In Search of Monarchs at the Wrong Time of Year - Walking the Natural Bridges Monarch Trail in Santa Cruz, California

 Hello!  We're back to continue the fun adventure I had in Santa Cruz, California back in April 2025 where I wanted to rediscover my love for photography and see some beautiful flora and fauna in the process.

Click on the links below to see my previous posts from this series:

Flowers! University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanical Garden

Brandt's Cormorants Nesting Colony on the bridge at Natural Bridges State Beach

After spending the morning with the flowers and the early afternoon with the cormorants, I was ready to take my next walk and discover the Monarch Trail at Natural Bridges State Beach.  

I have been wanting to go and see the monarchs over-winter there which happens from mid-October through early February.   So on this outing, I didn't really expect to see any monarchs...I just wanted to familiarize myself with it so I could come back during winter feeling more comfortable. That pesky anxious thing again.  

But I was doing pretty good as I walked up to the Visitor Center.  I decided to go inside so I could see the exhibits and the little gift shop.  I got to talking to the lady working in there and she told me that it wasn't monarch season but that she had seen two monarchs flitting around a couple days before!  Exciting!

So I headed out...  It is quite beautiful and peaceful there.  The weather was amazing and the walk was filled with trees, birds, and other lovely sights.  First I walked through the little garden next to the VC. 

Couldn't resist a semi-macro shot (using a zoom lens lol) of this lovely yellow flower.  

And I loved these little red flowers on a bush...  Love both of these pictures.

Then I headed out on the trail proper.  The eucalyptus trees surrounded the boardwalk along with lilies and other beautiful foliage.

After walking about five minutes, a Spotted Towhee landed on the fence about 10 feet in front of me!  I love these birds...they are so cool looking.  Love the bokeh made by the leaves in the sunlight too. 

And there were a few stragglers here and there by the fence.

The eucalyptus trees are so gorgeous.  I love their bark; it reminds me of puzzle pieces and the colors are so pretty. 

It's a prettyish kind of a little wilderness! (Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice reference. IYKYK)

Complete with copious amounts of Poison Oak.  Walk carefully!

And then I saw them.  Two bright orange and black butterflies flitting around the meadow.  I was so excited!  I lifted my camera and said a prayer that I would be able to capture a halfway decent shot.  My prayer was answered!  Truly I got halfway decent shots.  lol It was so hard!

I watched, enthralled, as the two butterflies fluttered and swooped around the meadow going in every direction.  I loved it!  I was so happy to just stand there and watch, occasionally raising my camera to try to capture them. 

These photos, as you can see, are nowhere good.  Not clean.  Not clear.  Soft and unfocused.  lol  But I love them.  I was having such fun!

And then they flew over the trees and flitted away.  It was a wonderful visitation and seemed special just for me.  

I kept walking for a little bit.  I only walked a little of the entire trail.  The bit I walked was about .6 of a mile in and out.  There was a little marsh with very cool plants in the water which sparkled like diamonds in the sunlight.  Unfortunately, this picture doesn't fully capture the mystique. 

On my way back to the VC, I saw another Spotted Towhee.  It might be the same one?  But I was happy to see it anyway.  It's flicking its tail at me. 

I went back to the VC and found some birds out in the garden.  I think this is an American Goldfinch but I'm not certain.  Pretty bird and pretty bokeh.  

And there were some finches flying about.  I'm not sure if this is a House Finch or a Purple Finch but I'm leaning towards the latter.  The lady in the VC thought Purple as well.  Whatever it was, it was gorgeous. 

I went inside the VC to tell the lady that I had seen two Monarchs and she was as excited as I was.  lol  I bought a cute little Monarch pin to remember it by. 

Then she told me that there was a Great Horned Owl nest in one of the trees just off limits behind the VC but that I could go try and have a look.  

I saw just a tip of the horns in a beautiful tree cavity nest.  

And then I walked to where my car was parked in the parking lot and saw a beautiful Western Bluebird and a stunning American Crow.  I love Corvids so much. 

Then I headed down to the beach to try to find the tidepools.  Of course I couldn't.  Apparently I didn't walk far enough which I just realized by looking at a map of the beach.  lol  Next time I guess.  Sucks because I timed it exactly right to be on the beach at low tide which was very low.  

I saw tons of By-the-Wind-Sailors washed up on the beach.  Snapped a pic of course.  This was in the little creek that ran down to the water. 

That was about the extent of my "tidepooling".  haha  But I definitely enjoyed my walk and sat by the ocean for a little bit just listening to the wind and waves and looking out at the Bridge rock with the Cormorant colony on it. 

Enjoy a little ASMR video of the waves and wind on the cliffs of the beach!

