Point Reyes National Seashore--Common Murre and Peregrines

The earth is stunningly beautiful and the state of California possesses a wealth of breath-taking coastal areas. 

Our first destination at the seashore--the light house.  

As we reached the first viewing platform, it was about 9:45 a.m. and the gate to the light house was still locked.  My birding companion and guide today (February 21st) was Talissa Ralph who lives in Knoxville, where I live, but is practically a native of Stinson Beach from a lifetime of exploring the area.   We stood on the deck looking down on the light house and checked out the colony of Common Murre crowded on a rock shelf below us.    

Lighthouse Rock Murre colony.

Common Murre are seabirds that weigh about two pounds, are about the size of a football and spend most of their life on the water.  During the nesting season, from April to July, they gather in crowded colonies on rock surfaces to nest. Their eggs are varied in colors and spots and are uniquely shaped with one end more pointed so that a disturbed egg rolls in a tight circle.  About 16,000 murres nest here on Lighthouse Rock.

As we observed the murres, we caught a glimpse of gray wings disappearing behind a boulder just as the park ranger arrived to open the gate to the stairs that lead to the lighthouse.  Talissa asked if there were falcons in the area. He answered, "yes", and walked closer to the fence on the other side of the bolder, motioning for us to join him.. "Look right down there." 

Not one, but a PAIR of Peregrine Falcons were perched on the rocks below!  A breathless view.  

One of the pair flew before I could get an image of them together but this beautiful peregrine remained for a while. See if you can locate her in the image below after I zoomed out to show the surrounding habitat.   (she is on a boulder on the left half of the image)

Zooming brings her closer, below.

and cropping, even closer.

Below, she assumes a pre-flight position just prior to lifting off and disappearing behind the cliffs to my right. Peregrines nest on cliff ledges and lay their eggs on simple rock scrapes, usually under a protective overhang. This was a breath-taking look at these resident falcons and their habitat with all the characteristics needed to sustain their life cycle.  

Her departure was actually a good thing.  We had a lot to see on our visit to the seashore and I'm not sure I would have left this spot with the opportunity to observe this falcon still possible!

"Peregrine Falcon" -- watercolor by Vickie Henderson

Next:  The light house and a pair of Rock Wrens!

Peregrine Falcon
My website:  Vickie Henderson Art
Painting a Peregrine at Vickie's Sketchbook

The Common Murre Restoration Project
A Day in the Life of a Murre Biologist
Point Reyes Light House history
Point Reyes National Seashore

Dipsea Trail Part III--from Chaparral to Beach

We back-tracked to the descending trail head we had previously missed and paused for a break to take in the view and contemplate the distance we had left to travel! (Links Part I and II of our Dipsea Trail hike)

Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves     That's me, enjoying a leisurely rest with coastal scrub and a bit of the trail in view behind me.  

Below you see the stairs we are about to descend that add to the challenges of trail racing.  We encountered trainees running up these stairs as we went down.  You can also see why the trail is so popular.  In addition to the changing habitat, the views are stunning.

Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves

To the left in the image below, you can see the trail winding through the coastal scrub as it descends to the Pacific Ocean. Here we were among low-lying, draught-hardy shrubs with Anna's Hummingbirds hovering over our heads as they approach the spring blossoms.      

 Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves

From the hillside, a pair of coyotes surveyed the hikers on the trail, waiting for dusk to begin their hunt.  They were surprisingly unbothered by the presence of humans, perhaps because the area is protected by the state park system and people are a common sight.  Clever and adaptive to a variety of habitats, coyote populations are flourishing bringing them into frequent conflict with people and making them one of the most persecuted predators in our world, next to the wolf.

A young hiker alerted us to their presence.  It was a pleasure to witness this peaceful co-existence between humans and this intelligent canine in a protected shrub habitat.

Above and below, views of Stinson Beach and Bolinas Lagoon, located to the east of the beach.

At the base of the hills, we again entered a forest habitat and followed a winding trail through live oak and fragrant, arching bay laurel.

Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves

Here we found more flowering trillium.  The trillum in the next image was impressively the size of a dinner plate!  That's no exaggeration!

As we came out of the woods, a short trek through town brought us to the beach.

Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves

Above, one tired but happy hiker as we finish our Dipsea Trail hike only a short distance from our beach house accomodations.  Once there, with shoes and packs discarded, we settled into beach chairs on the dunes to enjoy a glass of wine and the beautiful sunset--a lovely ending to our first day!

Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves

All my posts on Stinson Beach, California.  The first post will be last in order.
Dipsea Trail hike

Dipsea Trail 
Wendy Pitts Reeves and Wendy's website
Coastal chaparral is an ecosystem dominated by woody-stemmed shrubs that are draught and saline tolerant.
Bay Nature
Coyote

The Dipsea Trail Part II--Coastal Chaparral

At the end of the Muir Woods portion of the Dipsea Trail we emerged onto open chaparral hills offering spectacular panoramic views of the coastal shrub habitat, the Pacific Ocean, Stinson Beach and Bolinas Lagoon. 

As we slowed to take in the change in habitat we discovered flowers in bloom along the trail banks, sometimes nearly hidden by the dry shrubby plants.

Above, Fremont's Star lilies reaching up from the base of woody coyote brush.

