BODEGA BAY, CA BIRDING

Yesterday was the birding trip to Bodega Bay, CA. I pondered whether to go or not for it would take me about three hours to just get there one way. For a day trip, this is quite a bit of the state to cover, but I did it any way.

It took me 50 minutes just to get to the park and ride where the carpoolers met. Then there was a two hour ride to the coast. I rode with three people up in their age, but were very nice and we had conversations that led down each of our lives.

An elderly, attorney, who walked with a cane and from Arkansas, with that accent was quite amazing to continually get in and out of the van with every stop the group tried to find birds.

The driver, John, was a friendly gentleman up in his years, but a very good driver. He was looking to get into photography and asked me about my camera, lens and what I used to edit my photos.

The third carpooler was a very nice, slim lady who continually ate various things she kept pulling out of her pack. She was up in her years also, but didn't show it. She was an avid birder, who evidently traveled quite a bit to bird.

There were quite a few birders in our group which comprised of maybe about five cars containing four birders each, dressed appropriately for the San Francisco, windy and quite cool, coastal weather.

I rode with a carpool of the Audubon Society, knowing I'd never be able to find this group in case I got lost, because they all knew the birding sites, whether in a state park, restaurants which overlooked Bodega Bay or just off the road pull off parking sites.

Did we see many unusual birds? Not really. But my objective of this whole trip was to see Bodega Bay. You know, the city that the famous Alfred Hitchcock movie "The Birds" was made in. No, I didn't see the actual house, which I believe was still standing, but the small ocean town did remind me of the atmosphere of the movie, which was quite amusing to me.

On the way to Bodega Bay, a bird hit our van as we were driving 65 mph. Sound familiar to any of you who have seen the movie? A little eerie at that. We did see two whales; mother and baby, a seal, otters, and yes, quite a few birds, but none out of the ordinary. None migrating at this time of the year, but all in all, enough to say it was a birding trip. Again, all of these experienced birders were there looking at some small shore birds, knowing their names and pointing out the various descriptive nuances of them. I couldn't even hardly see these birds, let alone point out distinguishing features of them and knowing their names.

We saw blow holes, crashing waves on rocks, plants and flowers, para boarders and windsurfers. There was a serious discussion as to which name went with each sport we saw, which was fun in itself, but we finally asked a young man dressed in his wetsuit, which was which. Para boarding was one none of us heard of.

We stopped for some clam chowder for lunch, although we had all brought our own. For $7.00 in a 2 cup Styrofoam cup with plastic teaspoon, we got was to be known by the regulars who frequent the area, was the best. It was very tasty. They put some spice or pepper in it which warmed us up and hit the spot. On a scale of 1-5, we admitted it was a 4. I would have put more clams in it along with potatoes, onions and carrots. But it was thick and like I said, warmed us up and hit the spot.

You ask, so where are the photos of this trip? Well, as I'm typing this post, my camera battery is charging. My job for today and tomorrow will be taking the best of over 300+ photos and editing them. So check back and you'll soon find out what I saw "Through Buffy's Eyes".