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

San Luis National Wildlife Refuge

January 25, 2015

Pongo and I made a trip to San Luis National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday.  It's one of the places I like to visit when I'm not moving very well.  The auto tours are long and varied.  Tule elk can be seen on every visit, although good photo opportunities are not guaranteed.  The bird life is abundant at all times of year, but this place really shines in winter.

Northern Harrier -- San Luis Wildlife Refuge, CA

San Luis Wildlife Refuge, CA

A lot of times, as in the photos above, the wildlife is a little too far away to get good photos. Even so, I find these photos appealing.  There's something comforting about the drab colors of the tule reeds, which also provide a direct connection to the Native American past of this area.  These reeds were used by the tribes for making shelters, baskets, mats and even boats.  I wish the Native American culture was celebrated more in the Bay Area and the Central Valley.

Northern Shoveler -- San Luis Wildlife Refuge, CA

I broke the auto focus on my 250mm lens last weekend.  While definitely a bummer, it gives me an opportunity to work on my manual focus technique until I make a move on a new lens.  I don't really see any sense in trying to fix this lens, the cost would probably be comparable to replacing it with a similar model and I think I want to move up to a longer, fixed length lens.  This one just doesn't quite have the reach I'd like.

Red-tailed Hawk -- San Luis Wildlife Refuge, CA

I've taken my best hawk photos at this refuge.  I got a few nice opportunities yesterday.  I saw dozens of hawks while driving the auto tours.  I was amazed to see so many in one area.  I expect to see a lot of hawks and harriers here, but yesterday's numbers were astounding.

San Luis Wildlife Refuge, CA

Tundra Swan

San Luis is a good place for seeing tundra swans and sandhill cranes.  The tundra swans were close enough for some OK pictures, unfortunately the cranes were keeping their distance from the roads.  I didn't see any deer or coyotes on this trip.  I think the presence of hunters has them maintaining low profiles.  In the summer it's not uncommon to see multiple coyotes on a single day.  Some people consider coyotes to be nuisance animals, but I think they're pretty amazing.

Red-tailed Hawk -- San Luis Wildlife Refuge, CA

I saw a barn owl out here once, so I always try to wait until the sun goes down before heading home in hopes of seeing another.  No such luck yesterday.  Still, Pongo and I had a nice relaxing time driving around the loops and seeing what we could see.

Sacramento to Salem

A Peaceful Passing

December 26-28, 2014

No one ever accused Uncle George of doing things the easy way.  By all accounts I heard, though, he slipped away quietly the weekend before Christmas.  So, it was with a somewhat heavy heart that I made another drive up to Oregon, my fifth trip up to Salem in roughly fourteen months, my third to attend a funeral.

Northern Harrier -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

By the end, Uncle George was a shell of the man he'd been earlier in life.  Alzheimer's disease beat him down, but as a younger man he was larger than life.  He had a big voice with a completely unique tone and phrasing.  I have never heard anyone that talked like Uncle George.  He also seemed to live without fear.  He charged after what he wanted and he encouraged others to do the same.  Often, what he wanted to do was help others.  He was as generous a man as I have even known.  Yeah, I looked up to him quite a bit, and I certainly wasn't the only one in my family who did so.

Greater White-fronted Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I stopped at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge on the way up.  I took the auto tour, as usual.  There wasn't a whole lot happening there.  I saw more northern harriers in one place than I've ever seen before.  At times there were four harriers in close proximity hunting in the tall grass or buzzing the ducks.  I also saw some ring-billed ducks, which I've never seen there before.  I didn't see a single hawk or eagle there, though.

Mount Shasta, CA

There's not a whole lot else to share.  It was a pretty quiet trip.  I didn't take a many pictures.  Well, not many good pictures, anyway.  It was dark and overcast the entire time I was in Oregon except for patches of sun on my drive home, but I was in no mood to stop for pictures at that point in the trip.

Mount Shasta, CA

Willamette River, Salem, OR

Oregon State Capitol, Salem, OR

Union Street Railroad Bridge, Salem, OR

Thanksgiving 2014: The Redwood Highway

The Redwood Highway

November 22, 2014

Soundtrack:

• Sonic Youth -- Sonic Nurse

Another year, another trip up to Oregon for the traditional Thanksgiving get-together.  It was a small gathering this year of around forty Hildebrand/Roths.

It rained pretty much every day of the trip.  That might sound dreary, but after three years of drought in California it was actually kind of refreshing.  Plus, there are certain areas that I visited that I think actually are better to experience in wet weather.  More on in later posts (I've got a week's worth of posts, after all, I've got to give myself something to write about later).

Eel River, Avenue of the Giants, CA

Like last year, I drove all the way up 101 to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington then down to I-5 in Olympia and on into Salem, OR.  This was plan B.  Plan A was to drive up 395 into Central Oregon and and bum around that area for a few days, but only if the weather was good.  I didn't want to get caught in snow or extremely cold weather, especially since I'd be camping most of the time.  I also like the 101 drive in bad weather.  The Oregon and Washington portions of the trek can be dramatic when it's wet and stormy.  So, with the rain coming down and snow forecast for the first spot I intended to camp on the Eastern route, I opted for plan B.  I would have liked to have visited some new spots, but this still turned out to be a nice way to spend the week of Thanksgiving.

Avenue of the Giants, CA

I saw my first bald eagle of the trip (21 overall) flying through the redwoods along the Eel River.  That was a sight to see.  I saw another at the mouth of the Klamath River, Those were the first bald eagles I've ever seen in California.  It's nice to see the birds rebounding from the DDT problems that nearly killed off the species.

Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I stopped at a few wildlife refuges along the drive, the first being Humboldt Bay.  There was a bit more activity here than on my previous visits, but it's still nothing like the massive gathering of birds at the Sacramento refuge.  I was able to get very close to a northern harrier though, probably closer than I've managed to get anywhere else.

Northern Harrier -- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Northern Harrier -- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

White-tailed Kite -- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

American Robin -- Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Humboldt Bay National Wildlife Refuge, CA

I saw three herds of elk on the drive.  I saw the first in Mendocino County.  They were the smaller tule elk found only in California.  I encountered the other two herds near Orick, CA.  These herds always seem to be in the same general vicinity when I make this drive.  There's one other heard I often see around Prairie Creek in Redwood National Park, but I didn't see those elk on this trip.

Roosevelt Elk -- Orick, Redwood National Park, CA

Roosevelt Elk -- Orick, Redwood National Park, CA

Roosevelt Elk -- Orick, Redwood National Park, CA

I camped for the night at Jedediah Smith Redwoods State Park.  This is one of the nicest campgrounds I've stayed at.  It's a drive-in campground.  The sites are nestled into a large grove of redwoods along the Smith River.  I spent a couple of days there with my brother and his family in August.  The river was a different beast then, running low and calm.  The swimming hole we spent the afternoon in was completely gone, now a mean bend in the rushing November waters.

Klamath River, Redwood National Park, CA