- 2026 Calendar
- Profile
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Gambel’s Quail
This was my first time seeing Gambel’s Quail. They’re very shy birds, but in the springtime, the biological imperative drives the males up onto high perches where they sing their little hearts out to establish a breeding territory.
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Eponymous Wren
A cactus wren perching on a cactus. Sometimes it’s the little things.
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Spring Coyote
It’s wildflower season!
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Taking Flight
It takes a lot of patience to get a photo of a Great Horned Owl taking flight. When you’re sitting on a hillside on a warm spring day watching the sun set, the minutes tick by pretty quickly.
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Owl on Rock
I found this Great Horned Owl hanging out on its favorite rock again. It had flown down from its tree well before sunset this time, giving me an opportunity to capture it with the fading glow of the day reflecting off the hills in the background.
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Spring Warbler
On the West Coast, we’re blessed with a year-round warbler presence. Easterners have a bigger variety of warblers, but we have wintering warblers and summering warblers. With the arrival of spring, the Townsend’s Warblers have been replaced with Wilson’s Warblers, who are beginning to nest in and around the willows.
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Desert Owl
I didn’t know there were Burrowing Owls in the Mojave. I was hiking through a yucca and cholla patch when a light-colored owl took flight ahead ahead of me. My best guess was a Barn Owl, but it was the middle of the morning. As soon as it alighted, I could tell from that sassy…
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Spotted Towhee in the Coyote Brush
A rancher suing to keep cattle in Point Reyes got a profile in the San Francisco Chronicle this week. The profile said he “fears for the future of Point Reyes” which is “choked with coyote brush” in areas where the park no longer allows grazing. I don’t understand how someone could say that who walks…
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Mojave Scene
In the heart of the Mojave National Preserve, a Cactus Wren perches on a prickly pear cactus. This spot has been my white whale photographically. The butte in the background is in a lush valley filled with yucca, cholla, and prickpear cactus. Unfortunately I have not been able to convince a single bird to pop…
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Stacking Owls
These owls were kind of enough to line up in roughly the same focal plane just before sunset.