Torrey Pines State Park & Tijuana Estuary

Cliffs at Torrey Pines. Dramatic--and when you hike up them you are higher than the helicopters!

Since our gym is closed on Sundays, we've been trying to get out and spend some physical energy exploring the parks and reserves in the San Diego area. Recently we've been to Torrey Pines State Reserve and the Tijuana River National Estuarine Research Reserve. The former is across the street from Matt's office in La Jolla and the latter is just south of Coronado, with a view of the fence separating Mexico and the US and the massive Bullring by the Sea in Tijuana, Mexico.

Spending time together in our new town is our main goal with these outings, but I could tell Matt was a bit disappointed with the lack of birds at the Tijuana Estuary. We had brought our good binoculars and the spotting scope and tripod my dad had given us at Christmas. It did help us get a good view of a Western Meadowlark, Red-winged Blackbird, few Brown Pelicans, group of Snowy Egrets and group of terns (perhaps Elegant Terns), but the quantity of birds was a bit low.


Western Meadowlark and Red-winged Blackbird

A group of Snowy Egrets and an adventurous juvenile on its own.

We went on a free bird tour at the reserve, and even our guide said that this was not the best time of year for birding. We actually only came across a Northern Harrier (named Harriet by the staff) and a few Belding's Savannah Sparrows on the tour until we were heading back and Matt spied the beautiful Yellow-crowned Night Heron crabbing in the marsh. It paid us no attention as we gazed and snapped photographs: it was too busy catching its dinner. After that, Matt was a much happier bird watcher.


Yellow-crowned Night Heron, spying and then catching its dinner (can you see the crab?)

When we went to Torrey Pines, the weather was much hotter--most people were in the water not hiking. Matt and I tend to don hiking boots not bathing suits, and the breeze off the cold Pacific is all we needed to enjoy our day. While Torrey Pines is not a large area as far as California parks go, it does offer "2000 acres of land are as they were before San Diego was developed -with the chaparral plant community, the rare and elegant Torrey pine trees, miles of unspoiled beaches, and a lagoon that is vital to migrating seabirds."


Beach goers at Torrey Pines and the eroded sandstone up above.


Two forms of Torrey Pines wildlife--Matt and a lizard.