A Walk On Moss Landing Beach, Whales, Sea Otters and Sea Birds

This afternoon we took a 45minute drive to my favorite beach, Moss Landing.  I love it there because it's wild and natural and you never quite know what you will see.  Today we saw whales and watched one breach.  They were quite far out but we had our binoculars and got to see lots of lovely flukes.  We saw a pod of dolphins close in to shore, just where the waves (which were green in the bright sunshine) begin to rise up before breaking.  There were seals closer in than that curiously watching the children playing at the edge of the water.  We watched a sea otter dive for clams and then be harangued by two gulls that clearly wanted a share of the catch!  Terns dived just a few yards from where we stood and hundreds of pelicans soared overhead.  I feel windswept and restored, the vastness of the Pacific, the relentless pounding of the waves, and the beauty of the surroundings and wildlife, serving to put my life into perspective.

Terns diving

Marbled godwit, there were dozens of these grouped with Willet and curlew.

Hundreds of heermann's gulls sat on the warm sand.

This is the sea otter that was having to defend it's catch from the marauding gulls.

Pelicans flying in formation.