Traveling with Penny and Dave

Every spring and autumn we take a trip with Captain Yohn Gideon on the Elkhorn Slough Safari.  During these periods of migration, he conducts special birding tours, guided by a local expert birder.  This spring Jennifer Green was our guide.  She began her birding in 1976 in New Hampshire when she was hooked by an Atlantic Puffin.  There’s just nothin’ like a puffin.

Weather was perfect as we departed the dock in Moss Landing Harbor at 9:00 AM.  The usual birds were hanging around: American Coots, European Starlings, Western Gulls, Brewer’s Blackbirds, House Sparrows, and House Finches.  In short order we passed a few lazy Sea Lions sunning themselves on one of the little docks jutting into the harbor, bracketed by fishing boats.

Before reaching the harbor mouth the remains of  an old pier serve as a roost for cormorants and pelicans.  This time of year, the Brown Pelicans are in the Gulf of California for their mating season.  Although we usually will see one or two that didn’t make the trip, there were none this year.  Also unusual, only Brandt’s Cormorants were on the old pier’s skeleton.  We would have to wait to see the Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants that usually share the pilings and rails.  On the south jetty, Penny spotted a Black Turnstone,  a treat that the rest of us missed.

Two Otters on the Beach (click to enlarge)

Going past the entry to Elkhorn Slough and the harbor mouth, a large raft of Sea Otters graced the calmer water.  The otters were busy with their breakfast.  Diving for crustaceans and breaking the shells by pounding them on the rocks that they had resting on their chests.  A couple of the otters had love on their minds, tussling and spinning in the water, the male trying to grab the female by the nose as a prelude to mating.

Eared Grebe (click to enlarge)

Several Eared, Western, and Clark’s Grebes were busy diving for small fish near the otters and a few gulls were nearby as well hoping to steal some scraps that the otters might drop.  None had any luck while we were watching.  And on into the slough we go, passing under the Highway 1 bridge.

Harbor Seal Mother and Pup (click to enlarge)

Highlights of the rest of the trip included seeing several newborn Harbor Seal pups, some only a few hours old with the stump of their umbilicus still attached.  American Avocets are almost in full breeding plumage, gracefully sweeping their bright, rusty heads and necks back and forth with their curved bills swinging like scythes during harvest in times past.

American Avocet (click to enlarge)

After turning to head home, Captain Gideon passes around the tasty cookies his wife Melanie bakes for her Captain’s Inn Bed & Breakfast guests.  Oatmeal and raisin today, they were good accompaniment for the Captain’s coffee Penny and I shared. We have stayed at the Captain’s Inn at least once every year since it opened. We are especially fond of the rooms in the Boat House that fronts the Salinas River Mouth. Melanie’s breakfasts are elegant and scrumptious and a great way to start the day before heading out on the slough with the captain. More pictures of some of the animals are here: .

We spotted a total of 48 bird species, about average for a spring outing on the slough. We also saw a Bat Ray; not something we see every trip. Before heading home, we lunched at the Whole Enchilada, another tradition we have when going on the Safari. The specialty is Mexican-style seafood. Penny had the fish tacos and I the Whole Enchilada, a filet of red snapper wrapped in a large corn tortilla and topped with pasilla chile salsa and melted cheese. We have yet to have a dish that didn’t delight.