Sunday, December 28: Pinnacles National Monument CBC, CA

I was in the Napa Valley, CA for Christmas with relatives, followed by a day in Walnut Creek for a fun Hoyer reunion on the 27th (where I got to meet some fourth cousins-once-removed). After the reunion I was met by my good friend and fellow CBC maniac Jim Tietz (he did four in a row this week). After stocking up on Trader Joe's food, we drove south and camped at the national monument (about 30 miles S of Hollister, CA). In the cold (25°F) morning we met up with one of the three coordinators to receive our assignment. While waiting, we saw a California Condor at its roost up on the ridge. We covered part of one road and a trail in the monument, which was beautiful, but with relatively few birds. We had only 39 species, the best being Townsend's Warbler and Chestnut-backed Chickadee. After covering our area, we ran into one of the coordinators and found that our area had been divided in half and given to other teams to cover, which was a bit irritating. So it was a pretty day, a nice hike and time catching up with a friend, but not much of a CBC.