Birds That Catch Oysters? Fort Bragg Has Them
Where does one of the world’s top birders spend most of his time with spotting scope and camera in pursuit of happiness? The answer: Fort Bragg, California, 150 miles north of San Francisco on the ruggedly beautiful Mendocino Coast.
You might find Ron LeValley, a birder, adventurer, biologist and nature photographer, scouting the rocky shoreline of Fort Bragg’s MacKerricher State Park in search of Black Oyster Catchers or rare and endangered Snowy Plovers.
When he’s not surveying endangered species for his consulting company, Mad River Biologists, he’s at the Mendocino Coast Photographers Guild and Gallery in downtown Fort Bragg where he displays just a few of his collection of 65,000 digital photos and slides of birds, insects, whales and other wildlife. If you visit www.RonLeValley.com you can sign up to receive his “photo of the day.”
An ecotourism pioneer who has visited the Galapagos Islands 19 times – three times more than Charles Darwin – LeValley says a visit to Fort Bragg is a must for serious birders.
The Oyster Catcher
“Of all the birds you find here, the Oyster Catcher is Fort Bragg’s iconic bird,” LeValley explained. “You’ll spot Oyster Catchers nesting along the rocky shore or feeding in the mussel beds. Occasionally, you find nesting endangered Snowy Plovers. But the past two years sightings of Plovers have been few and far between, the victim of Ravens who swoop in and eat their chicks and eggs.
“Black Turn Stones (they flip over stones in the surf to find food), and Rock Sandpiper are abundant from Point Laguna south to popular Glass Beach,” he notes
Top Birding Spots
The area’s top spots for bird watching, in addition to MacKerricher State Park, are Mendocino Coast Botanical Gardens, Point Cabrillo Light State Historic Park, a tiny island off the northwest end of the Mendocino Headlands, and out to sea.
MacKerricher offers birds a freshwater pond, pine and cypress forest, grassy ocean bluffs and offshore rocks beloved by shore birds. A huge variety of birds, from small marsh wrens to great blue herons, can be seen there every day.
Two Easy Walks
Two easy walks offer great viewing opportunities. Begin your search at the Lake Cleone parking lot, following the trail that circles the lake, looking for the beautiful wood ducks at the east end of the lake. The other starts at the beach parking lot and leads to the viewing platform at Laguna Point. High tide is the best time to view shorebirds as they huddle on the rocks at the point.
Bird life is also abundant at the Gardens. 130 bird species visit or live in the Gardens year-around. Volunteers from The Mendocino Coast Audubon Society, lead regular bird walks at the Gardens, including a session for beginning birders, on the first Saturday of each month.
Adds LeValley, “people shouldn’t forget about pelagic trips offered by the local Audubon Society and Shearwater Journeys, http://www.shearwaterjourneys.com “Fort Bragg is a destination rich with bird watching opportunities,” he said.
For more Fort Bragg adventures, visit http://www.FortBragg.com.
Tags: Birding in Fort Bragg