Journal entries for 5/05 & 06, 1998
Point Piedras Blancas, San Luis Obispo Co., California

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Tuesday -- 05 May 1998

weather: Variably cloudy to mostly sunny, heavy rain showers before dawn
(0.7"); more showers and spectacular squall 1730-1900hrs producing a
waterspout/tornado south of PB Rocks to San Simeon and tracking inland across
rt.1 and across the 'zebra' pastures along the Hearst Castle entrance road
dissipating in the hills; wind mostly ESE-S 0-5kts; outside offshore seas calm
B0-2; air temp. 54-68F; sea temp. 12.7C (last taken on 04 May). Crisp and
clear horizon all day -- the best visibility in several weeks!

summary: Gray Whales: 12 cow/calf pairs today. At least two single humpback
whales were seen again as well as a single minke. The minke was once again
inside the bay and probably the same individual which seems to be wandering
around the Point now and seen breaching at 400 meters yesterday. It was quite
close to shore this morning and right up against the southeast shore-side
rocks. Offshore, up to ~50 killer whales were present for most of the day out
along the shelf break at 3-4 nmiles, too far to determine exactly what they
were doing and doing in the same area for so long.

All in all, this was one of those really rare and spectacular Piedras Blancas
days. Not great or spectacular in the sense of the coastal seabird migration
which continued on the light side (<5,000 Pacific Loons), much the same pace
as it has been now for the past week or so since the big loon flights of 4/26
& 4/27. The weather today was diverse, strange, to down right spectacular.
The Low Pressure continues to be stalled just offshore as it has been now for
more than a week resulting in the most abnormal and uncharacteristic calm,
warm, and humid conditions around here. A heavy line of storms moved across
the coast at 0530hrs dumping 0.7" rain here (2" in Cayucos) and even spawned a
small tornado which touched down in San Luis Obispo.

The research day was sunny and calm but with rain showers around with one more
big one developing and suddenly intensifying as it came ashore and abutted up
against the coastal hills. Rain and sun produced an exquisite and
exceptionally brilliant rainbow set against ragged black clouds and curtains
of rain and arching over PB Rocks, San Simeon, and the golden sun illuminated
Hearst Castle and emerald green San Lucia Mountains at 1730hrs while the ocean
was slick glassy gold and blue calm. I came on watch then and announced that
it looked and felt like perfect waterspout / tornado weather. Twenty minutes
later, a funnel cloud appeared from the ragged line of clouds ~2 miles to the
southeast between PB Rocks and San Simeon. The very birth of a small
'twister'. Gradually, it descended lower and took the characteristic columnar
form of a waterspout. I watched the whole thing up close and personal in the
25X noting the tight swirling upward rotation. Spectacular this one was,
illuminated white in the sun, framed in the rainbow, and all set against the
beautifully ugly black clouds and the striking green, gold, and gray
terrestrial backdrop. After about 8 minutes out over the water, it moved
eastward, crossing rt.1, snaking out long ropelike and horizontal with the
bottom dropping down and dancing and bouncing across the 'zebra' pastures and
parallel the Hearst Castle entrance road. At this point I noted a large
kettleing flock of about 30 Turkey Vultures up high near the cloud base and
actually carried aloft and soaring counter-clockwise around the perimeter of
the funnel cloud. No California Condors in that group that I could discern
unfortunately; had there been, that would have just been one uniquely bizarre
scene way over the top of heady hopes and expectations! With this small
'tornado' taking on the long ropy stage, it was clearly in the death stage as
it was becoming pinched up against the steep Santa Lucia hills. After about
30 minutes and throughout fully illuminated white in the sunlight, it
gradually dissipated for good.

Capping off the day and with such a beautiful calm warm evening in progress,
scattered clouds and the moon one day past half full, I gathered to local
forces including Tom Murphy, Tom Martin, and Todd Pusser and launched off to
Morro Bay to make a stab at landing a visual on the BLACK RAIL which I'd heard
calling in the estuarine marshes on Sunday. It wasn't even quite dark yet and
I had just starting to fumble around and played back one 'ki ki ker' note of
the Black Rail and got an instant response. Oh, this is going to be way too
easy I thought. Well, not quite so easy but eventually the mission was
accomplished and we all had magnificent views of a single bird out in the open
in the spot light for several minutes.

Using a Sony sports walkman linked to a Radio Shack megaphone, the same system
I've used for USFS Spotted Owl surveys in the Pacific Northwest, I stretched
out on my belly in the marsh near a clear area adjacent to a dense stand of
tall cattails and grass from where two different birds were calling
incessantly. This dense stuff looked impossible and unless the bird wandered
out in the open, it was beginning to look hopeless since there was no way to
even see the ground in there. The bird refused to come out and held it's
ground only about 2-3 feet away for a good hour. Tantalizingly close, yet so
far.

