
After my meeting with the Guillemot in San Luis Obispo, I continued my push to Morro Bay a few miles north and I found suitable quarters to shelter me from the elements for the night. Cost of lodging along the Central California coast can be high. At about $100 per night, this town is about as cheap as it gets. Further north $200+ per night is the norm. If my business in Oregon did not involve registering the Samurai, I would be travelling in the RV, and motels would not be a requirement.
After an early morning rise-and-shine and breakfast at a popular local eatery I was ready to explore my favorite pass-time; capturing nature with my camera. I drove around the harbor to the parking lot near Morro Rock. The morning was heavy, under overcast skies, and shooting the gulls and falcons circling overhead would not yield images that would satisfy me. I worked briefly with the Sea Otters loafing a few yards off the bay shore, before moving on the sparrows and wrens on the lower slopes of Morro Rock.
I met a couple (Pat and Larry) from Bakersfield while on my walk, and the ensuing conversation went on until noon, which made me late for my visit with my cousin Bill and wife Carolynn.
It was a 45 minute drive from Morro Bay to Cambria, and it was great to see my cousin and his wife after so many years. All good things must come to an end, and I needed to get my show on the road again. I planned to tent camp along the Nacimiento-Fergusson Road after one more photo stop at Piedras Blancas. I’ll save the images and descriptions of that leg of the trip for my next installment.
Three of the images below were captured the day before in San Luis Obispo when I met the Pigeon Guillemot.

Bewick's Wren(Thryomanes bewickii) |
Description: A bird at home in a variety of brushy habitats. Morro Bay on the Central California Coast. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:29 11:00 |
Location:
Morro Bay |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: BewicksWren_D5X9793-MorroBay |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Canyon Wren(Catherpes mexicanus) |
Description: The steep rocky face of Morro Rock is ideally suited to this bird. Morro Bay on the Central California Coast. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:29 10:43 |
Location:
Morro Bay |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: CanyonWren_D5X9756-MorroBay |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


Harbor Seal(Phoca vitulina) |
Description: Encounters with nature on the Hartford Pier at San Luis Bay in San Luis Obispo along the coast of Central California. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:28 15:48 |
Location:
San Luis Bay |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1600 |
File Name: HarborSeal_D5X9626-SanLuisObisbo |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


HeermannsGull(Larus heermanni) |
Description: This bird has molted several flight feathers. Hartford Pier at San Luis Bay in San Luis Obispo along the coast of Central California. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:28 15:48 |
Location:
San Luis Bay |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/2000 |
File Name: HeermannsGull_D5X9646-SanLuisObisbo |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


Sea Otter(Enhydra lutris) |
Description: Morro Bay on the Central California Coast is a great place to meet Sea Otters. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:29 9:51 |
Location:
Morro Rock |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/1000 |
File Name: SeaOtter_D5X9722-MorroBay |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


White-Crowned Sparrow(Zonotrichia leucophrys) |
Description: The coastal slopes of Central California are a place to find the Nuttall's subspecies of White-Crowned Sparrow. Morro Bay on the Central California Coast. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:29 10:00 |
Location:
Morro Rock |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: WhiteCrownedSparrow_D5X9737-MorroBay |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


White-Crowned Sparrow(Zonotrichia leucophrys) |
Description: This juvenile bird at Morro Bay on the Central California Coast has not yet earned its First Winter head stripes. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:29 10:58 |
Location:
Morro Bay |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: WhiteCrownedSparrow_D5X9788-MorroBay |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTreeImaging.com |


White-Crowned Sparrow(Zonotrichia leucophrys) |
Description: The coastal slopes of Central California are a place to find the Nuttall's subspecies of White-Crowned Sparrow. Morro Bay on the Central California Coast. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:29 11:03 |
Location:
Morro Rock |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: WhiteCrownedSparrow_D5X9795-MorroBay |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |


California Sea Lion(Zalophus californianus) |
Description: Encounters with nature on the Hartford Pier at San Luis Bay in San Luis Obispo along the coast of Central California. |
Date Taken: 2019:07:28 14:40 |
Location:
San Luis Bay |
Camera Information: NIKON D5, 800 mm, f/8.0, 1/800 |
File Name: CaliforniaSeaLion_D5X9117-SanLuisObisbo |
© 2019 Jack Daynes, shadeTree Imaging |

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