Once-in-a-Lifetime Shot
A pair of bald eagles was perched in clear view of the road as I drove to work in southern Monterey County, California this week. I parked and grabbed my Canon PowerShot and waited for the moon to align between the trees, using the car as a blind. After about 20 minutes the moon was still high and the eagles had not left, so I got out of the car and crossed the road with my camera on a tripod. I was able to align the moon perfectly. The birds stayed long enough for this 34-second clip before flying off. You can see the moon creeping across the frame. It’s about a 1000 mm zoom through heat waves so it’s not very sharp, but still a once-in-a-lifetime experience. I just wish I had my Nikon D750 with me.
There were some acorn woodpeckers that played around while the eagles sat, and you can hear the eagles call out to each other, too.
After the eagles flew away, an acorn woodpecker spent a lot of time preening on the tree, giving the moon time to crawl across the sky as it set. The time lapse is sped up so you can see the moon’s journey.
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
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Spring
Spring comes early in Paso Robles, California. Sometimes summer comes early, too. This year, at least, summer had the decency to wait until the Summer Solstice.
Summer means 90-plus temps during the day (the coast just over the “mountains” is generally 20-30 degrees cooler). We will get streaks of 100-plus days in July or August, too. Even though we didn’t get much rain this winter (and what did fall came in one 8-inch burst) nature goes on with its business. Here are some images of Spring 2021.
Read the rest of this entry »The Grand Show is Eternal
“This grand show is eternal. It is always sunrise somewhere; the dew is never all dried at once; a shower is forever falling; vapor is ever rising. Eternal sunrise, eternal sunset, eternal dawn and gloaming, on sea and continents and islands, each in its turn, as the round earth rolls.” — John Muir
Point Bouchon/Brandt’s Cormorants
Point Bouchon is owned by PG&E and visitors are allowed to hike there during certain times of the day. You must sign in and out. If you were allowed to hike far enough, you’d encounter the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant. There are signs all over the nearby area warning that sirens may indicate an emergency. This is one of the most beautiful parts of the California Coast, and not as populated, making it even more of a treasure.
Read the rest of this entry »Atascadero Lake in January 2021
I’ve not been very good at keeping up my blog lately. So much to do, so little time. So I’m just going to post a gallery of photos from the beginning of this year in an attempt to catch up. These are birds from Atascadero Lake, California.
Read the rest of this entry »2021 Begins with Birds
I didn’t realize the above photo of the gnatcatcher at Morro Bay would be so popular on the Birding California Facebook page. Last count it had 1200 reactions and 83 comments. It’s reminiscent of the Angry Bluebird that was popular several years ago. This little fluffball was uncharacteristically cooperative, as they are generally in constant motion catching, well, gnats.
Read the rest of this entry »Autumn Coastal Birds & Scenery
I’ve stayed close to home since my big trip north (which I have still yet to post, my bad!). Here are some autumn birds and scenery in Central Coast California.
Acorn Woodpeckers and Their Granary Tree
Acorn woodpeckers abound in this part of California, which is known for its oak savannahs. Blue and valley oak are the most common, with valley oak tending to be larger and the blue oaks more likely to grow on hillsides.
Read the rest of this entry »Montana de Oro Oct. 2020
After a month of smoky skies from numerous wildfires, it was nice to encounter just plain old fog on a trip to the ocean last week.
Read the rest of this entry »Montana de Oro
When I first came to California in 2015, I fell in love with Montana de Oro State Park. I was living in Apple Valley at the time and had a job that gave me a 3-day weekend twice a month, which I took full advantage of.
Now that I live much closer, I feel fortunate to live so near to the most beautiful part of the California coast.
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