Moss Landing and Carmel

On Saturday March 18th my wife and I headed for the coast in an effort to get my Califonia list for 2017 up to 150. We stopped first at Carmel River Beach where the rains had totally altered things. The lagoon was now part of a river that flowed to the sea giving us no access to the waterline. We were some 6 feet above the river and  could not reach places where we had walked before. We then walked along the road and I picked up Black Turnstone and Whimbrel for the year

Whimbrel

We then headed to Moss Landing where Snowy Plover and Common Loon were found as expected, but a Pigeon Guillemot near the jetty was a surprise. Sadly the Heerman's Gulls so numerous in late December and I ended the day on 149 species for the year in California.

On Sunday March 19th I headed to Santa Teresa County Park for just a short while ahead of my flight. The previous day someone had reported three House Wren at the trailhead on Bernal Road but they were not there. Instead many Song Sparrows were singing loudly. But my trip wasn't entirely wasted as I saw a Bobcat very close, although I did not manage to get a good photo.

So I was to end March stuck on 149 in California. I had died in the hole.