Sunday, February 10, 2013

Birding at Morro Bay

Morro Bay on the Central California Coast is a popular place to vacation for humans, birds and humans looking for birds.  With a nice State Park Campground with hook-ups it was perfect for us.

Brant
 The area has a variety of habitats which means there is a variety of bird life.
American Wigeon
In the grasslands of the estuary we saw Brants, American Wigeons and Great Blue Herons.
female Bufflehead
In the bay were Buffleheads, Loons, Greater Scaup, Ruddy Ducks, Pelicans, and a variety of grebes.
Loon
Grebe
I find it hard to ID the grebes in there winter plumage, my guess would be an Eared Grebe.  I also saw pied-billed grebes.
Ruddy Duck
I love the way their little tails stick up.

American White Pelican
Greater Scaup
I'm sure there were many species out in the bay that escaped my view.
Brown Pelican
Other birds were spotted above the water like this Brown Pelican.
A squadron of Cormorants skimmed the water.
female Belted Kingfisher
Hubby spotted this Kingfisher watching for a meal from the mast of a sailboat.  Thanks Jules, my best kingfisher image yet.
Long Billed Curlew
Shorebirds hunted in the mudflats at low tide.  In addition to the Curlew I saw Egrets, Marbled Godwits and Willets.
Assorted Peeps
I was told that there were some redknots among the other peeps out at the water's edge.  They were too far to get a good shot.
Black Phoebe
Of course, there were passerines as well.  I heard but did not see a Great Horned Owl.
We saw a lot in our three days but there is a lot more to see, we need to go back.

See more of what our wonderful world has to offer at Our World, Tuesday, hosted by Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sandy and Sylvia.
To see more birds from around the world, go to Wild Bird Wednesday, hosted by Stewart

32 comments:

Sylvia K said...

What a beautiful place and such a wonderful variety of birds!! How fun!! Superb captures as always, Martha! I do love being able to see so many birds "up close and personal"!! Fun start for my day!! Enjoy!!

Diane AZ said...

That does look like a wonderful place to visit and to watch birds. Great pictures, I especially love the ones in the grasslands.

Photo Cache said...

incredible collection. didn't realize the birding is fabulous in morro bay.

Unknown said...

Great series!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

Carver said...

Fantastic shots of the varied bird population.

Penelope Notes said...

The cove looks so blue and inviting. It would be a very rare seeing a pelican overhead in my world. The one in your photo looks quite dignified as it wings through the air.

EG CameraGirl said...

Definitely a place I'd love to spend exploring!

mick said...

It looks like a beautiful place and so many interesting birds. The photo of the Curlew is especially great.

Fun60 said...

Terrific wildlife photos. Looks a gem of a place to visit.

Barb said...

Martha- You saw a bonanza of birds and the shots are fabulous. I love the makings on the Curlew!

Linda Reeder said...

That was a very successful birding outing! Great photos!

A Colorful World said...

What a wonderful place! I love the waterbird shots, especially the curlew!

Leovi said...

Great catch, I like this delicious photos, beautiful bird.

Jackie said...

These are all just fantastic! I wish I had a lens as good as you do!

All of these birds and your photography are just amazing!

carol l mckenna said...

Wow! Such fantastic photography of nature's gems!

Carol of: (A Creative Harbor) ^_^ on blogger

Jill Harrison said...

wonderful bird images. I like walking around our lakes too, I rather envy those birds in their watery world.
Thank you for stopping by my blog today, and for your comments. Have a wonderful week.

HansHB said...

Great serie of photos!
A lot to see!

Dave said...

A more than classic collection, great post

eileeninmd said...

What a great place for birding! You have a wonderful collection of birds and photos. Thanks for sharing!

Carole M. said...

such a lovely variety of birdlife; I enjoyed every image; thanks for sharing them from your side of the world

SandyCarlson said...

These are great. You have captured my favorite birds so beautifully. What a treat. Thanks.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

Wonderful birding Martha...and your pictures are perfection. The phoebe is so cute. Unfamiliar to me completely! Your Roadtrek destination beat ours in beauty and birds!

Dana said...

Lovely bird pics—and the water in that first shot looks so blue!

Happy Tuesday. :)

Karen said...

Terrific shots, love the pelicans!

Stewart M said...

I do like that curlew - its a great picture. I have a plan to get some pictures of curlew - but its keeps getting rained or stormed off! I'll keep trying!

Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW

Stewart M - Melbourne

Anonymous said...

What a beautiful post! I can hardly wait for migration!
McGuffy's Reader
http://www.mcguffysreader.blogspot.com

Katney said...

I am jealous that you are able to camp so early in the season. Of course, your rig lends itself to out of season jaunts much better than ours. I am jealous also since we did not even get to camp last summer at all, and very little the previous year. Hopefully, time, doctors, and circumstances will change that for the coming summer.

Gemma Wiseman said...

Adore the variety of feathered poses you have captured! Such cute head shapes in the first few photos! And the brown pelican on the wing looks like a chunky kite!

Wally Jones said...

Looks like a wonderful place to explore.
Very nice series showing off some of the visitors!

Anonymous said...

I live vicariously through your trips Martha! Love coming over to see your wonderful photos.

Judy said...

I love all the reflections in the water, as well as the birds!!

Ebie said...

Love your "love story" in the Racetrack Playa. Hahaha, I had to do the impossible, among the rocks.