It was a lovely day at Moss Landing and Elkhorn Slough last Saturday, 17 November…
Sea Otter & pup, born this same day!
There were grebes a-plenty….
Clark’s Grebe
Horned Grebe
Western Grebe (apparently contaminated, unfortunately)
Eared Grebe
And the otters frolicked about in Moss Landing Harbor…
At Elkhorn Slough, we walked the north marsh trail….
Acorn Woodpecker w/acorn
Common Loon
All told, a fine day indeed!
Birds seen:
Number of species: 45
Mallard – Anas platyrhynchos X
Northern Pintail – Anas acuta X
Green-winged Teal – Anas crecca X
Bufflehead – Bucephala albeola X
Red-breasted Merganser – Mergus serrator X
Ruddy Duck – Oxyura jamaicensis X
Common Loon – Gavia immer X
Pied-billed Grebe – Podilymbus podiceps X
Horned Grebe – Podiceps auritus X
Eared Grebe – Podiceps nigricollis X
Western Grebe – Aechmophorus occidentalis X
Clark’s Grebe – Aechmophorus clarkii X
American White Pelican – Pelecanus erythrorhynchos X
Brown Pelican – Pelecanus occidentalis X
Double-crested Cormorant – Phalacrocorax auritus X
Great Blue Heron – Ardea herodias X
Great Egret – Ardea alba X
Snowy Egret – Egretta thula X
Turkey Vulture – Cathartes aura X
White-tailed Kite – Elanus leucurus X
Northern Harrier – Circus cyaneus X
Accipiter sp. – Accipiter sp. X
Red-shouldered Hawk – Buteo lineatus X
Red-tailed Hawk – Buteo jamaicensis X
Killdeer – Charadrius vociferus X
Willet – Tringa semipalmata X
Long-billed Curlew – Numenius americanus X
Marbled Godwit – Limosa fedoa X
Short-billed/Long-billed Dowitcher – Limnodromus griseus/scolopaceus X
Ring-billed Gull – Larus delawarensis X
Western Gull – Larus occidentalis X
Forster’s Tern – Sterna forsteri X
Rock Pigeon – Columba livia X
Belted Kingfisher – Megaceryle alcyon X
Acorn Woodpecker – Melanerpes formicivorus X
Hairy Woodpecker – Picoides villosus X
Western Scrub-Jay – Aphelocoma californica X
American Crow – Corvus brachyrhynchos X
Chestnut-backed Chickadee – Poecile rufescens X
Brown Creeper – Certhia americana X
Ruby-crowned Kinglet – Regulus calendula X
European Starling – Sturnus vulgaris X
Yellow-rumped Warbler – Dendroica coronata X
White-crowned Sparrow – Zonotrichia leucophrys X
House Finch – Carpodacus mexicanus X
This report was generated automatically by eBird v2(http://ebird.org)
Great shots – the sea otter and the pup is adorable (as well at that Western Grebe shot… the shot where he seems to be looking directly at your camera is so comical!) Based upon your amazing shots it looks like you had a fabulous day! I keep waiting for the day I can see sea otters in real life… I even lived on the coast for five years and never saw one. (p.s. my girls were with me when they looked at them and voted your face on western grebe shot the best! The deciding vote was given with adorable girl giggles attached.)
Great photos! I love the otters and wish so much I could see them! The little one is so darn cute!
Great photos as usual, Adam. It looks like it was a great day for you.
so many amazing photos! The sea otter is soo cute! Also, love your many grebe shots! WOW
I love all the photos… but especially the otters… I’ve never seen sea otters in the wild…
Amazing photo’s!
Aullori: Thanks! I can never get enough of the otters! I’ve been fortunate to see both river and sea otters in the wild in the past few weeks – quite a treat indeed. Thanks also for the note about your girl giggling at the goofy grebe grab 🙂
Montucky: Well if you ever get to the Monterey coast in California, sea otters are nearly always viewable, although this was by far the closest I’ve ever been to them in the wild.
Mary: Yep – a fine day indeed (it’s hard to have a bad day when loafing around the Monterey peninsula, though!).
Monarch: Thank you!
Jennifer: Everyone loves otters – they just have an innate cuteness that’s so appealing!
Truddle: Thanks for visiting, and for the compliment!