Heart's Desire

· Maine Event

Our morning walk today was in Tomales State Park. We started at Heart's Desire Beach (which is very pretty) and walked through the forest to a marshy area on Tomales Bay called Indian Beach, and from there we walked a ways on the rocky beach so we could see around corners. It was low tide, and so there was plenty of room.

On the way in the forest, we came upon a Cooper's Hawk that landed in a tree quite close to us. It was surrounded by little birds raising a ruckus, and as a bird hunter, its head was on a swivel, looking at them all. We had a long time to watch, and he never left - in the end, we had to!

Once at the beach, we saw a new kind of jellyfish on the beach (not the usual By-the-wind-sailors). We think these are Moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita). We also saw a fin zooming around in the eel grass right near the shore. On our way back on the beach, we got to see it, and it turned out to be a beautiful Leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata).

Overall, it was delightful. We escaped just before noon, and a parade of cars was arriving. Got out just in time, then headed home and hid for a few hours. Our usual evening walk was quiet, and everyone had gone home. Whew.

Heart's Desire Beach
Coffeeberry - not actually coffee. Miwoks used it as a laxative
California Huckleberry - delicious to one and all.
Check out this beauty! Cooper's hawk (Astur cooperii)
Beautiful Poison Oak, turns out it turns black and oxidizes, and you can use it as ink.
Tree Moss (Dendroalsia abietina) (maybe?)
Marshy Area where we heard a Virginia rail (Rallus limicola) near Indian Beach
Cave!
Moon jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)
Cute couple
Backyard view
How many deer do you see here? (I spotted four)
Bunny! Sorry for the poor quality - it was getting dark
Good Night! Walking in the forest is such a nice way to greet the day and to say good night to it.

Here is a 20-second audio clip (turn on your sound) of the amazing song of crickets as you pass the meadow on our walk

Have a wonderful day!

Sending oodles of love,

Tawnia

Bird List - A big 51 species today!

California Quail
Band-tailed Pigeon
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Anna's Hummingbird
Virginia Rail
Western Gull
Caspian Tern
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Egret
Brown Pelican
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Cooper's Hawk
Red-shouldered Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
American Barn Owl
Belted Kingfisher
Acorn Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Warbling Vireo
Steller's Jay
California Scrub-Jay
American Crow
Common Raven
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Purple Martin
Cliff Swallow
Bushtit
Wrentit
Pygmy Nuthatch
Brown Creeper
Pacific Wren
Bewick's Wren
European Starling
Western Bluebird
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
House Sparrow
House Finch
Pine Siskin
Lesser Goldfinch
American Goldfinch
Song Sparrow
California Towhee
Spotted Towhee
Brewer's Blackbird
Wilson's Warbler