The Cutest Critter of the Sea

 

Down the road from Cambria is beautiful Morro Bay. Besides being a great spot for resident and wintering birds, it's home to one of the most adorable sea animals. A trip to this part of the coast would not be complete without stopping to admire them.

To be able to watch these special animals in person is magical. Whatever worries or stress you may have disappears while they do what sea otters do...

Mother sea otters are extremely attentive to their pups. Besides being fed and held, they are in top-notch condition due to hours of grooming.

They roll, they groom themselves...

They love kelp. Whether it be a place to find food like sea urchins or to use it to anchor themselves to one another or....

to the ocean floor so they can nap. 

Cheers to these gentle creatures of the sea!

This vacation just like most ended too quickly.

Happy Exploring!

Click on photos to enlarge.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Escape to the Coast

 

While the National Forests in California are closed due to the high number of wildfires, it's extremely difficult to get out and enjoy nature since Idyllwild is surrounded by the San Bernardino Forest. Fortunately, the coast is within driving distance so we escaped for a few days and found a gem, Cambria.

This small coastal town has lots of small inns across the street from the rocky Moonstone Beach. This photo taken by Dan shows the boardwalk along the beach. We woke to cool morning fog every morning but after lunch, the sun reappeared and warmed us up. It was such a nice change from hot, sunny days.

What a fun surprise to find harbor seals at the end of each day as they piled up on the shore to sleep.

When the tide was out, we walked along the beach which was full of kelp. The Black Turnstones loved this stuff. They were in constant motion flipping up the kelp looking for something tasty. It was tough getting an unblurry photo.

Just before sunset, I found one enjoying the last rays of the sun. Click. I got my photo.

It's fun to look in tidal pools for sea creatures. Sea anemones and starfish (sea stars) were the only ones that I recognized. We needed our marine biologist friend, Cathy, along with us on this trip! In the link below by National Geographic, there are some beautiful photos of unique sea stars. There are over 2000 species in oceans across the world. I found this one unique with its glowing orange design.

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/invertebrates/facts/starfish-1

Within 30 minutes of Cambria, you can see elephant seals on a beach, go birding in a few "hotspots" (I saw my first Chestnut-backed Chickadee! Yeah), and stop at a gorgeous spot called Ragged Point. We liked it so much, we went there twice - once covered in fog and the other time, the shoreline could be seen under the blue skies.

It was here in their garden, that I sat and waited for a hummingbird to drink from this gorgeous purple flower (Does anyone know the name?). After lots of attempts, I finally got this Anna's Hummingbird in action. Another exciting moment for me.

The highlight of the trip for me is in the next blog.

Photos and content by Robin Roberts.

Click on photos to enlarge.