Bird in Half Moon Bay | Photo Essay

This little brown bird greeted me repeatedly over the course of a few days and nights in Half Moon Bay. He would fly in, stop on the fence post, look around, and then swoop in to sit on my chair, on my arm rest, on my lap. We grew comfortable with each other as we watched the larger sea birds — seagulls, pelicans, cranes, and sandpipers — fly inches off the water or bob on the waves or run from them on the shore. We watched the boats that came and went or stayed. We listened to the hypnotic waves lapping on the shore, the foghorn, and the seals arguing over space on the dock. This little bird would come with the early morning fog as the sun rose over the hills and then later return for the setting sun over the ocean as the marine layer and darkness moved in. It’s been a few days since I left Half Moon Bay, but this morning I woke up thinking about my feathered seashore companion, wondering if he noticed I was gone.