Spring Break Trip: D3 – Exploring Monterey

    First, we went to the Point Pinos to find the Pigeon Guillemot, Pelagic Cormorant, and maybe some Common Murre. But Point Pinos was not a good spot for them and we were only able to see some Pelagic Cormorants flying by. Just as we were about to leave, we saw a shorebird protector coming down from an Island with two baskets, walking towards us through the water. So, we went down to the shore and asked him if he knew where to see the birds. He told us that there were no Pigeon Guillemots around here :(, and that we would need a scope to see the Murres far out at sea :(. But, he actually told us the location of all the colonies of Common Murres and Pigeon Guillemots along the coast of California.

    Following his advice, we headed straight to the outside of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where the Pigeon Guillemots nest. The Aquarium has some walkways that lead to some observation decks right above some nests of Pigeon Guillemots. The Pigeon Guillemots were nesting on the foundation of the aquarium, right next to the sea. The observation decks perfectly prevented the disturbance from visiting people and made the “cliff” a perfect nesting spot for the Guillemots and even Pelagic Cormorants. Thus, the Guillemots loved it so much, as there were so many of them. And they were flying back and forth between the cliffs under us where they nest, and the hunting ground in the open sea. They were courting, dancing, hunting, building nests and even intensely fighting for mates. 

    After spending a long time looking at the Guillemots and Pelagic Cormorants, we drove to the huge Common Murre Colonies on small islands near Highway 1 (the exact location is kept secret to protect the nesting birds). The road leading to the site was broken, so traffic was restricted to one direction at a time which made the traffic pretty bad. Lots of people were visiting the area, which made most parking spots full and we could only park at the farthest parking lot. Even though, we still got a pretty great view of one of the Murre colonies. These penguin-like birds were covering the top of all the larger reefs and squished together like the penguins in documentaries. 

    As we were going back to the hotel due to the approaching rain, we observed another colony when we were stopped by the traffic control. 

    The Pelagic Cormorant is a medium-large-sized natatore, about the size of five Yellow-rumped Warbler, with a typical cormorant shape and some long feathers going out the top of its head. It is all black which reflects blue, green, purple, or brass. With a white rump and leg, a red face and beak, and some white strips on the neck and back. It likes to move in groups or pairs in coastal/pelagic areas, nest on cliffs or small reefs, and often dives for fish, and crustaceans to eat.

    The Common Murre is a medium-small-sized natatore, about two and three-quarters the size of a Yellow-rumped Warbler, that looks like a small penguin. Its beak, head, neck, back, wings, feet, and tail are all black, while the rest of the body is all white. It likes to move in huge flocks in coastal/pelagic areas, nest on cliffs or small reefs and often dive very deep for fish, crustaceans, and other marine invertebrates to eat. (more and better photos coming in the next blog post!)

    The Pigeon Guillemot is a small-sized natatore, about the size of two Yellow-rumped Warblers, that looks like an in-watered pigeon. It’s all black except that its wing bar is white and its feet are red. It likes to move in small flocks or in pairs, in coastal areas, nest on cliffs or small reefs, and often dive pretty deep for small fishes and marine invertebrates to eat.