Moss Landing State Beach

 

Marbled Godwit Landing, Moss Landing

Now I know where all the Marbled Godwits are. Years ago, I used to see them quite often at Ocean Beach, but not so much lately. When I parked my car at the end of Jetty Road this morning and walked around the sand dunes to check out the beach, my face lit up with joy when I saw a few dozen marbled godwits foraging with a mess of Sanderlings and a lone Long-billed Curlew.

Despite arriving in the dark, many surfers and fishermen were already there. The only no-shows were the sea otters -- the very critters I'd made the two-hour drive down there to see. Supposedly fall is the best time to see otters at Moss Landing, but a month past the equinox and there was no raft of snoozing otters in the harbor, nor active otters hunting along the jetty. I didn't see a single otter until I was on my way out, where a crusty old broke-tooth otter was crunching crabs in its powerful jaws.

Dawn view of Moss Landing's iconic 500-foot smokestacks (retired from service, but still standing) at the 76-year-old, 1,060 megawatt, natural-gas-fired power plant (and, more recently, a battery storage facility which experienced a major fire in January 2025).

Fishing boat exiting the harbor.

A couple of Common Murres were hanging out along the jetty.

Pelicans & Surfers on Dawn Patrol
(Note the surfer not wearing a wetsuit!)

First Light

Dawn Reflections

Pelicans Catching a Drift

Despite all the birds probing the sand for mole crabs, few crabs were actually being caught. Here, a Willet tried to snag the godwit's prize.

Fellow godwits aren't above such chicanery either.

The morning sun gradually rose high enough to barely light the beach.

Even while some parts of the beach were in sun, others remained in shade for some time.

Handsome Marbled Godwit in Morning Light

It was great to see so much bird life in one place.

Sanderlings on the March

Here they come!

Nimble-toed Runner

Long-billed Curlew

There were lots of bird and sea lion carcasses on the beach, including a huge sea lion that was being consumed by maggots.

Senior Otter

Note the otter's lower left incisor is missing. Like us, otters don't grow new adult teeth when they're lost.

The otters in Elkhorn Slough are not known for being shy around humans. This one didn't bat an eyelash when it popped up (with a small crab) very close to where I was standing.

At one point I could see the otter swimming underwater, but other times I had to follow its tiny bubbles as they broke the surface of the water.

Thanks for letting me hang out with you for a little while, fellow old-timer.

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Meadowlark

 

Western Meadowlark, Crissy Field

Needing a change from my usual routine this morning I once again passed over my walk and went straight for a bike ride, this time across town to Crissy Field. I'd hoped to find an unusual bird that was reported two or three days ago but I had no luck with that. Which was fine since I had low expectations, and also because I've loved meadowlarks since I first photographed one at Carrizo Plain many years ago, and have wanted to photograph one here in San Francisco.

On another note, I ran into a pair of beautiful coyotes during my walk through Golden Gate Park on Wednesday and was glad I'd brought my compact camera along. It's not often I've seen two coyotes traveling together.

This was the lead coyote.

Soon followed by a second coyote.

Love those teeth!

I'm pretty sure that's 30th Avenue at Lincoln Way. The coyotes continued west, skirting the edge of the park. They were soon observed by a trio of NPS Rangers standing outside their vehicles which were parked on the sandy path. The coyotes were also soon observed by a couple of crows, or maybe ravens, who flew toward the coyotes to harass them. It looked like the coyotes might have crossed Lincoln right about there, with the crows in hot pursuit.

We didn't get much rain yesterday, but it was enough to hatch a few winged termites.

A meadowlark fanning its wing at Crissy Field this morning.

Meadowlark Rearview

Munching Meadowlark

Maybe a dozen or so Killdeer were also out on Crissy Field this morning. I wondered if they were in the grass because the tide had drowned most of the sand flats at nearby Crissy Marsh and Quartermaster Reach.

Flying Killdeer
(Composite photo.)

This fella had been standing on the very peak of the gopher mound, the better to keep look-out, but began to move away when I got too close. 

Brewer's Blackbird (Female)

Brewer's Blackbird (Male)

European Starling

I didn't know what bird this was when I photographed it.

Apparently it's a Red-winged Blackbird! I'd never have guessed it.

West Coast Lady

Nectaring in the Cosmos

Since I was in the neighborhood I rode up to the Fort Mason Community Garden, where a few Lesser Goldfinches were feeding on some Cosmos seeds.

Lesser Goldfinch (Male)

There wasn't much sandbar showing at Crissy Marsh, and a lone Willet was among several gulls and other birds taking advantage of the small rest stop.

As were a trio of Elegant Terns.

I passed by the Lily Pond on the way home and stopped to photograph the Great Blue Heron in a verdant setting on the edge of the pond.

Nearby, a couple of Red-eared Sliders shared a stump with a Mallard drake.

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