Chapter 02 · Friday, April 19, 2024
Wildlife and Landscapes of Point Reyes
We drove up to Marshall along Tomales Bay before heading into Point Reyes National Seashore, where we spent the bulk of the day exploring the park across two separate stops. We visited the coastline and trails within the seashore, photographing the landscapes and wildlife we encountered there.
Marshall, California
“By the time we hit the Marshall stretch, there were elk on the hillsides, a coyote just standing in a field staring at us, and a doe leading her fawns across the road like it was nothing.”
After spending the morning at Point Reyes, we drove down to Marshall along Tomales Bay and the day turned into a full wildlife parade. We'd already had a bobcat growl at us from the grass at dawn, watched red-tailed hawks launch off fence posts, and counted more California quail than we could keep track of. By the time we hit the Marshall stretch, there were elk on the hillsides, a coyote just standing in a field staring at us, and a doe leading her fawns across the road like it was nothing. The green hills rolling down toward the bay with poppies everywhere capped it off.
Tule Elk
Tule elk (Cervus canadensis nannodes) are found nowhere else on Earth outside California. By the 1870s, hunting and habitat loss had reduced the entire species to a single small herd — fewer than 30 animals — on a San Joaquin Valley ranch.
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”
— John Muir, journal entry
Point Reyes National Seashore
“On the trail we ran into a couple of woodpeckers — a Downy Woodpecker clinging to a tree trunk and a Northern Flicker nearby on the ground.”
Our first stop was Pierce Point Ranch at the northern tip of the peninsula, where we got out and walked around the old dairy buildings before heading up the Tomales Point Trail. The ranch has been sitting there since the 1850s, and the structures are still standing. On the trail we ran into a couple of woodpeckers — a Downy Woodpecker clinging to a tree trunk and a Northern Flicker nearby on the ground. We spent a few minutes watching both of them before moving on.
Ranching History
Pierce Point Ranch was one of roughly 30 dairy and beef ranches that once operated inside what is now Point Reyes National Seashore — many of them still active when the park was established in 1962.
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”
— John Muir
Point Reyes National Seashore
“We also got close to a bull elk still in velvet, which was cool to see.”
Point Reyes was foggy and green when we got there, which made the whole place feel pretty quiet. We headed up to the north end near Pierce Point Ranch and ended up watching coyotes for a good stretch of the morning — at one point we counted two of them moving through the same meadow. One was clearly a nursing mother, out hunting. We also got close to a bull elk still in velvet, which was cool to see. The wildflowers were out along the hillside too, mostly wild radish doing its thing in the fog.
Tule Elk
Tule elk were hunted to near-extinction by the 1870s, with only one small herd surviving. The herd at Point Reyes is descended from reintroduced animals and now numbers in the hundreds.
“In every walk with nature, one receives far more than he seeks.”
— John Muir, unpublished journals
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