next door, then strapped on our hiking boots and tackled the Eagle Rock Nature Trail, where Jeanette, Dan, & Charlene are pictured.  Dan and I birded in the afternoon, and then the four of us went to Morro Bay for Valentines Dinner. May have to plan a little rest time tomorrow, need to work on the new photos of wild flowers and birds that I took today, plus hope to add to the Trip Journal.

Dos Reis Regional Park

Today as we continued south the sun gradually gave out and we found ourselves in the late afternoon at our destination, Dos Reis Regional Park, in the late afternoon with light conditions too poor to take any outdoor photos.  So, how about some photos from inside? Dan & Charlene have a roomy fifth wheel trailer, so we get together in the evenings for dinner in their RV. We had a great day with a morning bird walk at Red Bluff Recreation Area, and a second bird walk here at Dos Reis Regional Park. That means I’ve got double work to do this evening entering two bird lists on eBird.

Dan is shown keeping track on their Kindle Fire, while Cocoa relaxes on the floor.

Mountain Gate RV Park

As per our plan, Jeanette & I and Dan & Charlene met up at Mountain Gate RV Park north of Redding early this afternoon. It was blue skies and bright sunshine and lots of excitement for our days ahead. The fact that our dog Buster and their dog Cocoa are long time good friends adds to the fun. This is a great park and it is well layed out and maintained. They even have a Bird Watching & Walking Trail that we got to use this afternoon.

Seven Feathers RV Resort

Here we are at Seven Feathers RV Resort in Canyonville Oregon, our first stop on our way to California to meet up with friends Dan & Charlene Lawry.  We enjoyed a great walk this afternoon through the RV Resort and along Jordan Creek. Tomorrow afternoon we will rendezvous with Dan & Charlene in Redding California at Mountain Gate RV Park and then spend the next 10 days touring California in search of sunshine and warm temperatures. Stay tuned.

Coots and more Coots!

We went birding at Tahkenitch Lake yesterday, taking the Fivemile Rd and stopping along the Mallard Arm and Fivemile Arm to count birds.  The tiny specs on the water in the photo are American Coots, or as I remember my dad calling them, Mud Hens. There were unbelievable numbers of these birds at every stop we made, too numerous to count, in total I’m sure we saw over 1,000.  At one point a Bald Eagle glided silently past and then we noticed the Coots all pressed together in a tight formation.  Our best guess is that it was a defensive measure against the Eagle. Coots are not pretty birds, in fact rather ugly, and they must not be good to eat because hunters do not seem interested in killing them. My best guess is their most important value is providing an ample food source for raptors.