Still stuck in the SLO lane

February 7, 2023

I’m briefly discouraged this morning when I first get up and step out of bed. My ankle is stiff and painful as I carefully walk to the bathroom, being careful not to trip on the sheets. After some ibuprofen I ease back up on the bed, elevate the foot, and Rachael and I stare at it together. It’s still slightly swollen, about the same as yesterday - enough so the skin is smoothed out and you can’t see the veins in my foot like you can in the other one. Rats.

It doesn’t last though. After I’ve been up awhile and start flexing it it starts responding and improving. It’s definitely getting better and there’s a decided improvement over yesterday morning. I’m starting to think I’ll try out a simple ride from Morro Bay when we move on tomorrow.

For today though, we’re still stuck in the SLO lane, with the same general plan as yesterday - an energetic hike for Rachael, and some low-impact birdwatching for me.

I like to look on the bright side of things, and one of the bright sides to the current situation is that it’s caused us to look around San Luis Obispo in a different way than we have before. We’ve always just hopped on the bike and taken the flat route east out of town. We’ve never really noticed that the town is tucked into a narrow valley with a row of low volcanic peaks hemming it in. Very scenic, and excellent hiking country. Just a mile from downtown you can be on a hiking trail up one of the nearest peaks, as Rachael will show us.

Rachael’s day

Below is a link to a description of the hike I took to the summit of Bishop Peak. It also explains why the trail I had mapped for yesterday didn’t go through. See map of yesterday and today’s hike below. This time I could look down to the road I walked on yesterday. I also got to have my lunch along the trail in a much more scenic spot than a bus stop bench! Below is a slide show of the hike. I would highly recommend this hike if you’re in San Luis Obispo.

Description of Bishop Peak Hike

The Bishop Peak hike trail is in blue and the trail I did yesterday is in red.

We pulled this photo of this colorful succulent out of the slideshow so we could caption it and remember what it is. It’s a Copper Sunburst or Sunburst Aeonium, a variety of the African genus Aeonium, the tree-leeks.

Video sound track: Lalene, by Keith Jarrett

Scott’s

I’m not doing any hill climbing at the moment, but I’m definitely in a position to appreciate the terrain when I return for a second pass along Laguna Lake. Some spring I want to come back and do some hiking here myself, but for now the view from below looking up is pretty spectacular too.

Looking up at Bishop’s Peak, the primary destination for Rachael’s hike today.

A broader view that shows part of the string of low volcanic peaks that tapers off to the northwest, ending at Morro Bay.

Laguna Lake is just a short distance from downtown - another easy destination for a day walk, though it looks like people mostly drive here and then walk or jog its circuit of trails, many of them older folks like me here to appreciate the easily obtained views on the gentle terrain. Others are here like me for the birds as well.

I see some of the same species as yesterday - kingbirds, sparrows and black phoebes - but I also come away with four new species to add to the list. I’m excited about all of them, even the first crow of the year; but the most exciting for me is the same large hawk I saw yesterday, calmly perched in the same tree right beside the road. Yesterday I took a quick look and shot, thinking it was another Cooper’s hawk. Surprised today though by the patterning of it’s wings that I hadn’t noticed yesterday, I took more care with the photo to take in all the key details; and when I returned home I was delighted to discover it was a red-shouldered hawk. I don’t remember, but I think this is a lifetime first for me.

68: American crow. This is one thing I’m really enjoying about this project - I like feeling excited about seeing a common crow.

69: Red-shouldered hawk. This is the same bird I mistakenly identified as a Cooper’s hawk yesterday, misled by the orange barring. Today I noticed the pattern of the wings and it caused me to look again.

70: Ruby-crowned kinglet. According to the bird bible I was lucky to see one displaying its red topknot.

My ankle feels more stable today, so I walked about twice as far at Laguna Lake this time before easing my way back into the car and driving the short distance to Morro Bay State Park to check out the bayside trail and boardwalk that Rachael pointed out to me last night. A perfectly flat half mile loop around a small peninsula, it’s a fine hike with a startling number of birds to be seen far out on the mudflats. I identified seven new species here today and I’m certain that there were a number of others that I could have identified with a set of good binoculars. I’m sure there were willets, sanderlings and a variety of peeps out in that tightly bunched dense mass of thousands of sleeping birds, but I’ll just credit the ones I was certain of for now. I’m pretty sure I’ll be back again during our stay in Morro Bay, maybe at dawn or sunset next time.

One more note on the day. Between the two walks, I covered at least a mile and a half today - probably three times as far as yesterday - and again the ankle felt better at the end of the day than at the start. Part of the credit for this good news goes to Steve, for encouraging me to get an ankle brace. It definitely helps. Thanks, Steve!

Sweet alyssum (lobularia maritima), a Mediterranean plant that’s established itself here on the California coast.

A closer look. It would be thrilling to see them when they’re all taking flight or settling in.

77: Marbled godwit. Identified by its slightly upcurved bicolored bill.

78: Whimbrel. The whimbrel is the brownish bird on the upper left, identified by the downcurved bill and striped forehead. The one on the right is a very windblown great egret.

Another great egret, included just because.

____________________
2023 Bird List

68. American crow

69. Red-shouldered hawk

70. Ruby-crowned kinglet

71. Common yellowthroat

72. California towhee

73. Bufflehead

74. Eared grebe

75. American avocet

76. Long-billed curlew

77. Marbled godwit

78. Whimbrel

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Kelly IniguezHurray for increased mobility!
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1 year ago

Janice BranhamThat's quite a haul of new birds on your list! The Bufflehead with the purple band around its neck is striking.
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonTo Janice BranhamThe bufflehead is pretty striking, alright. I’m sorry it was too far off for a better focused shot. Also, they don’t stay above water long before diving and disappearing again, making it challenging to get them in the frame.
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1 year ago

Bill ShaneyfeltAt this rate, you will soon break 100! Impressive!
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1 year ago

Scott AndersonI think that’s right. I could easily do that just by staying put. Morro Bay’s bird checklist has over 400 entries. I’m just scratching the surface.
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1 year ago