A Marbled Godwit serenely perching in front of dramatic cliffs.
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Rainy Hike at Tomales Point
I’ve been trying out a new creative direction: short films about being out in nature. This one is my second attempt. The first attempt had too many technical issues to be worth posting.
I took a 10 mile hike at Tomales Point in Point Reyes. In the rain. It was a very moody and atmospheric day, but the views were a little tough at times. There was not a lot of wildlife out and about, but I did see a Tule Elk herd right on the trail.
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So Long!
That’s a wrap on Elephant Seal Month! Look at this guy. Doesn’t he look like he’s having the time of his life in the surf?
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Fed Coyote
A recent study of San Francisco Coyotes showed that they’re eating more human food than natural prey. One thing I noticed in the study was a high occurrence of menhaden, commonly used in pet food. That could come from food left for feral cat colonies, food for outdoor pets, or people feeding Coyotes pet food. The most common protein was chicken, like this Coyote is eating.
I’ve photographed this Coyote regularly. While it let me get closer than non-urban Coyotes, it had been skittish enough that I needed to create glancing encounters to get photos as our paths briefly approached but never quite crossed. That changed a couple weeks ago, with the Coyote displaying no fear even at very close range.
As the Coyote went about its morning, I watched it dig up some cached food and gulp it down in front of me. That’s a pretty cool thing to see, but the moment was ruined when I realized it was eating a big piece of cooked chicken. It could have gotten this chicken many different ways, but the most likely scenario is that someone is feeding it. There aren’t many other ways a Coyote living in a large urban park gets access to so much cooked chicken that it’s burying extras for later.
I reported that this Coyote is probably being fed to the city. I doubt much will come of it; not much has come of other feeding incidents in the city except when a Coyote has gotten so habituated that it’s led to conflicts that couldn’t be ignored. The city shared my report as a factoid in an article about the diet study, so they’ve at least taken notice. The city knows feeding goes on, but the question is how to get people to stop feeding and let Coyotes be Coyotes.
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Curlew on the Edge of the World
A Long-Billed Curlew watches the swell as a storm rolls into Northern California.
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Barking Elephant Seal
Ever seen the back of a Northern Elephant Seal’s throat? This is as close as I hope to ever get!
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Estero Hawk
The first year I went to Point Reyes, there were Red-Shouldered Hawks everywhere. One time, I didn’t even notice one of them perching in front of the spot where I parked my car until a couple of guys with big lenses made a beeline for the bush (I’ve gotten a bit better at spotting wildlife). I don’t know what it was about that year, but I see them a bit less frequently now. It’s not dire or anything, but it does make a well posed Red-Shouldered Hawk with a picturesque background a bit more of a treat.
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