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.
The gnatcatcher on the right is one that was banded at Morro Bay in January 2019 by the California State Parks crew. Yay! I love finding banded birds, and even more when I get enough readable numbers to trace when and where it was banded.
I wanted to find the zone-tailed hawk that had been seen at Morro Bay (and has been sighted elsewhere, hanging out with turkey vultures) but no luck. However, it was a perfectly productive morning to photograph other avian denizens.
Oddly, the bay was still and calm, while just the other side of the Rock were raging waves (my previous post.)
Eared grebe 
Ruby-crowned kinglet 
Savannah sparrow 
Savannah sparrow 
California thrasher 
Eared grebe
Spotted towhee 
Fox sparrow
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
Online gallery: Smugmug and Fine Art America
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Even the surfers wouldn’t ride the waves
A huge storm far offshore generated HUGE waves that we don’t often see here in Central Coast California. I went out to Morro Rock on Sunday and then to Estero Bluffs just to the north and marveled at the beauty and power of the ocean. Enjoy these images!
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
Online gallery: Smugmug and Fine Art America
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A Saunter at Pinnacles
“I don’t like either the word [hike] or the thing. People ought to saunter in the mountains – not ‘hike!’ Do you know the origin of that word saunter? It’s a beautiful word. Away back in the middle ages people used to go on pilgrimages to the Holy Land, and when people in the villages through which they passed asked where they were going they would reply, ‘A la sainte terre’, ‘To the Holy Land.’ And so they became known as sainte-terre-ers or saunterers. Now these mountains are our Holy Land, and we ought to saunter through them reverently, not ‘hike’ through them.”
― John Muir
I had an early morning assignment to photograph the setting of flags on Veterans Day at the King City Cemetery, and it was the perfect opportunity to continue on to Pinnacles National Park a short drive from there.
I had struggled with hiking for several years due to arthritis. I didn’t realize how much a bad hip contributed to that struggle until it became literally crippling. Since hip replacement surgery in March, I’ve celebrated every step. Even arthritic knees don’t stop me.
My idea of hiking is really what John Muir called “sauntering.” I stop to rest. I stop to watch birds. I stop for photographs. I look at patterns in the leaf litter or tree bark. I enjoy the experience.
The famed Balconies cave is closed, possibly due to COVID–19. But the trail itself is a five-star joy. First you approach the peaks that shelter the cave, then you enter a shady and quiet oak forest.
Giant boulders decorate the walk, evidence of earthquakes (Pinnacles is on the San Andreas Fault) or glaciers or other momentous upheavals.
California buckeye “pears” 
A rappelling wall
It was a popular trail, and not difficult or crowded. Elevation gain was only 100 feet (seemed like more) but the loop couldn’t be completed due to the portion that goes to the cave. Backtracking, however, was still lovely.
One small section had a lot of songbird activity due to a hatch of some type of slow-flying insect. Wrentits, spotted towhees, oak titmice, Bewick’s wrens, ruby-crowned kinglets were all over the mini-swarm, and even my 120mm zoom managed to do justice to the wrentit.
Low clouds gathered and thickened by the end of my 4-hour saunter. That is my favorite type of light. It is wonderful for photography.
Most folks pulled up masks or covered their faces when passing on the trail. Definitely the 2020 Trail Etiquette everywhere. I can’t wait to return in Spring.
Photos and text copyrighted by Cindy McIntyre
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Website: CindyMcIntyre.com
Online gallery: Smugmug and Fine Art America
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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.
Read the rest of this entry »Lagniappe
Lagniappe often means “a little of this, a little of that.” Since I have many hangers-on images that didn’t quite fit into a themed blog, I’m tossing them all in here like a stew.
This sapsucker-drilled tree has a cavity just perfect for this pair of western bluebirds.
Read the rest of this entry »Big Sur
I’ve driven the challenging Nacimiento-Fergusson Road from Fort Hunter Liggett to Big Sur two or three times before, but last weekend was the first time I’d started in Big Sur going home.
The N-F road had been closed by the Los Padres National Forest because there were complaints of too much traffic on the Pacific Coast Highway (State Hwy 1, aka Big Sur Highway) during the COVID-19 lockdown. The campgrounds had already been closed and folks were availing themselves of road pullouts or wherever they could to camp.
Read the rest of this entry »Southern Monterey County
The Los Padres National Forest re-opened the Nacimiento-Fergusson Road and I had a hankering to explore one of my favorite areas in Central Coast California.
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