Two Owl Nite

· San Francisco

Today, we got up early and drove out to Drakes Estero, where we walked through a sweet, forested area. It was here that we met our first Pygmy Nuthatches a few years ago and earlier this year, the Olive-sided Flycatcher. Eventually, we arrived at Sunset Beach, where an intertidal zone is visible, offering a view of the Pacific Ocean beyond a sand ridge. Roughly a 9-mile hike round trip. After our lovely hike, we came home and started to pack. Had an early dinner at the Station House Cafe. Matt had Local Halibut, and I had Green Curry Mussels. Yumm. Then we went on our usual evening walk at Bear Valley. At the end of the walk, we saw a beautiful Barn Owl, and then on the way out of the park, there was a Great Horned Owl sitting silhouetted on a dead tree branch.

Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus)
Eleodes or Darkling Beetle or Stink Bug https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eleodes
These tiny butterflies are about a centimeter in size and move mighty fast. They are known as the Fiery Skipper (Hylephila phyleus)  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiery_skipper
Lunch spot. Bench with a great view
The "Lunch Spot" view
The Great Standoff
Northern Harrier (Circus hudsonius)
Pacific Aster (Symphyotrichum chilense) Quite similar to the New England Aster! Who knew there even was a Pacific Aster so exciting!
American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)
The moon is 68.2%
Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus)

Have a wonderous day.

Sending oodles of love,

Tawnia

Bird List - 54 species today!

Acorn Woodpecker
American Barn Owl
American Crow
American Goldfinch
American Kestrel
American Robin
American White Pelican
Anna's Hummingbird
Barn Swallow
Belted Kingfisher
Black Phoebe
Black-bellied Plover
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown Creeper
Brown Pelican
Bushtit
California Quail
California Scrub-Jay
California Towhee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Dark-eyed Junco
Eurasian Collared-Dove
European Starling
Great Blue Heron
Great Egret
Great Horned Owl
Greater Yellowlegs
Hairy Woodpecker
Killdeer
Least Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Marbled Godwit
Northern Flicker
Northern Harrier
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Pacific Wren
Pine Siskin
Pygmy Nuthatch
Red-tailed Hawk
Red-winged Blackbird
Ring-billed Gull
Savannah Sparrow
Semipalmated Plover
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Steller's Jay
Swainson's Thrush
Townsend's Warbler
Turkey Vulture
Western Bluebird
Western Gull
White-crowned Sparrow
Wilson's Warbler
Wrentit