...Well, a Steller's Jay to be more precise, helping its cheeky little self to one of our pringles.
On one of our many walks in California we stopped to have some lunch. Whilst getting stuck into our food I noticed a Jay getting ever closer to check out what he/she could pilfer. To see how brave it was I placed a pringle chip just out of arms reach in front of me. As expected it couldn't resist and brazenly took the chip from directly under our noses - cheeky monkey!
It appears that the Crow family are the same the world over: bright and highly resourceful. Love it!
Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta sterlleri)
This one used to hang around outside our cottage where we was staying - very entertaining.
On one of our many walks in California we stopped to have some lunch. Whilst getting stuck into our food I noticed a Jay getting ever closer to check out what he/she could pilfer. To see how brave it was I placed a pringle chip just out of arms reach in front of me. As expected it couldn't resist and brazenly took the chip from directly under our noses - cheeky monkey!
It appears that the Crow family are the same the world over: bright and highly resourceful. Love it!
This one used to hang around outside our cottage where we was staying - very entertaining.
Sanctuary Cruises (Moss Landing 3/9/2011)
One of the main reasons why we wanted to go to California was to hopefully see some Blue Whales on their migration. Unfortunately we didn't see any of them but we saw plenty of other exciting stuff. We also got to see a Molar Molar (Ocean Sunfish), which swam directly under our boat to check us out, but unfortunately we didn't get any footage of this slightly bizarre ocean wanderer.
Two Humpback whales cruising Monterey Bay (3/9/2011)
One of these magnificent beasts is the famous, Stinky: so called after its slightly pungent fish breath. Trust me it did stink. It was kind of a mix between rotting fish heads and stagnant sea water - lovely! Stinky was a bit of a national TV star when we visited. He/She remained in the bay area for an unusual amount of time, so people got to know him/her quite well. I know we saw him/her on the TV quite a lot, and I think, so did the rest of the US.
...More Humpback action
.....and again.
Not great footage, so the BBC wildlife team can rest easy for now.
Humpbacks, Monterey Bay
Sooty Shearwaters, Monterey Bay
Sooty Shearwaters on their migration south. We were lucky to see this spectacle. The actual column was approximately 2-3 miles in length.
Orca Pod (3/9/2011)
The weather was pretty bad at this point in the day so the footage I managed to take was generally pretty poor. So, I have linked my blog entry to a youtube video that was taken by somebody else on the same trip. Diane is the one in the green and pink hat and red jacket trying very hard but ultimately failing to get some decent pictures. We really did get some great views of this pod; we ended up following them for hours; so in a gesture of warning the alpha male buzzed us a number of times, swimming under the boat and fin splashing us on exit. It was an incredible experience, and one we intend to repeat in the not to distant future. Now, where did I put my marigolds?
Some of my own footage of the Orca pod (3/9/2011)
Mola mola - Ocean Sunfish
Whilst observing the Orca pod I looked down and saw this massive strange creature appearing from directly under the boat. I had never seen a Sunfish before so I was very excited. "What the hell is that!" I said rather too loudly - I really was in an excited state of shock. "Mola mola!" somebody replied. Wow! what a beast - and a nosey beast at that. California really is awash with exotic nature. If you want to see wildlife you've never seen before go to the Pacific coast you won't be disappointed.
Coming to a supermarket car park near you!
A female Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
For something - to us anyway - so exotic, the last place we would have expected to find these amazing birds is in a Safeway car park. Well that is were we found them. These videos were shot at the local Safeway close to where we were staying, in Carmel, and it was teaming with Anna's Hummingbirds. We ended up setting up shop for a while to take these videos whilst the local population was going about their everyday mundane duties. We must have looked a little bit strange to the locals, but hey, who cares, we was on holiday. It seems strange to me how people could just walk past these beauties without even giving them a sly glance, but that's what they were doing.
Male Anna's Hummingbird
Male & Female together
One of these magnificent beasts is the famous, Stinky: so called after its slightly pungent fish breath. Trust me it did stink. It was kind of a mix between rotting fish heads and stagnant sea water - lovely! Stinky was a bit of a national TV star when we visited. He/She remained in the bay area for an unusual amount of time, so people got to know him/her quite well. I know we saw him/her on the TV quite a lot, and I think, so did the rest of the US.
