Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
habitat ~ 12/23/13 ~ Jacks Peak County Park
December 23, 2013
It's as if someone pushed the pause button on the seasons. While the evergreen coast live oaks seem to be holding their own as usual, the Monterey pines look thinner and yellower around the edges. Closer to the ground, there's a sense of bursting at the seams, of impatiently waiting for the starter's pistol of winter rains. The push towards spring cannot be contained. Dustings of green grass are making their best efforts despite the lack of water. I also found fuchia-flowered gooseberries and monkeyflowers just beginning to show their cheery reds and oranges. I'm curious to see how everything will fare in the coming months. Surely, we will get rain, someday?
Honestly, I wasn't expecting to find much for IDs, but I really enjoyed this
heart-pumping, hilly hike. The rich smell of pines that's so
distinctive to Jacks Peak and the amazing views never cease to amaze
me. In the first picture above (click to enlarge) are several locations
I feature on Nature ID, starting at about 11:00 along the water's edge:
the Monterey Bay Aquarium towers, Cannery Row, San Carlos Beach, Coast Guard Pier, Rec Trail, Fisherman's Wharf, Wharf No. 2, and Municipal Beach.
Thursday, December 19, 2013
heron and egrets ~ 12/19/13 ~ Rec Trail
I never used to look up in the trees while walking along the water, because I was so focused on otters and harbor seals. One day I startled a night heron near the Coast Guard Pier, and I watched it fly off to perch in a tree. From then on, I kept an eye on the tree. Lo and behold, there's a small group of 4 trees, 3 cypress and 1 willow, each with its own night heron for most of the last half of this year. I wonder if I'll get to see them make a nest or two in the coming months. Once I started looking up, I also started seeing lots of great egrets and great blue herons (not pictured here) perched all along the Rec Trail. Whoa! How could I have been so blind to all these large birds above my head? I don't know if it's only my new found awareness, or if the herons and egrets are actually numerous this year. For certain, I have seen more snowy egrets than in years past. They're all so elegant and fashionable.