Another Day in Point Reyes
A year ago, I wrote a blog post called One Day in Point Reyes, discussing the abundance of wildlife spotting opportunities I could experience in a single day. This past week, I was able to get out for a full day for the first time since my son was born and have another epic dawn-to-dusk adventure.
The day started with sunrise at Drakes Beach. Elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) hadn’t arrived in huge numbers yet, but as the sun rose, one bull lay sleeping on the sand while another approached in the surf. Periodically, he would arch his head back and bellow. The sleeping seal dozily stirred and looked over his shoulder before shuffling down the beach. I thought I would see a fight, but the larger one was clearly vocalizing to send a signal, and the other one received it loud and clear. Some calories were spent in the shuffling, but nothing like the investment of a full-on clash. All the while, I was watched by a harbor seal (Phoca vitulina). Surf scoters paddled by, and brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) passed overhead. It was a special morning.
After some more coffee, I took a walk to Abbotts Lagoon. My timing was impeccable. As I reached the bridge, two otters (Lontra canadensis) climbed onto the sandbank and rolled around together. That’s always a treat, but once they were gone, a curious little bird appeared from the reeds and pecked around in the shallow water. Periodically, it would hide and then reemerge. I found out later it was a sora (Porzana carolina). It’s always fun to see a new species.
The afternoon was full of birds. There were killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) and robins (Turdus migratorius) everywhere, and one red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) on a fence post allowed me to pull up right beside it and take a very close-up photo.
No trip to Point Reyes is complete without seeing a bobcat (Lynx rufus) and/or a coyote (Canis latrans). The evening closed with both. I met a friend, and we soon had the chance to photograph a very relaxed coyote. It failed to catch any prey but gave us some lovely portraits. Then came the bobcat, and it was equally comfortable. It also failed to catch any game, but as the sun set, it allowed us to watch it hunt across a field in the cold late afternoon night.
What a day!
