It’s hard to miss these peculiar brown birds gliding, in small groups, above braking waves of the ocean edge, disappearing into the fog. The Brown Pelican is the smallest of the 8 species of Pelecanus. It’s mesmerizing to watch them glide 30 feet above the surface looking for aggregations of small fish, bomb-diving for them, once spotted, head straight down, wings half-stretched, often disappearing completely […]
I’ve been spotting California sea lion and harbor seal pups lately around beaches from Fields Landing to Crescent City, California. As adorable as they look, it’s not a good sign that they mingle so closely with people. Being so young, they are very trustworthy and the Crescent City-based Marine Mammal Rescue Center has been busy capturing and rehabilitating them. Last week, I almost tripped over
One of the perks of my California Department of Fish and Game job is that I get sent from Arcata to Crescent City, California several times a week. It’s an hour and a half drive one way, which takes me through several Redwood State and National Parks. On those days, I often get up at 4 am, just so I could spend a couple of
As I was driving along Highway 101 to my new temporary home town of Arcata, California, I stopped overnight in a charming fishing town of Newport, Oregon. Besides great CouchSuring hosts, another highlight of Newport was the Oregon Coast Aquarium, with their Passages of the Deep and the Sea Bird Aviary. Even though it was January, and the birds weren’t in their bright mating outfits,
One of the largest mammals of North America are a mere half-hour drive from Arcata, northern California. Roosevelt Elk (Cervus canadensis roosevelti), the largest sub-species of elk, can often be spotted between Humboldt Lagoons and Prairie Creek Redwoods State Parks. In fact, after the Redwoods, they are the easiest to spot drive-by attraction here, spending most of their time grazing in open pastures or resting