Star Lilly (Zigadenus fremontii), Star Zigadene or Fremont's Star Lily is also called "deathcamas" because of its poisonous properties.  According to the Bay Nature website this creamy white star flower is one of the earliest to bloom in the spring and "is found on open summits or in brushy draws".

The plant is named after a famous western surveyor and map maker, John Fremont (1813-1890) who collected plants on several exploratory visits to western states.  He later became a California senator and a candidate for president.

It was our enjoyment of these spring flowers and preoccupation with identifying sparrows flitting around the base of shrubs that caused us to miss the connecting trail and wander, for a brief time, along the hillside headed westward and away from our destination.  Our high position on the chaparral made it easy to see that Stinson Beach was slowly drifting away from us!

Even with the certain realization we were headed the wrong way, we pushed on just a little farther to visit a lone Eucalyptus tree sporting a plank-seated rope swing and Wendy hopped on for a ride.

Despite the fatigue that was settling in on this last mile of our journey, I would not have wanted to miss the Star Lilies or the silvery lupines growing in bushy mounds as we back-tracked along the trail. 

As we progressed further, I was delighted to find that some of the lupines were opening their showy blossoms.   In no time, these vast coastal scrub hills will be covered with mounds of purple flowers.

Silver Lupine (Lupinus albifrons), white-leafed bush lupine (pronounced lupin) or evergreen lupine is native to California and one of three lupine species that are the crucial food source for the Mission Blue Butterfly. Unfortunately the lupine's toxicity to livestock has caused ranchers to remove it on grazing lands which has contributed to the rapid decline and endangerment of the California endemic Mission Blue Butterfly (Aricia icariodes missioniensis).  This butterfly is found in limited areas and depends entirely on three native lupine species that support its life cycle.

The video below discusses the Marin County area, which includes Stinson Beach, and describes the many factors contributing to the butterfly's decline.

Next:  The beach at the end of the trail!

Visit this link to see all my posts on Stinson Beach, California
Dipsea Trail hike posts

Dipsea Trail 
Coastal chaparral is an ecosystem dominated by woody-stemmed, draught tolerant shrubs
Wendy Pitts Reeves and Wendy's website
Mission Blue Butterfly conservation and life history
More on the Mission Blue Butterfly and Mission Blue Butterfly from Berkeley
The El Segundo Blue Butterfly, another endangered California blue

Bay Nature
Star Zigadene lily or Fremont's Star Lily

Muir Woods to Stinson Beach on the Dipsea Trail

The Dipsea Trail stretches 7.4 miles from Mill Valley, CA, to Stinson Beach, CA, winding along the Redwood Creek watershed that stretches from the slopes of Mount Tamalpais to the Pacific Ocean.   As you step into this portion of the trail you almost forget that the area is struggling with draught.

A famous trail race takes place on this trail.  First run in 1905, the Dipsea Trail race is the second oldest trail race in American, occuring on the second Sunday of each June.  The course is popular worldwide and considered one of the most scenic trail races in the world requiring organizers to restrict participants to 1500 to protect habitat.  The trail's steep climbs and curving stairs make racing the trail hazardous and names like "suicide" and "cardiac" label some sections of the trail.  As we hiked, we encountered racers-in-training running up steep slopes of stairs as they passed us.  WE were not running!

Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves                  Yours truly in Muir Woods

My friend, Wendy, and I were there for our leisure and to enjoy the magic of the redwood forest.  We were dropped off by car at the point where the trail crosses the Redwood Creek, the western section that begins in the Muir Woods, a portion of the Muir Woods National Monument.  The trail rises and falls until it reaches the coastal scrub habitat over-looking the ocean and progresses downward until you reach the sand on the beach.  

Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves

The Muir Woods Monument was set aside in 1908 by President Roosevelt when he signed legislation to save "an old growth redwood forest from destruction".  How grateful I am and many others along with me! The forest is absolutely magical. You can tell somewhat from the images, but you must plan a visit to fully experience the richness of the redwood forest habitat--lush green understory thick with ferns, moisture that hovers under the canopy and drips despite drought, rich smells of damp earth and waterfalls, and the unique feeling of being dwarfed by towering stands of redwoods.

The coastal redwoods range from 400-800 years old, are known to live 2000 years, and can reach a height of 250 ft making them the tallest organisms on earth. Redwoods grow in moderate temperature and need significant amounts of water to survive. The coastal redwoods thrive because of the fog that is available year round. The fog condenses on the tree's needles, drips to the ground, and provides the moisture that the trees need even in dry seasons.

The week before we arrived, the Stinson Beach area had some much needed rain, causing flooding in some areas.  In the forest, trillium were opening their blooms all along the earthen banks of the trail.

Below, a trail ladder constructed beside a water fall to help hikers navigate a boulder drop-off.  Not as easy as it may look.

Photo credit:  Wendy Pitts Reeves

Below, Wendy waits, while I pause to take photos.  We were equal in that department. Both avid photographers, we enjoyed the magic and depth of the moment, as well as, the opportunity to capture some of the beauty around us in images.

Next:  Part II of the Dipsea Trail--the chaparral

Visit this link to see all my posts on Stinson Beach California.

Visit this link to see all my posts on the Dipsea Trail hike

Wendy Pitts Reeves

Dipsea Trail

Dipsea Race

Muir Woods National Monument

History of Muir Woods

Stinson Beach