Kite Surfers and Two-Ton Beasts
by Jeff Lewis

The San Francisco Bay Area has dozens of tourist attractions, and maybe even hundreds if your definition of the Bay Area extends to Napa, Sonoma, the Monterey Peninsula and Lake Tahoe.  Most tourists think wine tasting, cable cars, Alcatraz and the Golden Gate Bridge.  To that short list, I would add world-class wildlife viewing, either at Año Nuevo State Reserve, the Point Reyes National Seashore, or Point Lobos State Reserve.  I'll cover Point Reyes and Point Lobos at another time and today will share a few photos I took on a weekday trip to Año Nuevo.

Elephant Seals at Año Nuevo

Located 55 miles south of San Francisco on Highway 1, Año Nuevo is small in size—just 4,000 acres—but packed with wildlife.  Its biggest draws are the elephant seals, which can weigh 5,000 pounds and number in the thousands during the winter breeding season.

The alpha males can have nasty dispositions, so you're likely to see battles over beach real estate and control of harems.  It is such a popular attraction that winter reservations are mandatory and coveted.

During the off-season—April through November—the park is not as crowded, but there usually still are seals around.  I visited in July and got to see about thirty subadult males from close range.  They were hanging out on the beach, waiting for their coats to molt.

The area around the elephant seals is filled with growling, burbling and a visceral stench.  The seals sound like a Harley Davidson's ignition and produce a smell like a porta-potty, at least until the wind shifts and it smells like you are inside the john.  When the mating season is in full swing, the stench can be stupefying, with 2,000 seals about, some dead and decaying.  That might not sound like a great endorsement, but the docents assured me that kids love it.

The Birds

You can see shorebirds, quail and raptors, all from the walking paths.  In the summer, Año Nuevo is an outstanding place to see threatened brown pelicans fly between the sea and a pond near the parking lot.

I found this view of turnstones on the beach fascinating.  There are about fifty birds in this picture; they were nearly as difficult to see in real life as they are in the picture.  They made constant tiny movements as they rummaged through the dead kelp, but they blended in.  It was a disconcerting feeling, as if there were mice hiding in the kelp, at least until they took flight and showed off their beautiful white wing markings.

The Germans

Germans are omnipresent in America's parks.  Guess which picture depicts German tourists and which one features Americans?

Picture A

Picture B

The Surfers

Cove Beach, near the information center, is a good place to watch surfers, because the backdrop is a rocky point covered in cormorants, with pelicans constantly flying by.  It makes a pleasant combination of sport and nature.

From the bluffs above the beach, you get an Endless Summery point of view, albeit of a near-constant foggy setting.

Other Sea Mammals

In addition to elephant seals, Año Nuevo has two types of sea lions, as well as harbor seals and sea otters.  During the spring, California grey wales pass along the coast.

Although they are difficult to see from land, California and Stellar sea lions have taken over Año Nuevo Island, just off the coast.  Until 1948, the island had a light house, inhabited by humans.  Today, it is covered with sea lions, squatters who have reclaimed the land for nature.

Waddell Creek

Big Basin Redwoods State Park is a few miles down Highway 1 to the south.  The park is primarily redwood forest, but it meets the coast at Waddell Creek, a very windy stretch of beach prized by wind surfers and kite surfers.  On days when the wind is in full effect, local athletes put on an impressive display of wind harnessing.

Copyright Jeff Lewis 2005.

Jeff can be reached at jeff@babblog.com.

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