Places I'm Visiting: Bodega Bay

I was out at Bodega Bay recently for a dinner at Terrapin Creek Café. Yes, I took my camera. Yes, I took pictures of birds. Nothing unusual was flying around, but I got some good shots of Western Gulls in flight – and the food was excellent.

The Western Gulls present were in at least three different plumages. Some were fully adult birds, and some were already nesting on the rocks off Bodega Head. Some were nearly fully adult, with no white in the primary flight feathers and with black dots on the bill, which I usually associate with California Gulls, but apparently any Gull with a red spot on the bill as an adult may have a remnant of the dark, immature bill color remaining for some time. 

We watched the sun go down over the Pacific. There was a small crowd at Bodega Head doing the same. 

 

Food I'm Eating: Excellent Lunch at Terrapin Creek Café, Bodega Bay

Had a very good lunch at Terrapin Creek Café yesterday. Hadn't tried this place before, but glad I did. Had a very tasty summer squash soup with a mint and pistachio pesto, crab cakes that were done perfectly and actually tasted like crab, and an excellent cassoulet. Simple, yet delicious. Open for lunch and dinner Thursday through Sunday. A very nice change from the many seafood places along the coast that (while not bad) have nothing special to offer--which is ironic given the proximity to the sea and easy access to sophisticated diners in the area. Highly recommended. At 1580 Eastshore Road (just to the right after you turn left to go down toward Spud Point Marina and Bodega Head from the main highway. Phone: (707) 875-2700. Having said that, I like eating lunch at the Tides when in Bodega because of the excellent view over the bay.

Birds seen during the day at the bay included: Belted kingfisher (three--or the same guy in three locations), common loon, pacific loon, White pelican, common tern, Western gull, ring-billed gull, turkey vulture, willet, marbled godwit, scrub jay, double-crested cormorant, pelagic cormorant, black oyster catcher, Clark's grebe, and Western grebe. Actually, as usual, I'm just guessing about the tern. I can never get close enough to tell which one it is. According to online information from the Madrone Audubon Society (which is our local chapter), elegant terns, Forster's terns, and Caspian terns are all possibilities. They are hard to tell apart at a distance.