The short trip to San Francisco (May 23 — May31) was good; away from noise, dust and disruption from road repair at home; much needed-long-time-without-a-break break, and a chance to visit in SF. The timing for birds was probably not the best.

The trip north was made with stopovers at Morro Bay and Andrew Molera State Park. Unbooked camping at Morro Bay Park SP is assigned on a first-come, one-night only basis. The Park is situated alongside the Bay. This time of year is not optimum for bay bird varieties, but there were many, many Brown Pelicans.

The vegetation along the State Park side of the Bay has many natives. Of interest, were some of the wetland plants learned last year at Goleta Slough, such as Sea Lavender, Seablite, Saltbush, etc.

Thereafter, headed out to Montana de Oro, four miles from Morro Bay. “De Oro” must be named after the bright golden-yellow Sticky Monkey Flowers growing thickly on the sides of the hills. There were also many other species of native flowering plants, and the bluffs were covered with a mix of some of the native vegetation seen at oceanside areas locally (SB, Goleta) and Oso Flaco Lake. It is an area rich in native plants.

Viewing the bluff and adjacent vegetation, made one think about what More Mesa could look like if the Harding Grass were removed – although the vegetation would differ in many respects. At Montana de Oro, encountered a rattle-snake for the first time; there were high numbers of Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, California Towhee and California Quail. The visit was not long enough to encounter other species.

On the drive up from Morro Bay northward, elephant seals were seen at Piedras Blancas beach, near San Simeon. Numbers of swallows were also seen along Highway 1, especially Cliff Swallows gathering mud for their nests.

Slideshows

• Morro Bay, Montana de Oro, Pacific Coast Highway
  

Links of Interest

• Morro Bay
• Morro Bay Park State Park
• Sierra Club St. Lucia Chapter – Montana de Oro
• Montana de Oro Topo Map
• Montana de Oro Ranger’s Map
• The Elephant Seals of Piedras Blancas

(Pelican flock, all in a row, over Morro Bay)