Moss Landing, CA
June 22, 2014
I finally busted out the kayak at Elkhorn Slough. This has been my goal since Jim gave me the boat at Christmas. I had a great time, but I have to admit at times it was a bit stressful.
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| Moss Landing, CA |
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| Harbor Seal |
This was the first real day trip I've made with the kayak. I've taken it out a few times before on the Oakland/Alameda Estuary, but that's more like a neighborhood stroll than a boating excursion. To make the kayak road worthy I had to add a couple of bolts to it to tie it down for the drive. I've been using the handles it came with to drive it to the estuary boat ramp, which has worked well for those short drives of less than two miles, but I didn't trust that for the open road. I was able to drive worry-free with the new set up.
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| Moss Landing, CA |
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| Southern Sea Otter |
The Moss Landing harbor is one of the best places I know of to see marine mammals in their natural environment. Every time I've been there I've seen a raft of sea otters out in the harbor. I've also always seen harbor seals on the sand and sea lions on the docks. Each species seems to have its area clearly demarcated.
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| Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA |
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| Southern Sea Otter |
My favorite, of course, are the sea otters. Love those little guys. I've read that it's unusual for them to gather in large groups, in fact Elkhorn Slough is one of the few places in the world it's known to occur on a regular basis. It's mostly males that hang out here, although I did see a mother and cub in the raft. The boys are rambunctious. They like to wrestle and roll around together. Of course, they also like to eat.
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| Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA |
California sea lions hang out on the docks near the entrance to the slough. They're a rowdy bunch.
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| California Sea Lion -- Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, CA |
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| California Sea Lion |
Entering the slough was a little intimidating. Besides the raucous group of pinnipeds throwing taunts and insults from the nearby floats, a strong tidal current was flowing into the estuary. The current tossed my little boat around a bit. I don't yet have a good sense of how strong I am as a kayaker, so I was a little worried about fighting the tide to get out of the estuary, especially considering high tide was still at least four hours away.
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| Brown Pelican -- Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, CA |
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| Common Loon |
I drifted about a mile into the estuary before deciding I didn't want to risk getting stuck back in there until nightfall. As I drifted, I came across a seal and a cormorant. I saw a large black and white bird on the shore on the other side of the estuary, so I paddled across to have a closer look. It was a common loon. They're not often seen on land, but this one had an injured leg. Poor guy.
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| Brandt's Cormorant -- Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, CA |
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| Southern Sea Otter |
Paddling back out of the slough wasn't too bad. It got a little hairy going under the highway. The current wanted to drive me into the pilings, so I had to work a bit to avoid that. I was also a little worried about getting pushed into the sea lion docks. I made it into the calm waters of the harbor without too much trouble, though. I'm definitely more confident about going deeper into the slough next time.
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| Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA |
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| Caspian & Elegant Terns -- Moss Landing, CA |
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| Harbor Seal -- Moss Landing, CA |
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| Southern Sea Otter |
The highlight of the day for me was seeing sea otters on land. That was a first for me. They don't look much smaller than harbor seals when they're hauled out. Cuter, though. It's easy to imagine why their fur was so highly sought after by Russian traders. I think I'd have a hard time killing one of these little guys, though.
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| Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA |
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| Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA |
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| Southern Sea Otter -- Moss Landing, CA |
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| Brown Pelican -- Moss Landing, CA |
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