Welcome back to my visit to Point Reyes National Seashore (or rather, parts of it since it's pretty huge)! In my previous posts, we saw some cool landscapes, animals, birds, and flowers and and make the trek to the Lighthouse.
After leaving the lighthouse, I stopped to take a picture of a cute cow with some flowers as I made my way to the Bear Valley Visitor's Center.
My timing was perfect because when I arrived at the visitor's center, there was a beautiful, tall Great Blue Heron standing in the field just off the road. What a welcome!
Some backpackers came through the field and startled him away from me. :-( But he looked amazing from the back too!
I went for a brief walk on one of the paths and was rewarded by hearing (mostly) and seeing (a little) an Acorn Woodpecker. I will apologize now for this picture. This little guy was chopping away in a grove of trees and the tangle of branches where he was working was pretty high.
Also, his face is to the wood (naturally) so you can only see his body. But it's pretty! As are the bokeh in the picture. :-)
On my short walk before making my way into the visitor's center, I also spotted some gorgeous flowers and two pairs of California Quail.
And some other pretty birds.
Mother Nature is such an incredible artist. And I think too many people look at a "plain" little brown bird and don't really see it. I'm so thankful that my growing love of photography has made me look at things a little closer. Not trying to lecture or anything...I just think life is so fast and materialistic in general. Watching birds and nature is a great break from that.
Next to the visitor's center is the Morgan Horse Ranch. This working ranch has been training Morgan horses for years and visitors can see volunteers actually working with 3-10 horses depending. There were three there when I was. And a cat.
Same horse, different angle. Still gorgeous.
Love this dappled beauty.
This guy was out to pasture. The trees in the background are where I spotted the woodpecker, so you can see how tall and tangled they are.
This little bird is called a Dark-eyed Junco. Supposedly they are very common, but I don't recall seeing one before.
(Note: This weekend I did a 4-mile walk at Cosumnes River and saw them aplenty. That's one thing I love...one I see a bird and learn about it, I start seeing them everywhere.)
On my way back to my car, I spotted a lovely Robin sitting in one of the pastures.
I next made my way to the Tule Elk Refuge since it was nearing the time I had to leave to return to Sacramento. The reserve, along with everything else at Point Reyes, is absolutely beautiful. Especially in the Spring with all the flowers.
You won't see any antlers, because they shed them in the Spring. The shed antlers are an important source of nutrition for many animals, so if you find one, it is illegal to remove it from the park.
I adore this shot of cypress trees with fog and flowers. Oh, and an elk off to the side. :-)
This guy on the left is shaggy! To explain what all the elk are preoccupied with, there were several groups of people who had parked and walked out into the field. Which is fine, but if the animals are this wary of you, you are too close.
I opted to go a bit further down the road (for which I ended up being very grateful as you'll see in a minute) so as not to add to their stress. There were two herds and I ended up being pretty much in the middle of them.
Occasionally, a fog bank would roll in and give the scene an otherworldly look.
It's a baby!! Awwww.
And these two look like twins as they graze.
As I walked back to my car, I saw what appeared to be a largish dog by the cars parked on the road. I was a little bit mad because when you enter the refuge, there is a sign that states no pets, which is understandable.
However, as I started to slowly drive up the road, I realized that it was not a domestic dog, but a coyote! Malia! (Teen wolf reference.)
It was so beautiful. He was not interested in the people or the elk...he was trotting through the tall grass and flowers looking intently at the ground most of the time. Obviously he was hoping for a rabbit, snake, or squirrel lunch.
My pictures did not turn out so well because I was shooting them from inside my car. :-( I will be trying to rectify this in the future.
What a stunning creature! They have such a hard life.
After this very special treat, I had to head back home. I already want to go back! Next time I will have more time and better planning. There are so many places to explore and things and animals to see!
xoxo
