Date: 4/7/26 6:00 pm From: Barbara Kossy via groups.io <bkossy...> Subject: [pen-bird] Fitzgerald Marine Reserve near the parking lot
During a low to middling low tide the reef was a great spot for a bit of birding. There were about 100 elegant terns on the reef, resting and occasionally taking to the sky. At least 10 Caspian terns were on the edges of the group, two were seen mating. I counted 7 Black Oystercatchers, 1 female Red-breasted Merganser, lots of Western Gulls, and Short-billed gull. (I think. Gray legs, black band on bill.) Brow Pelicans cruised overhead. A few Ravens walked the reef and occasionally harassed the terns. Nearby the harbor seals were hauling out and the tide came up. A few were pregnant, there were a couple of young pups, and some seals were cavorting in the protected waters. As the tide came up the terns moved onto the sand.
A Moss Beach note: Red -shouldered hawks are in the area carrying prey, I assume to a nest. I don't know where the nest is, but it's probably not far from the old nest that was near the bridge over the creek.
