Birds Did It, Bees Did It, They All Did It at Abbott's Lagoon (June 2nd)

Cole Porter must have strolled along the Abbott's Lagoon trail in spring and been inspired to write the lyrics for "Let's Do It" because when we hiked the trail mating behavior between all kinds of critters (especially insects) was happening right and left. About the only denizen of the area not "doing it" was a garter snake temporarily corralled by a pair of photographers intent on taking its portrait.

That all of this faunal fornication went on was surprising since the clouds above us as we drove out to Point Reyes hardly heralded spring-like weather for the day. Some of us woke up to find raindrops wetting the ground around our homes and, as has been the case more often than not in recent weeks, we began the hike with wool hats pulled down over our ears and fleece tops and jackets keeping our body core temperatures high enough to sustain life.

But we found dragonflies, beetles, ladybugs, frolicking on our walk out to the ocean beach just beyond the lagoon. Thistles, poppies and lupine bloomed along the trail.

After 45 minutes we reached a shrubby area fronting the eastern part of the lagoon. This is always a good birding spot and we saw several species of songbirds. Park employees we passed told us to look for a Snowy Plover nesting in the sand about a quarter of mile south of where the remnants of the trail meet the beach.

About an hour and half into the hike the marine layer had dissipated and the sun was shining brightly. A barn swallow was sitting on a nest under the bridge that connect the upper and main parts of the lagoon.

We passed large pieces of driftwood as we hiked the last section of the trail to the ocean. One looked like the fossilized vertebrae of a large whale.

Just before noon we reached the sea and wandered down the beach looking for the Snowy Plover. The park had run a barrier between the water and uplands demarcating the area where the birds nest in order to keep people from wandering into the breeding area. Finally, we espied a circular enclosure and saw one adult bird inside. (Alas, the plover was too far away for Dick to get a photo with his camera).

By now our stomachs were growling, so we plopped down on the sand and ate lunch. The weather was so pleasant and the sound of the waves ending their journey on the beach was lulling us to sleep. But before we could nod off, we packed up our gear and began the trek back to the parking lot.

We had sunshine all of the way back and paused now and again to look for more critters and flowers. A herd of beef cattle had moved in while we were out at the ocean and some bumblebees flitted among the flowers. We found one last plover at the end of the hike --- its photo was posted on the bulletin board at the trailhead. (Click here to read Wendy's recap of all of the plants, bugs, and critters we spotted on this outing).