Then I hopped in my car and drove north on Highway 1 to Shark Fin Cove - an amazing little cove which has two large rocks that look like...you guessed it...shark fins!

It was beautiful of course.  I was hoping to come back at about 3:00 in the morning to try to get some Milky Way shots but I didn't make it.  And that's okay!  I will be going back.  And now I know to walk on the bluffs to the right of the cove for the perfect Shark Fin/Milky Way angle!

And with that I drove to my hotel in Scott's Valley for the night.  

What a lovely day filled with exercise, lovely landscapes, flowers, birds, and butterflies!

Can't wait to go back.  :)

xoxo

Nikon D600 Nikkor 28-300 mm lens 

Shark Fin Cove photo taken by iPhone 15 Pro Max

Bird Spotlight! Brandt's Cormorants in Breeding Plumage - Natural Bridges State Beach Santa Cruz California April 2025

One of the main reasons I wanted to go to Santa Cruz was to see the beautiful Brandt's Cormorants on the colony atop the Natural Bridge!  

It was the beginning of breeding season and I was excited to see these birds in their beautiful breeding plumage.  Brandt's are black birds with electric blue gular patches to match their beautiful blue eyes so of course I wanted to see them relatively close up and try to get some photos.

I was successful and yet, unsuccessful due to hard winds and camera shake. It's so frustrating as I get older.  But luckily Topaz AI is able to help with my shaky photos without looking too artificial (I hope). 

So, after my wonderful morning at the University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanical Garden and a brief stop at my hotel which is right on the way, I made my way to Natural Bridges State Beach to check it out!

There is a parking lot dedicated to parking for viewing the Natural Bridge rock where the colony is. Time limit (I think 30 minutes?) so you can't park for the beach there. But it was perfect to back right up to where the rock is and pop open my rear door for easy access to my camera and a place to sit. 

 You feel so close to the birds and the ocean and beach is beautiful.   

Nikon D600 Nikkor 28-300 lens at 28 mm

The rest of the photos were taken at 600 mm and then cropped, at least a little and some a lot, in Lightroom and Photoshop.  

These California Gulls wanted their photo taken.  :)  But the rest of the photos are of the Brandt's Cormorants.  It's possible there are some Double-crested Cormorants in the colony too.  

And there some Brown Pelicans hanging out too!

This next one has a pretty good look at the nests which are built upon the ground out of seaweed, eelgrass, weeds, etc.  It was very cool to see birds flying to the rock carrying nesting materials. 

This bird looks like it has a red eye but it is part of the seaweed it's carrying to the colony. 

These guys are bringing fresh nesting material. 

I think it looks kind of cool that you can see the people across the cove on the tidepool shelves.  I went over there later but didn't see any tide pools such as I'm used to...even though it was low tide.  But supposedly Natural Bridges has good tide pools so I guess I just couldn't find them.  

Reliving this adventure through my photographs reminds me that I need to make another trip to see the chicks!  Hopefully I can fit that in.  

xoxo

Nikon D7200  Sigma Contemporary 150 - 600 Lens

Photos edited in Lightroom, Topaz Photo AI, and Photoshop

Macro Monday! Join Me in Beautiful Santa Cruz - University of California Santa Cruz Arboretum and Botanical Garden

 So I finally pulled the trigger and bought a used Macro Lens after having wanted one for quite some time even though I've lost some faith in my knowledge, ability to manual focus, etc.  It's pretty cool and, after seeing these results, I'm so happy I bought it!  I've actually only used it once.  

I went to beautiful and sunny Santa Cruz for some mental health respite.  Getting out in nature is one of the best ways of recharging my body and soul.  Since my tendency is to hide myself away in my home, I kind of have to force myself to get away which was so easy for me before.

I went for several specific ideas/reasons and, honestly? Most of them I didn't do. Or didn't fully do I should say.  But I'm proud of myself for just getting out there!

I made the 2.5 hour drive on a lovely Monday in April 2025 arriving in the mid-afternoon.  I was staying at the Fairfield Inn by Marriot on the North side of town since it was close to my three destinations - UCSC Arboretum, Natural Bridges State Beach, and Shark Fin Cove.  It was really nice and the breakfast was great. 

Here is the first photo I took with my new Macro lens:

And then I decided to just hang out in my room at the hotel since I got there pretty late in the afternoon.  And that's okay!

So after a good night's sleep and a very good free breakfast (the scrambled eggs were some of the best that I have had), I headed to UCSC Arboretum.  It costs $10 to visit and is just up the hill from the hotel and Natural Bridges. 

I was ready to get some exercise and see some gorgeous flora and fauna!  And I got ALL of that.  I had my two cameras on my person and took nothing else with me (I should have taken some water, but I did not).

