Bird Sounds of Woodbridge

This gives an idea of all the evening activity at the reserve.  The Sandhill Cranes are making the most noise.

A Day on the Delta Part Two

After Nick and I left the little town of Locke, we drove east about 20 miles to the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve.  As Nick put it, it was a bird Lollapalooza! 

There were huge flocks of geese in the air and in the water.

There were also large groups of Sandhill Cranes which come here from as far away as the Arctic Circle.  They arrive in late September and leave in spring. 

The cranes occasionally did their beautiful courting dance where they would bounce and float up a few feet with wings and legs outstretched.

Those smaller birds are big ol' Canada Geese, which gives an idea of how big these Sandhill Cranes are.

Those big white birds in the background are Tundra Swans.

As the sun started to set, the cranes started flying in from surrounding fields, bugling in a low croaky honk.

A pair of cranes coming in to land - a beautiful sight!

Landing, part two.

Landing, part three.

The cranes kept pouring in from all directions.

Cranes in front, swans in back.

More cranes coming in!

Gatheing cranes in front, swans in the distance.

What a spectacle!  This was a great way to end a day of discoveries in the Sacramento / San Joaquin Delta.

A Day on the Delta

Yesterday, Nick and I spent the afternoon driving out around little towns on the Sacramento River Delta, and then ended up spending a couple hours at the Woodbridge Ecological Reserve, a gathering place in the winter for Sandhill Cranes.

Our first stop was in Isleton, on the Sacramento River.  This is the Bing King Tong, built in 1926, and will be restored to it's original glory.  A Tong was a place of refuge for the Chinese residents who were often discriminated against.  The Chinese came to build the levees, and work in the fields, orchards, and canneries.

Next to the Tong were these two buildings.  The one on the left is a museum of the Chinese history in the community.  Nick and I spent about a half hour looking at the old photos and items.  These buildings were clad in tin siding after the Chinese and Japanese sections of town burned down twice.

Our next stop was the tiny town of Locke.  It is the only Chinese town in the U.S. built for the Chinese by the Chinese.  Many of the buildings are leaning, sinking, and falling apart. 

This is inside the Chinese gambling parlor, which is now a museum.

The gaming tables, money room, etc. were very original.  Tobacco and food was free, but  beverages were not.

This was one of the buildings turned into a quirky little shop.  Currently, only about 10 of the residents are Chinese.

Yesterday in Monterey

Yesterday, we went to The Natural History Museum in Pacific Grove, out to lunch, and then down to Lover's Point to climb on the rocks.  All three places are probably within shouting distance of each other.

Here is Nora surfing the Gray Whale out in front of the museum.  What a spirit she has!

Dave proudly shows off his artwork while we wait for lunch.  He is Crayola precise!  Andria is awed by her man.

Beautiful Monterey!  That is a Great Egret standing on kelp in the foreground.



The view, turning and looking the other way.

I love this family!





Camping at South Carlsbad State Beach

Wednesday to Friday, we camped on the cliff above the ocean in Carlsbad.  The campground was less than half full even though the weather was spectacular the first two days.  Check that wave, Paul.  I regretted not bringing a board.  The park thoughtfully provided a chain link fence to keep me from falling over the cliff during the night.

Fall is such a great time to enjoy camping and traveling.  Kids are in school, and the coast can have some of it's best days.

What is this?  Gail thought we should be sandpipers, so I set the camera's timer.  When we looked up there was a man standing above us grinning.  As he walked by he said, "Sometimes it's just better not to ask."

A few minutes later we had a jaw dropping sunset.  Groups of pelicans were flying just offshore, passing in front of the setting sun.  Aaahh.







Thursday morning, we were on our way to hike for the day at San Elijo Lagoon.  I had to pull into the famed Swami's surf break on the way to take a look.  It was on the small side, but I was glad to see the line-up and get a sense of  how the swells feel the reef there.

We loved the big tree trunk sculpture, Gail a little more than me, in front of Swami's gold domed Self-Realization Fellowship ashram overlooking the reef point.

Happy Hour!

"God's rays", Thursday evening, forshadowed rain the following morning.  We managed to break camp in 10 minutes just as the drops started to fall.  







Dia de los Muertos

I arrived in Escondido on Tuesday, The Day of the Dead.  I brought some photos, models of  a surfboard and tuning fork, and a heart rock.  After picking some of Gail's beautiful flowers, we went down for the celebration at the community center.

There were squares that each had a candle, cross,  and dish of beans.  We chose one, and I got to work making the altar for Mom, Dad, and Steve.  Gail arranged the flowers.

Inside, there was traditional dancing.  In another room there were artists helping children make their own shoebox altars.

Putting the finishing touches on the altar.

Remembering and honoring

Halloween Fun in Monterey

"Vikings" was the theme for Halloween this year. We had great fun plundering two neighborhoods. I enjoyed scrounging materials and getting help with the details from as far away as Escondido. Watching "The Vikings" and "Beowulf: the Director's Cut" got me in the mood, too.

Notice the 5th little pumpkin - time to get a mini-van!

Seldom Seen Birds

At IBR we sometimes get the chance to see birds up close that would be very difficult to see in nature.  These two birds, unfortunately, died before or during intake while I was there Saturday a week ago.

This is a Virginia Rail, an uncommon bird of the wet marshes.  It weighs about 3 oz. and has a wingspan of 13 inches.  Oddly, it is in the same family as American Coots.

This is a Common Poorwill which weighs about 1.8 oz. and has a wingspan of  17 inches.  It roosts on the ground during the day where it would be well camoflaged.  At night, it sits in the open and flies up to catch flying insects.  At a distance, it's low whistle sounds like "poor-will".