Tomales Point

Antlers, Coyotes & Wild, Wild Women

September 21, 2015

The elk are in rut, which means it's time for a hike through the Tule Elk Reserve at Point Reyes.  This has become something of an annual tradition for me.

American Kestrel -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

American Kestrel

This is the one trip I make to Point Reyes without Pongo.  He's not allowed out on the reserve and with good reason.  The wildlife can sometimes be very close to the trail.  I've encountered a coyote within five feet of the trail (he was heading North walking parallel to the foot path as we were heading South).  That was pretty cool, and it couldn't have happened if dogs were a normal presence at the reserve.  I do feel bad about leaving Pongo at home while I have an adventure at one of his favorite day trip spots, but that's just how it has to be sometimes.  Sorry, buddy.

A different kind of wildlife -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

It was a hot day for a hike on Sunday.  I wasn't at all surprised to see a few people down on the beach, even though I don't think there's an easy way down there.  I was a little surprised to note at least one naked person on the beach.  That made the hike just a little more fun.

Tule Elk -- White Gulch, Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- White Gulch, Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Turkey Vulture

The elk seem to gather in the same general areas every year.  There are one or two harems between the entrance of the elk reserve and the parking lot at Pierce Ranch.  The first harem on the hike is generally in White Gulch.They tend to be too far away to get a good look at.  This year the harem is quite large.  I guess this is the big stud of the reserve, the George Clooney of tule elk.  I've seen this harem move off into the hills late in the afternoon, once seeing them on the return right next to the ranch house.

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk

The next group hangs out at the top of the hill maybe a mile or so from the gulch harem.  This group is sometimes near or even right on the trail.  On Sunday that were hanging out maybe twenty feet from the trail.  It's the closest I've ever been to the elk.  Talking with the docents at the gulch, the deal seems to be that as long as you stick to the trail you're OK.  If the elk are close use caution but sticking to the trail is the way to go.  The thing that has always struck me about this particular hike is that people seem to know how to handle themselves.  Folks stop to take pictures, but no one approaches the elk in an inappropriate way.  It's very different from the Yellowstone experience, where people get as close to the elk and bison with their cell phones as they can.  I saw one couple who brought their dog--which troubled me to no end, as you can imagine--but that's the most egregious behavior I've ever seen at Tomales Point.  That's one of the reasons I like this hike so much.

Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk

I hiked about a mile farther until I could see the end of the point.  There's usually a group of bachelors that hang out near the pond that's about a half mile farther, but I wasn't feeling it so I turned around.  I figured I'd have more photos to take on the way back and I'd already taken a lot.  The timing worked out well because not only did I get more pictures of the elk at the top of the hill but there was a coyote hanging around the area as well.  Not only is this the best hike I know of for seeing elk, it's also the best I've experienced for viewing coyotes.

Coyote -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk

So, what are tule elk?  Tule elk are one of three subspecies of elk found in the continental United States.  They have only ever been found in California.  Two hundred years ago about half a million individuals populated the area but fifty years later they were thought to be extinct.  A single pair of tule elk was discovered in 1875 and it's from this pair that all of the 4000 or so tule elk that are alive today have descended.  They are spread out across a handful of reserves and wilderness locations in the state.  If you follow my blog you'll know that a herd can be found at the San Luis National Wildlife Refuge and another near Highway 101 between the Bay Area and Redwood National Park.  There are others but these are the ones I'm familiar with.

Coyote -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk

Tule elk are smaller than rocky mountain elk found inland and the even larger Roosevelt elk found in along the Northern California-Oregon-Washington coastline.  The larger bulls can weight in at nine hundred pounds, which puts them on par with rocky mountain elk and smaller Roosevelt elk bulls.  I haven't seen any this large.  The large Roosevelt bulls I've seen have left me slack-jawed, I've never had that feeling looking at a tule elk.  Anecdotal evidence, I guess, but that's been my experience.

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Tule Elk -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Coyote -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Northern Harrier -- Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Pierce Ranch, Point Reyes National Seashore, CA

Monterey Bay

There be whales here!

September 5, 2015

I tried to go whale watching in Monterey a couple of weeks ago.  That didn't work out.  All of the afternoon tours were cancelled due to rough conditions.  I vowed to return and on Saturday I did.  The water was rough but the tours were running.  What a day.

Old Fishermen's Wharf, Monterey, CA

I left Alameda at 1:30 in the afternoon, figuring even with bad Labor Day traffic I'd make it in plenty of time to secure a spot on the 5:30 tour at the Monterey Bay Whale Watch Center.  Traffic wasn't bad.  It was awful.  Door to door it took me three hours, twice as long as it takes in light traffic.  To my surprise there was a 4:20 tour that I hadn't seen on their website.  The boat hadn't left and they had one spot open.  I love it when a plan comes together.

California Sea Lion -- Monterey Bay, CA

Our first animal sightings weren't whales.  That honor would have to go to the ubiquitous sea lion who seem to inhabit every harbor in Northern California.  They are noisy and rude, but I still like 'em.  We also saw a flock of red phalaropes.  Cute little birds.  Lifers for me, but there's nothing too amazing about that.

Red Phalarope -- Monterey Bay, CA

Common Murre

Before we get to the whales let's take look at the animal that outnumbered any other we saw by a country mile: the common murre.  Murres are closely related to puffins, which is easy to visualize when seen in the water.  They look like they're lying flat on the water rather than sitting on top of it the way a duck or gull would.  They are also very noisy.  The father and its son or daughter stick closely together, the father calling so the young one can locate him after a dive.  When a bunch of these birds are close together they can make quite a racket.

Common Murre -- Monterey Bay, CA

It took a half hour or so to get out to the first whale.  The ocean was rough for the day trippers we were.  I was worried about sea sickness but that ended up not being a problem.  Over the course of the trip I counted six people either leaning over the railing or using their hat as a receptacle.  I could only see half the boat at any given time, so I'm guessing the overall count of sick tourists was a bit higher.  There was a little kid up front who was loving the rough waters.  His cries of "here comes a big one!" were fair warning to the rest of us on the boat.

Our First Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA

The first whale we saw was alone.  He didn't put on much of a show, coming up for air a couple of times then disappearing for five minutes or so then reappearing for a few more breaths.  That was it.  The on-board biologist thought this particular whale might have been sleeping.  She explained a bit about how humpbacks sleep, I'm going to have to read up on that.  Basically, she said they never fully sleep the way a person would.

Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA

Humpback Whale

We continued up the coastline for another half hour or so until we were past Moss Landing and then we noticed that there seemed to be whales everywhere we looked.  There were numerous spouts off in the distance and several groups relatively close to the boat.  Along with the whales were the birds, hundreds of birds.  This was a happening spot.

Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA

Whale breath smells like a mix of low tide wetlands that have been baking in the hot sun for a few hours and a wet fart.  Yummy.  Although not so nice to smell, the sound they make when they blow is wonderful.  Hearing it, seeing it, smelling it, even from the respectful distance that our boat remained at all times, that was everything I was hoping for from this trip.  We even saw a couple of rainblows.

Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA

Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA

Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA

Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA

Humpback Whale -- Monterey Bay, CA

We spent about an hour in the sweet spot with the whales before making the hour long trek back to the harbor.  We saw about twenty whales from a relatively close distance.  The overall official count for the trip was about fifty, the other thirty being seen in the distance.  The biologist told us there was an even better spot for seeing whales that day in deeper waters but the waves would be too big for us landlubbers.

Monterey Bay, CA

Monterey Bay, CA

Old Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey, CA

Old Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey, CA