PT. PINOS

The Pt. Pinos listing area is that part of Pacific Grove centered around Pt. Pinos & Crespi Pond at the tip of the Monterey Peninsula (that's Pt. Pinos in the top photo), stretching "from Ruff to Ruff outside the RR tracks." Alas, this definition was coined in the late 1970s, and none of these landmarks exist today -- so there is detailed explanation below. This map (left) shows the listing area. Any birds within the heavy lines shown on the map are countable (e.g., on or over that land), plus any birds seen from shore within that area (the orange cross-hatching designates offshore areas which may be scoped to the limits of one's optics; however, birds on or over the ocean in this area must be seen from shore within the defined area -- birds observed from boats just off the Point do not count in the Pt. Pinos listing area unless that bird is actually sitting on or flying over the land. As of 1 Oct 2004, the total Pt. Pinos area list was:    339 species Click here for a COMPLETE PT. PINOS AREA BIRD LIST Click here for a GALLERY OF VAGRANTS FROM PT. PINOS Click here for a short HISTORY OF BIRDING PT. PINOS and PT. PINOS LISTERS TOTALS If you find a new species for the Pt. Pinos area, or any especially rare species there, please: document your record with photos or good written details, report it to the local Bird Box [626-6605], and report here [also report your Pt. Pinos area list here if you wish].     The "Ruff to Ruff" definition denotes those two small beaches, each about a half-mile from the Point, on which a Ruff has wintered. One Ruff spent a winter on washed-up at the foot of Seapalm Ave. (east of Pt. Pinos and west of Lovers Pt.) from 28 Oct 1976-19 Mar 1977; another Ruff (or the same bird returning?) lingered on storm-washed kelp in the little inlet below the gazebo on Rocky Shores, from 27 Dec 1977-5 Feb 1978. Both of these beaches are easy to find today and both often host rocky shorebirds feeding on flies attracted to the piles of kelp. The gazebo at Rocky Shores (between Arena & Jewell on Ocean Shores Blvd.) was refurbished by the City of Pacific Grove when Rocky Shores was purchased as open space in the early 1990s (there is a lovely boardwalk there today).     The "outside the railroad tracks" designation refers to the former bed of a rail line which once ran from Monterey to Pebble Beach; there were still RR tracks there in the 1970s. Today this bed is public open space and known as the Monterey Peninsula hiking trail. The line is a little obscure through the front nine of the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Course, but is very apparent as it crosses the back of the P.G. cemetery and continues south between Crocker & Grove Acre. The listing area is "outside" (or west and north) of the arc formed by that old railroad bed [unfortunately for me personally, my yard on Grove Acre is just outside the Pt. Pinos area].

KEY BIRDING SPOTS within the Pt. Pinos area include:

• the Point itself (top photo) with rocks on which cormorants & rocky shorebirds often sit (as have vagrant boobies)
• Crespi Pond (lower right photo) which is a natural vernal pool now holding freshwater year-round; an astonishing list of waterbirds have appeared briefly here
• the cypresses around the P.G. Municipal Golf Course (especially on either side of Crespi Pond and over the public restrooms) and the cypresses & pines throughout the area, as around the P.G. Lighthouse (below left photo); these are best on calm overcast days in fall migration [beware that the golf course itself is off limits to birders, and that one must always be alert for flying golf balls; the cypresses are best checked very early in the morning or at dusk].
• the mixture of native conifers and planted exotics (blooming bottlebrush or agaves are particularly good in late fall/winter) around Esplanade Park and surrounding neighborhoods [avoid looking into homes here; be on your best birding behavior in public neighborhoods, and bird only from the public street].
• the El Carmelo cemetery with a mixture of pines & exotics (and a very tame herd of Black-tailed Deer)
• the beach opposite Crespi Pond which usually hosts gulls, rocky shorebirds, and occasional vagrants
• another major gull roost at low tide on the ocean side of the Peninsula and 1/4 mi south of the Point itself
• the entire rocky shoreline for rocky shorebirds, and the surf-zone just offshore for diving ducks, loons & alcids
• the piles of beach-washed kelp at the foot of Seapalm Ave (west of Lovers Pt.) & below the Rocky Shores gazebo
• scoping from anywhere for pelagics; ocean-side in calm weather or from the protected bay side in major gale