On the way to the beach we were stopped by a family of California quail in our pocket park. At least 10 tiny fluffballs were following the parents pecking at food. It's so great to have them around. Many places quail and other ground-nesting birds have disappeared because of outdoor cats.
Unfortunately all I had was a cell phone to take photos so the fluff balls blend right in with the dirt. A fun sighting to start the day. On the way to the beach an adult Bald eagle flew directly in front of the truck following the road. As it veered off there was a doe deer a few feet down the road along the road.
At the beach the birds included Glaucous-winged gulls, Black oystercatchers, Great blue heron, Purple martins, Pacific-slope flycatchers, Belted kingfishers, Crows, and Bald eagles. While wandering and looking under and around the big boulders I looked up and saw a Cooper's hawk with something in its talons likely on its way to a nest. The tide was a -3.0 which makes for some good tide pooling.
I brought a beach towel for the dogs to sit on and attempt to minimize the amount of sand we carry home. Since they're both small and low to the ground they get very wet and become sandballs. I hooked the leash up to my small backpack with just enough weight to keep them there while I wandered around barnacle-encrusted rocks and super slick piles of dead and dying kelp.
There's something about standing on a wide open beach, no humans to be seen, water as far as the eye can see, deep azure skies, and a warm breeze that calms the mind, body, and, soul.
I didn't see any critters that I don't usually see at low tide but they're no less wonderous and fun to find- sea stars, sea cucumbers, chitons, gumboot chitons, moon snail shell (that was a new one for me at this beach), so many types of seaweed, eelgrass, clam "snouts", and various others.
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