My idea for the day was to take macro shots of interesting things and also wider shots of the garden at large and the specific flowers I macro'd.  I don't that that's a word but it is now.  However, one wide shot I didn't take is really bumming me out.  And I didn't get a macro shot and wide shot for every plant.  It was just impossible to get both shots of some due to terrain and/or angles. 

I walked through most of the several gardens they have (California, Australian, South African, New Zealand) but didn't make to to all.  I'll need another visit!  But I didn't write down what flowers were where so I'm just putting these willy nilly mostly in the order they were shot. 

All of these, except where noted, have only had basic editing in Lightroom Classic for lighting, etc.  No colors were manipulated nor saturation adjusted. 

Both of these photos were taken with the Macro lens using different ends of the focus ring in manual focus.  It's a small blue purple flower that I think is called Aristea Spiralis.

The next three photos are all Macros.  I was really going for the colors and textures and I'm really happy with all of these. 

And this next one is the one that got away.  Not this Macro but I really don't know why I didn't get a wider photo!  I love this flower so much. It's so cool. 

Okay, the next one is another that I just love.  The color.  The composition.  It's just such a gorgeous flower.  I did get both a macro and wide shot on this one.  I'll do the macro first.

And now the wide shot.  This was taken with strong sunlight behind the flower which gives a delicious transparency to the leaves and petals.  Also, I love the bokeh. 

And I believe these next two photos are of the inside of another of these flowers that was more open.  But to be honest, it could be an entirely different flower. 

Now another wide shot of the beautiful garden.  Another shot I love for the bokeh but the bush is incredible too!

This is another form of Protea although it's called a Pincushion instead of Conebush.  Its government name is Protea Leucospermum.  Most of the above flowers are from South Africa but protea are also grown in San Diego County. 

And here are some Macros of Pincushions - varying in color and stage of bloom. 

Here are a couple more wide shots that do not have accompanying macros.  However, they are "wide" in that they are not true macro and taken with the 150-300 Zoom but do not show the garden...only the plant/flower. 

More lovely purple!  Borahae!  Fun Fact: these Psoralea are in the legume family.

And gold!  So I guess Lakers colors.  haha

And with that we are leaving the South African garden and heading into the world of New Zealand.  I love New Zealand.  I've been there once and it is my dream to go again because due to circumstances, I didn't get to see a lot of the islands. But I loved what I did see and had some amazing experiences. 

This is just before crossing the border into "New Zealand".  I confess I got excited seeing the Māori- inspired wood carved statues.  But I liked this hedge (for lack of a better term) and cool tree in the South African garden too. 

I took a lot of photos in the NZ garden.  For one, it was beautiful and peaceful so I spent a bit more time there just sitting and walking and absorbing.  Also I saw a couple birds and about 10 lizards.  So many lizards!

The birds!!

A western Bluebird:

Full disclosure:  This photo has AI enhancements in focus, sharpen, etc.

And a Violet-Green Swallow which I have never seen before!  

Full disclosure:  This photo has AI enhancements in focus, sharpen, etc.

Full disclosure:  This photo has AI enhancements in focus, sharpen, etc.

As I walked up the hill, I couldn't resist getting a closeup of the wooden statue.  Don't worry...I stayed on the path.

I thought the wood grain looked so cool so I decided to take a macro of an eye. 

The next series of photos are all from the NZ garden.  Including the lizards!  They were everywhere; I was seriously scared to step on them. 

I love these next two macros.  Nature's abstract art for sure.

This little guy climbed up on this wood and just sat there looking at me.  He even let me put my macro lens pretty close. 

Next I made my way down the hill until I found myself at the pollinator garden and - possibly - the California garden?  I didn't see any pollinators which was disappointing, but I delighted in the purple Iris which always reminds me of my mom and the flowers she planted at our house. 

These red flowers were stunning.  And the bush was super tall so it looked cool against the sky and trees. 

Teeny, tiny purple and lavender flowers. 

And soon I was trudging back of the hill to the parking lot.  I walked up the road on the way back and found a flower that I always love to see.  It's so cool. 

Then I got in my car, drank an entire bottle of water on my way back to the hotel where I had a brief rest before heading to Natural Bridges.  More on that next time.

 

Kind hearts are the gardens,

Kind thoughts are the roots,
Kind words are the flowers,

Kind deeds are the fruits.

Take care of your garden,

And keep out the weeds,

Fill it with sunshine;

Kind words and kind deeds.

~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Until next time.

xoxo

Nikon D600 with Sigma Macro 105mm Macro

Nikon D7200 with Sigma Contemporary 150-300 Zoom