Long-billed Curlew at El Matador Beach--Malibu, CA

Having lived in the "south" most of my life (south meaning the eastern south) and being accustomed to a more leisurely pace, a visit to Los Angeles, California, can feel like a visit to a foreign country.  Driving the LA freeways, navigating city streets even, for me rivals learning a foreign language at a high-speed pace with only a few seconds to grasp it.   
But also rivaling any wonder I've experienced in nature is the absolute grandeur of the western coastline along the Pacific Coast Highway.  The ruggedness of the rock cliff formations, the blue expanse of the Pacific Ocean, the impressive panoramic views of the undulating California coastline on one side, and stark canyon walls on the other, present a world that envelops me in wonder every time I see it.  Add to this, the discovery of a life bird foraging among the rock formations and you have what makes for a perfect moment in nature.   (Click on the above image to enlarge and notice the people standing in the shadow of the large boulder.  This gives you a relative idea of the height of my position while taking the photograph just before my climb down.)

Located on the west end of Malibu, El Matador is one of three beaches located in the Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach, an area of cove or cliff-foot strands, also known as "pocket beaches" because of their isolated accessibility.

That isolation is largely due to the steep decent required to gain beach access, made possible only by a series of paths and stairways that enable you to weave your way down the cliff wall to the shore.      

And every landing is worthy of pause, a chance to take in a whole new perspective on a breath-taking view. 

Below, you see a cluster of rock formations along the shore.  It was at this level that I noticed the movement of shorebirds among the rocks, one of them standing out as larger and more colorful.

After progressing a couple of levels closer, I knew I had found a treasure, an unfamiliar bird with intriguing features.

Breeding in grasslands and wet meadows in the central United States and south-central Canada, the Long-billed Curlew, a life bird for me, winters along the coast of California and south to Mexico.  It uses that long decurved bill to probe deep into mud and sand, following the burrows of fiddler crabs, shrimp, crayfish and other crustaceans, and bringing them up to the surface to consume.   On it's grassland breeding grounds, it uses this same technique to forage earthworm burrows.

Considered "highly imperiled" by the U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan because of declines and threats to both breeding and wintering grounds, while not foraging this bird walks with an erect, slightly head back posture giving it a proud appearance as it travels the mud flats.

At a height of 23" and a wing span of 35" it also made a graceful departure.  Slow, deliberate flaps from long cinnamon wings lifted it over the boulder-strewn, frothy tidal waters with ease.    

One of those unexpected treasured moments with nature.

Related Links and Resources:

Robert H. Meyer Memorial State Beach and El Matador State Beach
Cornell on the Long-billed Curlew

Visit blog carnival, I and the Bird  #138, at Wanderin' Weeta's where you'll find this post and others that show the many ways people enjoy birds in nature.

Linked to Bird Photography Weekly # 115 to promote the conservation of our world's birds.