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.

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If you missed the local Audubon Society’s pelagic bird trip, consider joining internationally known Shearwater Journeys on one of their exciting trips to observe mega-rarity wildlife off Fort Bragg’s special coast.

Debbie Shearwater recently had this to say about birding out of Fort Bragg’s Noyo Harbor…

“Fort Bragg trips have one of the highest potentials for finding rare North American seabirds, indeed, we were able to follow a HAWAIIAN PETREL for a record 17 minutes on an August trip! The birding along Highway 1 between these two places is just fantastic during fall migration. The scenery is pretty spectacular, too!”

Her Fort Bragg trips are scheduled for AUGUST 8 & 10, with the day in between trips as a day for birding on land, always exciting in this region. Fort Bragg trips depart from Noyo Harbor in Fort Bragg about 6:30 am and return about 4-6 pm.

The Mendocino Coast Audubon Society’s pelagic birding trip from Noyo Harbor had great sea conditions - just a light wind and small swell, plus fog of course. Here’s their sighting report, with thanks to Kerry Ross and Ron LaValley for their Mendobirds report. Number of species: 22

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