Our third destination for the day was Pinnacles National Monument. Pinnacles has two entrances, the west side and the east side. Friday afternoon we were to meet the group at the west entrance to Pinnacles. We got separated from the group when our "fearless leader" suggested stopping by a winery in the town of Gonzales, and he didn't try to keep us all together. We already knew where we were going, so no need to caravan with the group. So we chose to find a place to stop for lunch where we found a McDonald's there in Gonzales. After a refreshing lunch we were on our way again, headed for Pinnacles. 
When we reached our destination and entered the park, we paid the fee and proceeded to the parking lot where we found a few folks from our group also hanging around wondering where our "fearless leader" was. After waiting an extra half hour it was the consensus to leave the park and slowly drive down the road where we came in, hoping to see the rest of the group including the leader.
When we reached our destination and entered the park, we paid the fee and proceeded to the parking lot where we found a few folks from our group also hanging around wondering where our "fearless leader" was. After waiting an extra half hour it was the consensus to leave the park and slowly drive down the road where we came in, hoping to see the rest of the group including the leader.
[To see a larger image, click on the photos]
These photos were all taken around the Pinnacles area. The countryside is so beautiful. Apparently this whole area located in San Benito county, also known as the Salinas River Valley, has vineyards all over. Even though this whole valley looks quite dry they must have a decent water table to accommodate all these vineyards. Most every vineyard we came across used the drip irrigation system.
Nevertheless, birds around here were few and far between. Most of the birds we saw (while still looking for the birding group) were what I would find locally in the Silicon Valley -- lesser goldfinches, scrub jays, house finches, etc. Below is a scrub jay hanging around this "water tank." It was fun watching all the finches darting in and out of the "spout." That's the area below the scrub jay where the tank is showing white where it was dry and black where it was still wet from the water spilling out. Visit Red's blog to see more photos.
By the way, this was the area where we finally ran into our "fearless leader" and the other birders. The group that had been driving around with us told the others that there were more birds up around the vineyard we had just come from. We chose to leave the group at this time, since they wanted to go back up to the vineyard and we were running very low on gas -- and it was about 10 miles to the nearest gas station, luckily downhill all the way. Overall, the best and most birdy part of the day was at Moon Glow Dairy. But it was a lot of fun going from Zmudowski Beach (wet, watery, oceany) to Moon Glow Dairy (Elkhorn Sough, mudflats, riparian) and then on to a much drier and warmer locale, Pinnacles/Salinas River valley area. We definitely saw a lot of varied geography as well as a variety of birds. Our next post will be about Saturday's events.
Nevertheless, birds around here were few and far between. Most of the birds we saw (while still looking for the birding group) were what I would find locally in the Silicon Valley -- lesser goldfinches, scrub jays, house finches, etc. Below is a scrub jay hanging around this "water tank." It was fun watching all the finches darting in and out of the "spout." That's the area below the scrub jay where the tank is showing white where it was dry and black where it was still wet from the water spilling out. Visit Red's blog to see more photos. 
By the way, this was the area where we finally ran into our "fearless leader" and the other birders. The group that had been driving around with us told the others that there were more birds up around the vineyard we had just come from. We chose to leave the group at this time, since they wanted to go back up to the vineyard and we were running very low on gas -- and it was about 10 miles to the nearest gas station, luckily downhill all the way. Overall, the best and most birdy part of the day was at Moon Glow Dairy. But it was a lot of fun going from Zmudowski Beach (wet, watery, oceany) to Moon Glow Dairy (Elkhorn Sough, mudflats, riparian) and then on to a much drier and warmer locale, Pinnacles/Salinas River valley area. We definitely saw a lot of varied geography as well as a variety of birds. Our next post will be about Saturday's events.
