Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Piedras Blancas Elephant Seal Rookery

This elephant seal rookery is another of the amazing places along the central California coast. Earlier in the year, there are so many elephant seals on the beach that you can barely see the sand. At this time of year, the seals are mostly young ones. These magnificent creatures migrate thousands of miles to get here twice a year.
Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the U.S.

Just another slice of the heaven that is the California Coastline.

Mom? Mom? Where are you?

Picture this beach FULL of elephant seals!

Did you hear the one about the two seals that walked into a bar?

Blubber on the beach...

They remind me of our cats.


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40 comments:

  1. Love the seals and your pictures of them. There is something to tantalizing adorable about these magnificent creatures.

    Have a great Thanksgiving.

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  2. You must have lazy cats then!
    Great photos as always, Pat.

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  3. so true about that last pic. My cats have that same expression on their faces sometimes :)

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  4. Pat, that's too cool. I'm fascinated by sealions and love watching them at the zoo. I would have camped out for atleast an hour to watch. Have a happy Thanksgiving.

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  5. so cool!!! happy thanksgiving to you as well!

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  6. Love watching the seals! Good photos of them doing what they do best!

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  7. How cool is that?!! How close were you able to get to them?

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  8. That last photo is especially priceless!

    Thanks, Pat, for buying my two stories. I hope you enjoy them. And I hope you and yours have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
    Ann Best, Memoir Author

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  9. Great pictures! Happy Thanksgiving!
    "Blubber on the beach." You can see the same thing at the Jersey shore.

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  10. Must look a lot like I used to look, when I laid out at the beach. No, on second thought... the seals are much cuter!

    Wondering why I'm no longer able to do a second click, to enlarge to full screen?

    Happy Thanksgiving!

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  11. My late husband and I visited this area several years back and had a wonderful weekend there. Such a pretty area of our state.

    Kay

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  12. So this is what walering in the sun looks like.
    Great shots, Pat.
    Happy Thanksgiving to you and your.

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  13. Amazing pictures of amazing creatures. I love the comparison to cats -- they do like to bask in the sun!

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  14. Amazing pictures of amazing creatures. I love the comparison to cats -- they do like to bask in the sun!

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  15. I've heard amazing things about that spot but never explored it. Thanks for the great "tour."
    xoRobyn

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  16. Your captions make me laugh. Love the pictures!! Happy Thanksgiving!!

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  17. You got that close to them and they didn't get up and challenge you???? They must be so laid back nothing bothers them. How cool.
    Rosemary

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  18. Pat your visuals are almost like being there...those shots are fantastic. Yes I did hear the one about the two seals walking into a bar but can't remember the punch line..ha! Hope you and the fam are having a great Thanksgiving!

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  19. Fantastic! I've seen the seals at the Sea Lion Caves, but never like this! If they had no predators I would love to be a seal. They look so content.

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  20. I saw them last year. They were so beautiful.

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  21. Those are great shots.. I would
    be blubbering along all day , if we
    had such creatures on the beach .

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  22. LOVE seals!!
    gorgeous shots!



    lucky you! such privilege to see those scenes.

    wishing a blessed thanksgiving!

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  23. Seals are fun to watch, even when they're doing nothing at all, which is most of the time. Ah ..... what a life.

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  24. Hey you! I just stopped by to say Happy Thanksgiving!

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  25. These pictures are amazing! And the seals..i am speechless! Lovely.

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  26. Wow! how close can you get to them?

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  27. Jerry - Yeah, but the have fish breath! Hope you had a great Thanksiving!

    Alex - We do, and one of them is as fat as an elephant seal. We say he's fat, he says he has big bones. thanks Alex!

    mshatch - Yep! Just like ours!

    Laura Delegal - I'm with you! I like watching them even if they are alseep.

    TexWisGirl - Thanks so much! I hope you had a good day!

    missing moments - Thanks! They really do it well!

    Marlene - In some spots you can get as close as twenty feet. The state has put up a fence in this spot so people can't get too close.

    Ann Best - Thanks Ann! We had a great Thanksgiving and hope you did the same.

    Al - Thanks Al! Thanksgiving was great! Only there (Jersey shore) they don't have to migrate as far!

    Ms A. - I doubt it! Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving!

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  28. Ms A - Hmmm... I'm not sure about that, but I tried to do it on a couple of other people's computers and they enlarged with no problem! So, I'm not sure what's going on.

    Kay - I totally agree with you. So much too see. I've been up there more times than I can remember. Always something new to see or discover.

    Pam - Yep! That's why I was never a "beach" person. Thanks Pam! Hope you had a great holiday...

    Sallie - Thanks Sallie! They sure do! I wish I could get to that level of relaxation.

    Robyn - My pleasure! Hope you had a nice holiday!

    Baby Sister - Thanks so much! Happy Turkey day to you as well!

    Steadfast Ahoy - Hi Rosemary! Nope, they erected a small fence so you can't get too close. Good idea!

    Chuck - Thanks Chuck! We're still camped up on the mountain and just came down for Thanksgiving. On our way back up tomorrow. We had a great day and hope you did also!

    Belle - They sure did look content. They were just soaking up the sunshine. One of the strange things I found out is that they don't travel in groups and usually make the huge migrations alone.

    becca - Thanks becca! I hope you had a nice day...

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  29. Clarissa - Isn't the California coast amazing?

    faye - Thanks faye! There were many more local coves with elephant seals on them in this area, but you can't get to them because of steep cliffs.

    Betty M - Thanks Betty! I also like them a lot. We try to get up that way at least once a year. I hope you and the family also had a great Thanksgiving.

    Stephen - I hear you! My life is pretty good, but not that good!

    Bossy Betty - Thanks so much Betty! I appreciate it and hope you managed to have a decent one as well.

    Murugi - Thanks so much! They are so cute!

    baygirl - Not too close! The males can be very aggressive during the mating season. Plus, it's a crime here to bother them at all.

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  30. º°❤
    Olá, amiga!
    Belas fotografias.
    Deve ser emocionante vê-los de perto.
    Boa semana!
    Beijinhos. º° ✿
    ♫° Brasil
    ·.♪
    ❤♥

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  31. What a great trip Pat.!
    They stink too right?
    And noisy bastards... lol

    =]

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  32. Love the rookeries. Thanks for the great pictures. :)

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  33. Magia da Ines - Hello there! Thanks very much for the nice comment.

    Anthony - It sure was a good trip. No, they don't stink at all. The always go into the water to do their buisness. When they arrive from their migration, they always purge their systems in the water before coming ashore. Now, that must stink!

    Gene Pool Diva - You are welcome and thanks right back at you!

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  34. How amazing to see all those seals on the beach!

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  35. Dogs with flippers. I love these guys, though they do have a most distinctive odor.

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  36. We always stop to see the elephant seals when passing this part of the coast.

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  37. I love the Sea Elephant Rookery!!! We were there about 9 years ago in January to see them...that's when the females come in to give birth and within another 30 days, the males come in to do the deed again!!! We saw every aspect of life...one was giving birth, many little ones were dead in the sand after being trompled over by the males going after their chosen female... there was mating...fighting...sunning...they were amazing!!!

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  38. Group nap or WHAT! :-D Amazing to see, hey...

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