I was quite surprised by the choice of habitat here, being in the dense
cattails rather than out in the salt grass and _Salicornia_ in which I've
successfully found and coaxed out many a Black Rail in brackish Chesapeake Bay
marshes of Maryland and once in fresh water short dense grassy marshes of
Northwestern Missouri. After an hour and a half of patiently working at it,
and knowing the bird was so close, I just began what I figured was the
hopeless task of panning over an area of matted cattails with my headlamp when
low and behold, I was completely astonished to discover the Black Rail out in
the open and sneaking around on the top of all this densely matted vegetation.

Good Lord! We've been looking in the 'wrong' place! Like a tiny little
mouse, the Black Rail slowly and cautiously wandered about over and through
the vegetation. Even in the spot of my headlamp, the rail continued to give
the 'ki ki kerr' call. I was rather impressed by the bird's comparative
appearance to several dozen observed East coast Black Rails over the years and
two different individuals from NW and SE Missouri. The Morro Bay bird struck
me as smaller and paler than those and even the call, though similar seems to
have a slightly tinnier quality. Maybe this perception is in some error as
it's been about 20 years since I've last bothered to poke around after the
Black Rail.

As a state listed rare and endangered and apparently highly discrete and
localized population in California, which I didn't even realize at the time,
exceptional great care and common sense must be exercised and such molestation
should be kept to a minimum. It would be all too easy to accidentally step on
and snuff one of these little critters out (as I've heard had actually
happened in California a few years ago) as well as a nest. For me at least,
and for as much fun as the challenge is, enough is enough and I won't be
disturbing this bird or the area again. There were two pair at this location.
The males (I presume) responding to the 'ki ki ker' and becoming more excited
with the playback challenge 'churrrr' call. While lying in the marsh and so
close, some other interesting quiet single 'ki' notes were often heard. These
were barely audible even at only two feet. What I suspected was probably a
female was making similar calls while a nearby male was going on and on
incessantly with the standard 'ki ki ker'.

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Wednesday --06 May 1998

weather: Partly cloudy to mostly sunny, light rain showers before dawn; wind
light & variable 0-5kts (am), NNW 10-12 kts (pm); outside offshore seas calm
B0-2 (am), B2/3-4 (pm); air temp. 54-67F; sea temp. 12.7C (last taken on 04
May). Again today, crisp and clear to horizon.

summary: Gray Whales: 7 cow/calf pairs today. Also seen, a single minke whale
again, and one small distant group of ~20 Delphinus sp. amongst which was at
least one Pacific white-sided dolphin.

With yet another gorgeous calm day all day, the coastal seabird migration was
again. Pacific Loons continue to be the most conspicuous coastl migrants and
relatively steady all day but in a sprinkle and occasional smallish packs.
The total again today was less than to near 5,000 and rather routine.

Good news from the Peregrine eyrie. Just when I'd all but given up and
suspecting the worst that the single chick which hadn't been seen in 8 days
had either died or had been eaten by the adults, two chicks suddenly emerged
on Sunday 5/03 at 1735hrs. They've been visible in the cave/eyrie entrance
ever since and appear strong and healthy.

Brian Latta's Peregrine contingent of three arrived this morning to trek over
to the Outer Rock and band the two 21-day old chicks up in the eyrie. Not a
venture for the faint of heart. The three paddled over from the NW point in a
small inflatable, clambered out on a rock and with an aluminum ladder for the
last stage of the climb from a narrow ledge, easily accessed the cave-like
eyrie. The adults protested as expected swooping and screaming and making
quite a ruckus. No harm was done, prey remains were collected from eyrie, and
once the crew departed, life in the eyrie returned normal. At some point
during the invasion, one of the adult Peregrines had just returned from the
sea with a prey item. I didn't actually see the event, but the Peregrine
dropped the prey item during all the commotion which turns out to have been a
BLACK STORM PETREL. It couldn't be retrieved, but it was definitely a large
all black storm petrel, larger than Ashy, Leach's, or most certainly Least,
and with a distinctly forked tail. It looked rather like Black Storm Petrel
to me as it was lying and abandoned on a lower ledge as well as everyone else
who witnessed the actual event.

The single Allen's Hummingbird nest discovered last week is doing well,
containing two miniature jelly bean sized eggs. The nest is exceptionally
well located nestled back in a Monterey Cypress and unintrusively
photographical being only three feet above the ground. Todd set up his video
camera, walked away, and the bird returned to nest within in 90 seconds. The
playback shows some interersting footage with the female incubating while she
continues to weave the nest.

The FOX-News crew from San Francisco arrived this afternoon to do a film/story
shoot of the gray whale migration and the PB site over the next couple of
days.

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Richard Rowlett (Pagodroma at aol.com)
Gray Whale Survey
Piedras Blancas Lighthouse
San Simeon, SLO Co., California
(untl 30 May 1998)