Pacific Beach, patience pays off

July, 2018

After spending all morning at the Coastal Interpretive Center, it certainly was too late that day for me to catch the dawn arrival of the Brown Pelicans.  By the time I ate my lunch and then finally got out to the jetty, it was around 1pm and they were long gone.  But I still had two more days here on the coast, so I went back to the campground and spent the afternoon there.

The next morning, I was up early and did not dally or sight-see anywhere.  No stopping and lollygagging around for me.  I drove straight down the coast, back down to the southern edge of the city of Ocean Shores and to the road that ran along the jetty.

The Pacific Ocean is off to the right in the photo above.

 

I found a small public parking lot near the jetty.  Not another human being was in sight.  The view above was my first view of the jetty, which heads out into the ocean to the right.

Before walking down onto to the beach, I walked straight ahead, directly towards the rock jetty, to see what I could see out over the jetty.

While standing right behind the north jetty and looking south, I could see the south jetty … that dark line in the distance.  It runs along the south side of the entrance into Grays Harbor.  All ships and boats should enter and leave Grays Harbor by running in between the two jettys.  Grays Harbor is to the left, the Pacific Ocean is to the right.  It looked to me like the south jetty was maybe a half mile away.  Ha!  It’s almost two miles across that entrance!  Distances are deceiving on the water.  That’s a wide inlet.  There’s a lot of fresh water from inland rivers that flows out, and a lot of Pacific Ocean saltwater that flows in, just depends on which way the tide is running at any given time of day.

On the Grays Harbor side of the entrance, this cargo ship (above) was anchored.  The ship was part way inside Grays Harbor and was about 2.5 miles away from me.  I imagined it was waiting for clearance to head further into Grays Harbor in order to unload its cargo at the Aberdeen/Hoquiam docks.  The smaller commercial fishing boat in the photo above was simply running back and forth, fishing inside the entrance.  With the sun rising in the east and shining on the bow of that big ship, I was hoping that I was in time to see the Brown Pelicans.  So far, they weren’t in evidence.

Looking west (above), straight out at the ocean.  The jetty runs out into the ocean about 1/3 of a mile measured from the edge of the water on the beach out to the furthest point of the jetty.

Here’s an aerial view (above).  The X with a circle on the left is where I was.  The Pacific Ocean is to the left; Grays Harbor is to the right (Grays Harbor is WAY bigger than what shows here).  The red dot at the top of the photo is the Coastal Interpretive Center.  And “Ship” is approximately where that cargo ship was anchored.

I then walked out to the edge of the ocean and tried to find Brown Pelicans.  🙁  Not a one in sight.  Lots of seagulls, but no Brown Pelicans.

Eventually, I saw two of them (they are on the left in the photo above).  I was disappointed but oh my gosh the power of the ocean was amazing.

 

These little folks were busy doing what they do.

 

Zoom, zoom.  Obviously, “someone” didn’t want their photo taken.  🙂

 

I waited and walked and wandered and watched for pelicans, but none materialized so I walked back up onto the sand and sea grass away from the ocean.

Interesting faces appeared in the drift logs.  There was a gentle, warm breeze and I was enjoying the walk even without the pelicans.

But then …

I looked up at the sky just at this very moment …

Brown Pelicans!!  On their way to the jetty!

These four flew by.  Then six more flew past me moments later … then three more … then five more … zounds, here they come!  I trotted back down to the edge of the ocean and got as close to the jetty as I could, and yet also a little way up the beach so I could be at a bit of an angle to get photos.

Look at all of them!  🙂

 

 

Pelicans and seagulls and probably other birds too all piled onto the end of that jetty … all facing west out to the ocean.  The waves crashed around them but they paid no mind to that.  They had arrived!

(Remember you can click on photos to enlarge them.)

Out on the ocean, as little as 30 or 40 feet north of the jetty, I noticed pelicans and seagulls flying … gliding and swooping and soaring.  Sometimes only a few birds but sometimes a dozen or more.

 

Then I noticed one pelican in the water (above) … and then saw another one in the water further out (also in the photo above).  What’s up with that?

And then I saw this …. !

And this …. !

They were diving straight into the water, not skimming the surface of the water, but diving as fast as they could right straight into the water.  When each pelican dove into the water, it took several seconds before it came back out … with a fish.  I guess it was breakfast time. 🙂

I was mesmerized.   I stayed here a long time and took lots of photos, but the pelicans were so darned fast that they were blurred in most of the photos.  They weren’t out of focus; their images were blurred because of their speed.  You can see the droplets of ocean water on top of the waves, but the diving Brown Pelicans were mostly just a blur.  It was spectacular.

A Wikipedia article about Brown Pelicans is HERE.  They were on the “endangered” list nationwide and still are on that list on the west coast, although they are coming back in healthy numbers.  Their comeback is largely due to the ban of DDT and other pesticides, and to relocation of breeding pairs, and to areas that have been designated off-limits to hunters.  It’s sure nice to hear this success story.

What an amazing morning.  I had no idea I would be so amazed and thrilled by so many things here on the coast.  The ocean is so full and so rich and shares its bounty with all who respect it.  Come for a walk or bring a chair and sit.  It’s an amazing place.

I still have a day or two before I head home, so let’s see what else I can find.  I’m so happy to be able to share all of this with you!