Last Call for Black Oystercatchers

 None of the Cascade Head Black Oystercatcher (BLOY) nests that I have monitored over the years were active this spring and summer. And of the former three Road's End nests, only one pair started a nest... and lost it... two times. It was a bad year for Black Oystercatcher nesting in my area. Today, not being willing to give up, I hiked in to the Hart's Cove area where BLOY have nested in the past. Maybe, I thought hopefully, they got a late start.

Hope springs eternal. But there were no BLOY. And their nest rock was covered with Pelicans, and with whitewash from Pelicans. 

 

Atop the rock, right above where BLOY have traditionally nested, was a first year Bald Eagle. He sat there for the first half hour I was there (and who knows how long before I arrived). When he flew north, an adult flew in from the south. I suspect BLOY are not nesting because Cascade Head and environs have been taken over by Bald Eagles. I have never seen eagles attack Black Oystercatchers but the silly birds get hysterical when an eagle is around and come off their nest screaming.

Harbor seals lounged on a lower level of the rock...

...while sea lions slept on yet another...

 

In the center of the rock, next to a pool of water that the BLOY  accessed for drinking and bathing, was a sea lion that I convinced myself was dead as it moved not at all for a very long time...

 

 

 

 

 ...until it did...

Meanwhile, on the south shore of the cove, hundreds of sea lions lounged and barked... and barked... and barked. It was deafening.

I also saw, but did not get photos of, a few sea mammals that must have been harbor porpoises as they had triangular fins coming out of their backs and were surfing the waves close to shore, perhaps chasing small prey.

It was a long, steep hike back up to the parking area but the trail is well maintained.

 

There had been an intriguing truck in the parking lot when I started down and I vowed to get a photo if it was still there when I came back. It was and I did.

A solar panel on the hood.

 

The truck emblem says "Mortality Driven. You can make more money... You can't make more time." Back home, I went to the website that was painted on the side of the truck: MortalityDriven.com and found out it is a clothing business! Or so it says. And the proprietor drives around the country exploring all the exciting places he can find. The truck is outfitted for everything, it seems. 

I found no BLOY today, but did find plenty of interesting sights.