Once More, Morro Bay, California: January, 2026
Great Egrets active near dawn
Morro Bay…….Again?
No good reason, really.
We were itching to play in our new van, a week of rain was predicted for the San Francisco Bay region, and our previous stay at Morro Bay had been most enjoyable.
The weather system did dampen Morro Bay for a few days, but then the skies cleared and the coast sparkled fresh and bright.
Morro Rock, viewed from the south at Montaña de Oro State Park.
The Lazy Life
Our usual haunts include the Park’s boardwalk near the marina and Morro Strand beaches. We also loitered at the estuary mouth, hiked the bluffs at Montaña de Oro State Park, and ventured out into the bay on our standup paddle board. Fresh-made coffee was savored at Sun-N-Buns Bakery and we dined at our regular spot - the Bayside Cafe.
Boardwalk scenes
Long-billed Curlew. It probed among the pickle weed to ferret out an unlucky crab.
White-crowned Sparrow
Black Phoebe
Lesser Scaup
Double-crested Cormorant
Western Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Cottontail nibbling on damp vegetation in the early morning.
Bewick’s Wren
Snowy Egret
Great Blue Heron moving on to a new fishing spot
Red-shouldered Hawk
California Thrasher
Song Sparrow
Estuary at low tide.
Marina at sundown.
Camaraderie at dusk
California Quail
Turkey Vulture
House Finch
Bathing Savannah Sparrow
American Crow
Pied-billed Grebe
Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
Say’s Phoebe
Pintail
Surfski
Cormorants heading to their roost.
Peace
White Pelican
House Finch
California Towhee
Great Egret
Western Gull with crab dinner
At the Harbor entrance
Brown Pelican Rescue
Harbor entrance to the Pacific Ocean
Ocean pushing in to the estuary
Solo sailor returning home
Northern side of Morro Rock
Late afternoon put-in.
The line up.
The Beach
Shore life
Sanderling searching for snacks that became exposed by a horse’s hoof print.
Guess the path that the horse took.
Marbled Godwit
Whimbrel
California Gull
Long-billed Curlew
Keeping the feathers ship-shape.
Searching for mole crabs
Persistent youngster
Western Gull
Herring Gull
Sanderlings: frenetic foraging at the surf line.
Athletic fellow!
Ocean views
Windy afternoon.
Vocalization
While this blog is about the natural world, it would be morally inexcusable to remain silent about the multitude of ways that the USA administration has deviated markedly from true North. It is a travesty that impacts the entire world.