For the Birds: Take Four

Double-Crested Cormorant. La Jolla, California.

Brandt's Cormorant showing a male's colored pouch.

 A cormorant rookery located on an extremely hard to reach cliff face next to La Jolla Cave Point.

 

Heermann's Gull

 

Western Gull

 

I got a kick out this cute little white duck when visiting Wild Animal Park. Initially, he was being photographed due to the bright red beak contrasted against the snow-white feathers. He spotted me spotting him, and a curiosity fest ensued. I had a very large lens mounted on my camera, all perched on a tripod. This seemed to capture the little duck's attention as he eyeballed the strange sight in front of him up and down for a bit, before swimming up closer to get a gander at just what the heck I had and what I was doing.

This little guy would cock his head one way, and then another, at the same time leisurely swimming in one direction and then back. I got quite a few good shots, but this one I feel captured the essence of what this duck may have been feeling and thinking.

This is a Cactus Wren that I photographed from the front porch of a motel room I was staying in while on a photography trip to Joshua Tree National Park, California. About fifteen feet from where I was sitting one afternoon after spending time taking photos in the park, a movement caught my eye in a large cholla plant growing on the motel grounds. It showed up and then would suddenly disappear. I knew it was a Cactus Wren, as no other bird in their right mind would attempt to land on such a precarious perch as a spine-infested cactus, let alone a cholla cactus.

Upon closer inspection, I was delighted and amazed to find a Cactus Wren nest snuggled within the loving (?!!!) branches of the cholla. This little wren finds a suitable place within a cholla and then proceeds to line the space with whatever may be appropriate to create a nest. I would love to see an immature and unsuspecting bobcat, coyote, crow, or raven attempt at getting to her eggs and young!

That wraps up the bird photos. Next, we move on to Bryce Canyon in Utah. See you then!

-Andy

For the Birds: Take Three

La Jolla Cave Point in La Jolla, California, is famous for the mating colors displayed by the California race of the male brown pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis.

From roughly December through February, the normally drab male of this species dons bright apparel in order to attract potential mates. The neck and top of the head sprout black, fuzzy feathers, while the pouch turns shades of red and green. The pouch colors can be rather intense, especially in strong light.

These birds tend to roost and congregate at the tip of the point in fair numbers and can be seen leaving the roost to forage and return throughout the day. There is an observation deck at the point where one can watch them from an elevated view.

In order to help attract a mate, the male will perform a ritual known as "head throwing". He will stretch out his neck, lift his head up high and open his beak for several seconds in order to dazzle any prospective females. He will continue to do this throughout the day during mating season. This pelican is in the company of several Brandt's cormorant, Phalacrocorax penicillatus.

For the Birds: Take Two

Snowy Egret

The Snowy Egret is considerably smaller than its kin the Great Egret pictured below, by about half. It is distinguished of course by smaller size, with yellow feet and yellow around the eyes. The Great Egret sports black feet and green around the eyes.

Great Egret

Great Egret

For the Birds: Take One

Many of these bird photographs were shot at Wild Animal Park and are not on my current web site yet. It is now known as the San Diego Zoo Safari Park. Eventually these photographs will be included after redesigning and updating the site.

S curve

 

Looks to be a hatchling. Or me first thing in the morning.

 

Until nest time! (Nest... next... get it? Never mind.)

Revisited: Big Sur #3

These are the last of the Big Sur series of photos I took several years ago. I love the place and wish to visit again soon, although that sentiment seems to be an underlying theme to places already visited. I end up wanting to go somewhere new, and rarely, if ever, will go a second time to the same place just to photograph. As it is, there are so many places I want to visit and photograph that one lifetime would not cover, considering I may only have a handful more of good years that could be devoted to some serious photography endeavors. Of course, there will always be exceptions to this rule.

The images below were taken around sunset and just past, known to photographers as the "Golden Hour". There are two golden hours actually: the time just before and during sunrise and the same applies for sunset. After that, the light becomes too harsh and contrasty. You, yourselves have experienced it.

When does one watch the sunset, and why? Favorite time of the day for me? Sunrise. Things are quiet, the air cool, still and fresh, and the sun is low -- bathing the earth with a warm, soft glow. This is especially pronounced in the fall when the sun comes up low on the horizon and seems to take its pleasant and sublime time before reaching up into the upper strata of the sky.

The silhouette of the man above is one of my favorite Big Sur photos. It isn't spectacular, but it does express a sense of serenity; of someone coming down to the water's edge in order to sit, admire, and reflect for a period of time, and to temporarily be at peace with one's self and with the world.

 

 The shot above was taken some ten minutes after the sun was completely down. What appears to be fog is actually the shore break. The effect is achieved by setting the camera on a sturdy tripod and in this case, exposing for 30 seconds.

Point Sur Lighthouse. Taken well after sunset, with an exposure time of 4 seconds. Supposedly haunted. GACK!

That concludes the Big Sur photos. The next set of pics is for the birds.

Revisited: Big Sur #2

Flotsam and Jetsam. Garrapata State Park

Big Sur coastline, Bixby Bridge in background. This general area is one of the easier access points to the shore along the Big Sur drive where one can observe sea otters. Easy to watch, but very hard to photograph properly.

McWay Falls. In order to preserve the pristine nature of this phenomenal little cove, all human access is prohibited.

Dune Doodles, Pfeiffer Beach. Tracks left by little critters crawling over and burrowing under the dune sands. Arch also visible, created by some wind blown dune grass swaying back and forth.

Revisited: Big Sur, California

Revisited: Big Sur, California

 Happy New Year to you all! In order to help kick off this first day of 2013, I've added another post.

Back around 2007 - 2008, I visited the Big Sur coastline of Central California. What a glorious place! If you don't want fog or rain and clouds, the best time to visit is March thru May.

During one of my midday forays, I decided to hike up one of the several hiking accessible canyons that cut down through the coastal mountain range, to culminate in the Pacific Ocean. These are beautiful little Edens of sylvan life; many which contain small stands of redwood trees. Below are some photos I took in one of these gorgeous, quaint, and quiet canyons.

Fern grotto I came across off to the side of the main trail. Had to scramble over brambles and vines in order to set up for this shot. Unfortunately, the brambles didn't have any berries at the time, only flowers. I assume them to be native blackberries.

Bracket fungus.
Found growing in the bark of what I remember to be an oak of sorts. The sulfur color was remarkable.
 

 

One creature I was on the hunt for in these Big Sur canyons, was the aptly named banana slug. How so named? First of all, they range in color from pale brownish-yellow, all the way up to a bright yellow. Also, they can get HUGE. According to Wikipedia, slugs close to ten inches long (9.8 to be exact) have been recorded. I didn't find any, but if you look closely around the middle and bottom edge of the fungus above, you'll see a slime trail left by one of these lovely (I think) terrestrial gastropods. Now that would have made a cool photo! A gorgeous yellow banana slug cruising over the sulfur-yellow bracket fungus.

Wood Sorrel. A study in detail.

Pfeiffer Beach.

Pfeiffer Beach is one of those little gems along the Big Sur drive that if one doesn't know of its presence or where its general location is, becomes one of those spots missed that should have been visited if only known about. From the highway, one winds down a fairly large, but gently sloping canyon down to an open flat spot where one can park.

Between the parking lot and the beach is a thick stand of Monterey Cypress one has to cross beneath. The path down to the beach takes you through this natural tunnel underneath the trees. This was shot a bit after sunset, taken from the beach and looking back towards the parking lot.

More Big Sur photos to come.