Not great footage, so the BBC wildlife team can rest easy for now.
Sooty Shearwaters on their migration south. We were lucky to see this spectacle. The actual column was approximately 2-3 miles in length.
The weather was pretty bad at this point in the day so the footage I managed to take was generally pretty poor. So, I have linked my blog entry to a youtube video that was taken by somebody else on the same trip. Diane is the one in the green and pink hat and red jacket trying very hard but ultimately failing to get some decent pictures. We really did get some great views of this pod; we ended up following them for hours; so in a gesture of warning the alpha male buzzed us a number of times, swimming under the boat and fin splashing us on exit. It was an incredible experience, and one we intend to repeat in the not to distant future. Now, where did I put my marigolds?
Whilst observing the Orca pod I looked down and saw this massive strange creature appearing from directly under the boat. I had never seen a Sunfish before so I was very excited. "What the hell is that!" I said rather too loudly - I really was in an excited state of shock. "Mola mola!" somebody replied. Wow! what a beast - and a nosey beast at that. California really is awash with exotic nature. If you want to see wildlife you've never seen before go to the Pacific coast you won't be disappointed.
Coming to a supermarket car park near you!
For something - to us anyway - so exotic, the last place we would have expected to find these amazing birds is in a Safeway car park. Well that is were we found them. These videos were shot at the local Safeway close to where we were staying, in Carmel, and it was teaming with Anna's Hummingbirds. We ended up setting up shop for a while to take these videos whilst the local population was going about their everyday mundane duties. We must have looked a little bit strange to the locals, but hey, who cares, we was on holiday. It seems strange to me how people could just walk past these beauties without even giving them a sly glance, but that's what they were doing.
Banksy is a pretty divisive artist: either you love him or you don't. I personally really enjoy his art so I was pretty happy when I saw my first one in the flesh. Oddly, he comes from Bristol which is only about 50 miles away from where we live, so I was quite surprised when I bumped into my first one 5,000 miles from home in the Chinese district of San Francisco. Cool artwork; I really like this piece. I think the people of San Fran also like it as it was protected by a perspex cover :-)
This photo was taken at Moss Landing where this otter was one of, what turned out to be, one of many.
A Banana Slug (Ariolimax californicus)
Sooty Shearwaters
Long Billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)
Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis)
These cheeky chancers were cruising behind our boat in the off chance they might receive a snack....No, sorry, we were there just to be nosey not to fish.
Surfbird (Aphriza virgata)
The wild Pacific Ocean
One of many Daliesque type scenes we encountered on our trip
Captured at Pfeiffer National Park, Big Sur
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Moon's up
We went for a wander to see if we could locate any Mountain Lions (Cougars). In retrospect I think that was a little bit ambitious. A guy we bumped into hadn't seen one in the 60 years he had been living there. Apparently he knew a person once that had seen one drinking from the small lake/pond in the centre of the picture, but that was it.
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This was a weird, wonderful place. The habitats were both varied and jaw droppingly beautiful. It really did feel as though you were existing on a different planet for a brief moment in time.
We first caught our first glimpse of a Turkey Vulture in San Francisco bay. I really couldn't believe it at the time. I was pretty excited. I was like a little kid as I was vociferously pointing out to Diane, 'It's a Vulture, It's an actual real wild flying Vulture!' The excitement I felt was almost like that moment at Christmas time when you were a kid, when you used to look down at the foot of the bed and see your stocking full of goodies knowing Santa had been, and that a treasure trove of goodies were lying in wait for you down stairs.... It was kind of an adult version of that feeling. We would later find out that Turkeys are quite common in California and we ended up seeing quite a few - I was just as excited every time, though.
Monterey Bay aquarium
This beauty is called Makana. She's a permanently injured bird, and resides at the Monterey Bay Aquarium where she promotes awareness in the disposal of all things plastic - clever girl! They're a beautiful bird and I put her up because although she is a captive animal we did manage to see many wild Black footed albatross on our sea faring adventures. Unfortunately we didn't capture any, for lets say, adverse environmental reasons - I.E the sea was way too blinking rough.
A classic piece of Americana which finished our trip off nicely
See you soon California ;-)
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Thanks for looking. We hope you enjoyed your stay. Paul & Diane :-)