Getting Out: In winter, many of the main attractions at our
parks and preserves lay dormant awaiting the nourishing rains and
spring warmth before renewing the display for another year. So, we
naturally tend to toss the daypack in the closet and hunker
down.
But in a few nearby wild places, winter is peak season. Elkhorn
Slough is such a place.
In winter, many of the main attractions at our parks and preserves lay dormant awaiting the nourishing rains and spring warmth before renewing the display for another year. So, we naturally tend to toss the daypack in the closet and hunker down.
But in a few nearby wild places, winter is peak season. Elkhorn Slough is such a place.
Located behind Moss Landing’s power plant, with its two landmark 500-foot stacks, Elkhorn Slough is a 2,500-acre wetland that extends seven miles inland. While 90 percent of California’s estuaries have been lost, Elkhorn Slough is relatively pristine and teems with wildlife, particularly a wide variety of rare and unusual birds migrating or wintering there.
There are a couple ways to see the slough. On a recent morning, I drove to the visitor center with my binoculars and Sibley’s “Field Guide to Birds.” My walk began down a gentle half-mile slope to the boardwalk that juts into the marsh. I quickly realized one of the beauties of birding in a slough — the birds have few hiding places. The widespread pickleweed barely covers the legs of these elegant long-legged shorebirds, so even a clumsy and inept birder like me can refer to the field guide a number of times without losing track of the mysterious object of my interest.
From the boardwalk, I was able to see the ordinary and the rare. A common willet, with its drab gray-brown coloring, threw me for a while until it flashed its distinctive wings. The characteristic yellow bill and black legs of the snow-white great egret made it easy to label and provided me endless entertainment, watching it elegantly prance through the marsh foraging for food.
Oddly, the most unusual bird was the first one I saw. We have all seen brown pelicans at the beach, but, according to the bird list I was given at the visitor center, American white pelicans are rare. Not this day. These primitive-looking white birds, with distinctive black secondary feathers on the trailing edge of their wings, wheeled overhead, then crowded onto a small island mound in the estuary.
If you are one of those people who hates a hike but loves a walk, Elkhorn Slough is for you. Other than a slight descent from the visitor center to the slough itself, the reserve is flat. I walked an easy mile or so to quiet and lovely Hummingbird Island, an old Native American site, the furthest point from the visitor center. A casual walker can choose to become a hiker by taking Five Fingers Loop Trail or Long Valley Loop Trail, optional side trips that access different portions of the reserve and are each about a mile in length.
Another way to tour is by kayak. Various vendors in Moss Landing rent kayaks and offer guided tours of the reserve. Google “Elkhorn Slough kayaking” for a selection of vendors with prices and options. I know through experience that it is best to kayak early in the morning because the afternoon wind makes the trip back to Moss Landing unpleasant work. It is a two and a half mile paddle to the heart of the slough and five miles to the end, so be prepared for something more than a kiddie ride.
Whether walking or paddling, you’re in for a treat. Dig out those crummy $10 binoculars, and pull the 20-year old bird book with the yellowing pages off the shelf. Go in the morning to enjoy a restful stillness and peace that seeps inside. Then cap off your morning by heading back to Moss Landing for lunch at Phil’s Fish Market … if you can find it.
For directions and more information visit: www.elkhornslough.org
