When planning any of our vacations I always try to pick a destination that has birds for me and interesting sightseeing for my husband (non-birder and good sport). For our late-summer trip to the Monterey Bay area in California, I hired a bird guide. He took us all over Monterey, Carmel and Pacific Grove in search of birds. To my husband’s amusement we even visited a dairy farm, where we saw a Tricolored Blackbird. At the end of the day I had added 19 species to my life list. My main target bird was Yellow-billed Magpie and I had good looks at three! Other birds of note that we saw were Wandering Tattler, Surfbird, Long-billed Curlew, and Acorn Woodpecker.

California Quail

He also suggested we take the Elkhorn Slough pontoon-boat ride. The slough is a tidal salt marsh which provides habitat for plants, animals, and birds. It was a two-hour trip with a naturalist on board, who talked about the area and pointed out sea otters, California sea lions and harbour seals. The captain will point out birds if you tell him that is your interest. Monterey’s best weather is September to November, which is their dry season. We were there from the end of August to September 7. Unfortunately, we experienced the coolest, foggiest weather that the locals had seen in a long time. The weather made us decide against going on a pelagic trip or a whale-watching cruise. This time period is generally good for both those activities. Staying on land meant we could enjoy the spectacular scenery. One of our favourite drives was south on Highway 1 to the Big Sur area. We visited Julia Pfeiffer Burns State Park to marvel at the redwoods and to hike out to view the beautiful McWay Falls. I enjoyed watching some Steller’s Jays (pictured at beginning of article) trying to share in a visitor’s picnic lunch. This is a good spot to look for California Condors. We saw a family of three birds soaring over a ridge. Magnificent!

Greater Roadrunner

While at the park we spoke to two interns who were involved in the monitoring of the condors. They mentioned that some of the birds can be found at Pinnacles National Monument. This park is a little more than an hour’s drive east of Monterey. Being inland, it was sunny and a hot 32° C. The area is the spectacular remains of an extinct volcano and there are incredible rock formations. There are a variety of hiking trails for every fitness level. We didn’t see any condors, but we did find Oak Titmouse, Greater Roadrunner, California Quail and a Prairie Falcon (which breed there). A fellow birder took us to Natural Bridges State Beach where I got to see a flock of foraging Pygmy Nuthatches. Then he took us to Antonelli Pond where I saw a beautiful male Black-throated Gray Warbler. He also told us to visit the U.C. Santa Cruz Arboretum. This is a hummingbird paradise with many flowers to attract these birds. We enjoyed watching aggressive Rufous Hummingbirds chasing Anna’s Hummingbirds away from all the blooms.

Rufous Hummingbird

On our last day in Monterey we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium. We were very impressed with this facility. The exhibits were incredible and our favourites were the displays on jellyfish, sea otters and seahorses. There was even a small aviary with rescued shorebirds. The staff and volunteers were friendly and knowledgeable. Besides being entertaining, the aquarium promotes conservation and protection of the ocean and its creatures. If you’re going to visit the aquarium, I would recommend buying your tickets online and avoiding weekends and holidays when it is quite busy. If you are California dreaming, the Monterey Bay Area may be the place for your next vacation.

Note: All photos are from Pexels.com, an online source of copyright-free photos.