Birding With Ted

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Birding With Ted Experienced and novice birders alike can join Ted Pierce on natural history tours around California.

A place where lovers of nature can find out about wildlife and birds in California and around the country, through trips lead by Naturalist Writer and Educator, Ted Pierce.

10/06/2026

A 17-pound lobster was sitting in a Connecticut restaurant tank, waiting to become someone's dinner. Then one man decided his story should end differently.

In July 2012, Don MacKenzie of Niantic, Connecticut, learned about the enormous American lobster at The Dock restaurant in Waterford. Local children had nicknamed him "Lucky Larry."

MacKenzie bought the lobster from the restaurant, but he had no intention of eating him. He took Larry out by boat and released him into the Long Island Sound at a secret location.

Larry was estimated to be around 80 years old, with some reports giving an estimate of 80 to 100 years. But his exact age could never be known. Unlike fish with structures that can record age, lobsters shed their entire hard outer shell as they grow, leaving scientists without a reliable way to determine their exact age. NOAA says some American lobsters may live close to 100 years.

MacKenzie kept only the two rubber bands that had been around Larry's claws.

The 17-pound lobster that had been headed for a dinner table was back in the ocean instead.

© Wonders Of Animals.

09/30/2026

PARIS ON THE PACIFIC:
A Weekend Tour of Steinbeck Country with Ted Pierce:
Highlights of the Art, History and Wildlife on Monterey, Carmel and Pacific Grove
Fri-Sunday Oct 23-25, 2026
Fee $195 per person (group registration, 10% discount)
Starts 1pm Fri in Monterey and ends Sun 2pm at Moss Landing/Elkhorn Slough
This 3 day, 2 night tour of the Monterey Area will visit museums, art galleries, birding locations, Missions, the Spanish adobes (Old Monterey), Asilomar and pristine beaches to experience the unique history, art and scenery of this legendary area. We will explore the sights and atmosphere that inspired John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts, Mary Austin, Jack London and many other writers and artists.
(registration fee is exclusive of any other travel expenses such as lodging, etc.)
Visit my You Tube channel, "Encyclopedia Pierciana," for more info on the history and figures of Monterey and Carmel, under the California History Playlist. There are 100s of videos there with insightful visual accounts of the art colonies, marine research, writers, and scenic beauty of the area.

Contact me for more information, directions and payment. We look forward to your company on this journey to the "Athens of the West." Use my email, [email protected]

07/26/2024

Monterey tour coming up next week guys! Still got room for a few more fun- bird- beach-Spanish adobe-gallery- aquarium-sea otter-lovers! Tues-Fri (3 nights, 4 days, July 30 to Aug. 2nd. Join us on our tour of the "Athens of the West!" Includes Elkhorn and BIg Sur, Carmel galleries, RL Stevenson House, Steinbeck Center, mission church at San Juan Bautista. Practically a college education in four days and much more fun. $275 per person for a college education?! Try it and see! Let me know here or email me at [email protected]! Running out of space. Hope to see you, best wishes!

06/27/2023

Came across a field full of Yellow-headed Blackbirds on a Carson Valley Ranch this morning.

Switched my banner photo to Carson Mt. next to June Lake, south of Mono, where we're going in late July (25-28)! Pretty ...
06/27/2023

Switched my banner photo to Carson Mt. next to June Lake, south of Mono, where we're going in late July (25-28)! Pretty lake just below the 10,000 foot mountain covered with old forests full of birds, wildflowers, ancient trees! Check out the tour descriptions below! Took this one morning early as I climbed a little hill by Boulder Lodge, stunning views and birds everywhere. Nothing quite like it!

06/27/2023

Hey guys! Lots of great trips coming up in July-- two to the Sierras and one to Monterey and Carmel, all three days and two nights. Not posted on the birdingwithted.com website yet. I've been to all these spots many times over the years, and I know them well, both for birds, nature, Send me a message for more info, just the basics here.

Monterey/Carmel, July 12-14 (Weds-Fri). This beautiful area has endless beaches and coastline with birds of all kinds, and we'll be exploring them every day -- especially Elkhorn Slough on the last day- with Sea otters, sandpipers of all kinds, ducks, cormorants, falcons and hawks, stilts and Avocets, herons and egrets. And of course museums, art and photo galleries, the old Spanish adobes (Old Monterey), restaurants, old churches and missions galore. We'll spend our time going from one to the other, in a relaxed fashion. Hard to beat this spot on the California coast, it has just about everything-- culture, nature, history, ! In fact, impossible!

Tahoe Sierras at Strawberry, July 18-20 (Tues-Thurs). The tiny town of Strawberry is on Hwy 50, about 25 miles south of Tahoe. The town is mostly Strawberry Lodge, dating from 1858! We will stay there for the three days/two nights; it has a restaurant, saloon, sitting area, etc. Great old rambling lodge, right next to the river, and the mountain slopes are all around, high and mighty, with great views! They're full of great old forests, wildflowers everywhere, many lakes, birds of all kinds, all day. We'll make forays every day, checking out Nighthawks, warblers, grosbeaks, tanagers, nuthatches, sapsuckers, hummers, --you name it, the birds are everywhere. We can also take a visit up to Tahoe also (not far away) to check out the lake, shops, the South Tahoe nature center, etc. Wonderful spot.

Mono Lake, Eastern Sierras and Yosemite, July 25-28 (Tues-Fri). The Eastern Sierras, on the other side of Yosemite, are pure drama, with lakes, snow-capped mountain peaks, volcanoes, tiny villages, historic sites (like the ghost-town of Bodie), high desert sagebrush, birds and wildflowers everywhere. We'll going to sample as many of these sights as possible in four days/three nights, staying at Boulder Lodge in nearby June Lake, a spectacular mountain lake just south of Mono. Nothing quite like it, --wilderness, mountains, endless sky everywhere you look. A long drive, but worth it to see this vision of the real old west, wild, immense, overpowering, full of wildlife.

All of these trips are $245 per person; lodgings and meals are not included. Transportation (ie, car-pooling) is a possibility, with a small additional fee. Hope you can join us for the best California has to offer! Get in touch with me for more info, directions, lodgings, etc.

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POB 7031
Berkeley, CA
94708

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