Birding

Brown Pelican

~ tomadaonline ~ 3 Comments

I found the most beautiful Brown Pelican yesterday.  It was posing patiently in front of the Chit Chat Cafe at the base of the Pacifica Pier.  I’d gone there to scope out the storm damage.  Sure enough, a chuck of the sidewalk was missing.  The waves blasted rock through the sea wall and sucked out the material under the sidewalk, which promptly collapsed.  Our public works group was jolly on the spot.

I posted the Pelican on Facebook and got a comment that this bird was famous.  It had it’s own web site.  It’s a rehabilitated bird banded K-15.  I reported it this morning.  Hope to see it again.  Such a stunning sight.

If you see K-15 or any blue-banded bird please report here.

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Soft Top Taco Bell

~ tomadaonline ~ 2 Comments

We have surf right in front of our world famous Taco Bell.  It might be the only Taco Bell on the planet built on the beach. It has stunning views, and at high tide, during a large swell, the surf might flow under the building.  But let’s discuss soft top boards, not soft shell tacos.

I saw this guy heading out to surf with a soft top board, like those pictured above, but his was white with blue stripes.  Soft tops are the board of choice for most surf schools, since they soften the inevitable fall.  I assumed, therefore, that the guy was a beginner.

During the next half hour I put my new camera through its paces.  This is the camera that got drenched during my close encounter with large waves at the pier this past Thursday.  It seems to be functioning quite well.

There were close ups of gulls posing beside the terminus of San Pedro Valley Creek and surf scoters gliding effortlessly over the low tide swell. The guy on the white and blue board, who was hardly a beginner, gave me a handfull of fun waves.