Cali Finale (14Apr2023)

Our last full day was spent exploring the coast south of San Francisco and then the coastal redwoods at Big Basin.  Luke had a long run to do again, so that gave me the opportunity to walk around Half Moon Bay. 

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Brewer's Blackbird

Western Gull

Eared Grebe

Young Heermann's Gull

Common Goldeneye

I was planning to go out to Maverick's Beach where the big wave surfing happens but later in the morning when we went, the parking lot was full and also we were nervous about leaving all our stuff in the car.  For those of you that have not been to the San Fran area, car break-ins are an epidemic.  The thieves brazenly will break windows and grab bags while people are stopped at a light!  Probably not an issue in Half Moon Bay, but we were repeatedly told not to leave bags in the car unattended throughout the trip.  We followed that simple rule and never had any problems.

Some more photos from around the bay....

Lesser Scaup

Wilson's Warbler

Song Sparrow

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

Wilson's Warbler with some bokeh.

Black Phoebe

Bushtit

Anna's Hummingbird

We finally got on the road again and headed south on the 101 towards Pigeon Point in Pescadero.

We had to stop a few times to take in the super blooms.

The famous Pigeon Point Lighthouse!

Melissa and I have some good memories from here.  When we graduated college we came out to scope out places to live and drove the coast from San Diego to San Fran.  We were on a tight budget at that point in our lives and I still had a Hosteling International membership.  It just so happens that Pigeon Point Lighthouse has a few rooms that can be rented through that group.  The rooms are perched over the crashing waves and the best part was that they had a private hot tub overlooking the ocean.  What an awesome experience.

I need to work on my mammal ID but I think these are Sea Lions but I could be wrong and they could be Elephant Seals.

Red-throated Loon in breeding condition but in poor light.

Black Oystercatcher also in poor noon light.

Song Sparrow

Next up was the drive into Big Basin Redwoods State Park.  We knew there was a huge fire in 2020 and that much of the park is closed for rehabilitation, but we were still curious to see it.  I had been before and it was a highlight for me so I wanted to see what was left.  Driving in it was depressing, so much was burnt and many hillsides were completely denuded.  Here is a map of the area impacted. 97% of the old growth forest was burned to a crisp.

However, once we got into the heart of the park, I was uplifted by the resilience of these giants of the California Coast.   They were completely burned sometimes all the way up the trunk with most of the limbs burned off.  However, they were coming alive again!  The park ranger told us only about 3% of the old growth redwoods died in the blaze.

Note all the green shoots coming off the trunks that otherwise look dead.

For scale, that is Melissa in the lower right of the photo.  You can see the flames went all the way up the trunk.

These giant trees are the nesting sites for Marbled Murrelets and I was hoping to find a nest or see one flying in or out but apparently they come and go at dusk and dawn and we had a plane to catch.

We said our goodbyes and headed towards the airport for our red-eye flight, but not before taking the family to In-and-Out Burger!  

What a great trip, I recommend this itinerary to anyone and everyone, birders and non-birders alike.