“It’s GORY,” said the docent, a retiree volunteer. We were standing on a cliffat Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, which occupies a peninsula shaped like a lion’s paw scraping the Pacific just south of Carmel, California. The winter sun glinted offwaves that splashed rocks draped in harbour seals. The docent was describing the plight of a three-foot-tall, ear-tufted bird perched near a posse of avian toughs in black, gray, and white formal wear.
“He’s a Brandt’s cormorant, and they’re western gulls,” she said. Come spring, they would all nest there, and the cormorant’s chin would turn blue to attract the ladies. “They’re neighbours, but their relationship is imperfect.” While the gulls’ call acts as a burglar alarm for cormorants by signalling predators, when the cormorant chicks hatch , the gulls are quite likely to eat them.
It’s dog-eat-dog in the bird world, I thought. But despite the neighbourhood politics, I couldn’t blame these seabirds for wanting to raise their young here. Millions of years ago, the North American and Pacific tectonic plates collided, creating the breathtaking, craggy coastline of Point Lobos we see today. And since it’s a nature reserve, it’s subject to stricter environmental protection than a state park, so the oceanfront real estate is about as pristine as it gets.
Denne historien er fra February 2021-utgaven av Travel+Leisure India.
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Denne historien er fra February 2021-utgaven av Travel+Leisure India.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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Lunching In Leh
Turtuk, the last town of India in Ladakh, is having a culinary and hospitality renaissance, discovers Harsh Surti
The Medieval Charm of Elsinore
Elsinore, in eastern Denmark, is a charming city full of surprises, such as its interesting link to Shakespeare, discovers Ami Bhat
Natural Selection
In other parts of the world, natural wine production can be raw, wild, and a little messy. But a road trip through southeastern Austria reveals that, in a land where order and understatement reign, even the low-intervention bottles are elegant and refined.
Where the Wild Things Are
Uncovering Rwanda's natural treasures-and the gift of multigenerational travel
FROM THE VOICE WITHIN
A hit new season of a cult show, a brand new production venture, and a baby girl-it seems Ali Fazal is on top of the world right now. Amid a new parenting journey, the actor talks to SAMREEN TUNGEKAR about his travel persona, his instincts, and what feeds the artiste within him
MONSOON IN THE WILD
For nature lovers craving the lush serenity of monsoon forests, off-season safaris in national park buffer zones offer rare rewards and vital support to local economies, discovers Chandreyi Bandyopadhyay.
Ray of Sunshine
Getting diagnosed with life-threatening ailments can spell doom, but for actor Lisa Ray, it became a testament to her resilience. Diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2009, the former model maintained a positive outlook, blossomed into a vocal advocate for cancer awareness and support, and turned author with a book chronicling her story. In a chat with Bayar Jain, she gets candid about her journey of hope and healing
Championing Change with Conversations That Matter
Aditi Mayer is a responsible storyteller who likes to look at fashion through a lens of social and environmental justice. She tells Samreen Tungekar about how she manages her own mental health and wellness despite work that promotes positive change and requires mental bandwidth
Travelling Through Conscious Well-Being
In the ever-evolving landscape of wellness, where data meets intuition and science aligns with ancient practices, Deepak Chopra stands as a unique bridge between these worlds. Chopra talks to Dipali Patwa about how travel, when intertwined with wellness, becomes a powerful catalyst for personal transformation.
Transcending The 'Trend'
For Rimzim Dadu, the creation of a collection is about lending the pieces a timeless quality. Samreen Tungekar talks to the designer about her creative process, and how her travels intersperse with her approach to design