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

Birdwatching & Beaches of Mendocino Coast - January 2018

And we're back. 

This is part II of my road trip for last January's Super Blood Blue Moon where I traveled up the coast to Bowling Ball Beach and Point Arena to see the lunar event.  For those shots of the Super Blood Blue Moon, etc., just click anywhere on this sentence!

After the eclipse, I headed a bit further north to Fort Bragg to visit the beautiful Mendocino Coast of California wander about to see what I could see.  Happily I saw birds, including two species that I've never personally seen before.  And just beauty everywhere.  It was a gorgeous day.

These are two of the birds I hadn't seen before - Black Oystercatchers. 

Seaweed is beautiful!

And so is Sea Lettuce.

Here's another Black Oystercatcher and a possibly, slightly better shot.  There were actually tons of them on this particular rocky beach.

Next I moved a bit further up the coast and found these Cormorants and Seagulls.

And a lot of rocks.  And seaweed of various kinds that I have no idea about.

This kind was frequently attached to empty mussel shells.

This next photo is of another bird I'd never seen.  A Black Turnstone.  I'd never even heard of it truthfully.  But it was really pretty and cool to see.

Under the sea...

I got caught by a sneaker wave!!  This is what happens when you're looking through a telephoto lens and don't see the other, closer waves.  Haha!  Luckily I saw it and turned just in time to prevent my camera being completely soaked.  The back of my head was though. 

This is kinda creepy and yet cool!

Here's that same Black Turnstone.  It had flown away earlier, so I was happy to find it again.

It was enjoying the sunny day too and had a mid-morning nap in the rays.

This is looking back to where I was.  There was a cool, little flat pool beside where I got splashed with my sneaker wave.  I had been standing almost at the end of the flat part a bit further ahead than the people you can see in the photo.

I had a great time trying to get some cool macro shots of the dew in the grass and plants.  I'm sure people thought I was a bit strange though. 

After this I headed to the amazing Mendocino Botanical Gardens.  Even though it was January, they had so many gorgeous plants and flowers.  And it was a great walk before I spent 6 hours driving home.  :)

xoxo

Nikon D3300