Jerry Made a Lot of Friends Today. (Some of them were people)

Jerry and I had a spectacular day. This trip was a fantastic idea! We visited 5 places and got a nice little bird list. 

Jerry doing a good job of "sit" and "wait" so i could take this photo, even though his attention was focused on the nearby goats. 

We started our day at Avila Valley Barn  in San Luis Obispo. They have a lovely shop with fresh produce, specialty food items, and various gift/decor/souvenir items.  I bought myself some goodies: artichoke tomato bruschetta, pickled green beans, tomato jerky (I ate all of those things combined with Trader  Joes items I packed for dinner), olallieberry syrup and apple cider syrup to bring home for my waffles. I also got an Olallieberry turnover. Such a delicious treat!

Then we visited the animals! Jerry met goats, sheep, donkeys, an emu, a cow, chickens, and the resident farm dog, Otis. We spent about an hour there and then moved on to the Bob Jones Trail. 

Avila Barn Pics Here

The Bob Jones Trail is named for a local activist and conservationist. It follows the San Luis Obispo Creek. It's also known as the City to the Sea Trail. It is a very popular trail! The entire 3 miles is paved and flat, making it perfect for cyclists, runners, and dog walkers. We took a long time to go 1 mile and back because it was birdy! There was an abundance of Chestnut-backed Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos. I got Townsend's Warblers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, White-throated Sparrows, a Hutton's Vireo and a Hermit Thrush. I ticked 24 species, which wasn't bad considering how many people and dogs were marching by.  I met a nice woman about my age who was also birding and we chatted and spotted birds together. Despite the trail being heavily used, it didn't feel crowded. Jerry made more friends..this time mostly dogs. 

Bob Jones Trail Pics Here

From there, we made our way to Morro Bay State Park. The first thing I did there was pull over at Windy Cove to set up my scope and practice shorebirds. I rarely bird
on the coast so I kinda suck at shorebirds and gulls. I need to fix that. A few minutes after I started, a man who was parked near me got out and struck up a conversation. He photographs and paints birds. We chatted about condors and how he came to live there, our spouses (mine just died and his is dying) and I may or may not have put on my civil/womens/abortion/immigrant rights proselytizing hat for a bit. It's my goal to show people that some things (most things) are not black and white! I didn't practice much on my shorebird ID but I had a lovely visit with an old man named Bill. 

Next we moved up the road a bit and pulled over at the Marina where there is a boardwalk trail. I decided I should probably eat, as I hadn't yet and it was well past lunchtime. I grabbed my salad with edamame from the cooler and we headed for the lookout bench. The view was cool, and so was the air! The bench was in the shade and the breeze was coming off the water and I was chilly.  It was low tide and the birds were pretty far away, so I counted the closer ones that I could be sure of and left the thousands of others uncounted. After I ate some of the salad we moved on down the boardwalk. We found another bench in the sun and it was comfortably warm.  We sat for some time and a White-crowned Sparrow popped up on a nearby bush and was singing his little heart out. Little dude was ready for a mate, but it's only January and they need to migrate north first! I made a video of his beautiful singing. 

Boardwalk Trail pics here

We next went into the town of Morro Bay and visited Top Dog Coffee Bar where I had a delicious Maple Spice Chai Latte and Jerry had some treats and bowl of water. We sat out on the sidewalk at a table and everyone that walked by stopped to meet Jerry. He got a lot of pets. 

Our final stop was at Morro Rock. The shady side of the Rock was sooo chilly, but luckily the sunny side (the bay side) was where the otters and good birds were! I got a Common Murre and a some Common Loons, and about 10 sea otters. They are bigger than I remembered! We walked all around the Rock (as much as is accessible). We didn't get many birds, but we got the good ones. 

Morro Rock Pics here

At 5 p.m. we checked into our motel, the Harbor House Inn. Jerry immediately passed out on the bed, without even eating his supper. He is one tired pup! He does seem to be having happy dreams though, as you can see here.  Our room is on the second floor, but we have a balcony. 

And we can kinda, sorta, see Morro Rock and the Sunset from here.