Coyote roaming the rolling hills of Point Reyes.
It took me a while to post this photo. Something never quite felt right for me, until someone pointed out it really wanted to be a panorama. A more square aspect ratio detracts from the wide open feeling you get walking the fields of Point Reyes, looking for wildlife.
The setting sun reflected really nicely in the stream running across the beach as this friendly curlew posed in silhouette.
By any objective measure, American Kestrels are the most adorable non-owl raptors. They’re also the most common raptor in the United States, with a population of 2.5 million (4 million globally), although their numbers are declining. Unfortunately, they’re fairly shy and I’ve struggled to get any kind of photograph of them.
Thanks to a tip from Daniel Dietrich, I was able to track down a very tolerant American Kestrel. It was happily perched on a fence as I pulled up. It registered my presence, but quickly went back to scanning for prey. Eventually, I was even able to get out of the car and creep even closer without disturbing it.
This shot was taken in full sun about 3 hours before sunset, which is harsher than I would usually work with. But, for the cutest raptor, I’ll make an exception.
I photographed this Coyote last fall. I loved this image, but wasn’t quite happy with the edit. I finally figured out that it’s possible for images to be too warm, even if the warmth comes naturally from the sunset. This looks a bit more natural than what the auto white balance produced. and there’s more of a contrast with the blues in the background.
I don’t typically chase rare birds. I don’t have anything against it, but it just doesn’t lead to the kinds of photos I like to take. I like the calm and contemplative feel of returning again and again to the same spot as I work to take a photo that expresses how it feels to be in that spot with the animals that make it home.
On the other hand, I’ve tried a few different spots for Wood Ducks and haven’t yet found one that works. To be honest, I’m in a bit of a duck rut. My favorite spot was re-landscaped and just doesn’t yield the same opportunities it used to. So when I heard there was a Wood Duck at Golden Gate Park, I gave in and went to photograph it.
There’s not much point chasing ducks around a pond to try to get them to sit still near your lens, so I lay down next to the pond, tried to avoid the bird poop, and waited for the Wood Duck to swim over to the side with the good light.
Soon enough, someone toting binoculars came by. “Wood duck?” they grunted. I pointed them towards the other side of the pond and they headed off without another word.
While that encounter was lacking in common courtesies, once they got to the other side of the pond, the Wood Duck swam over and I got my shot.
Nothing fancy, I just liked the colors of the trees in the background.
Inspiration for the location came from natureinnovato.com, an amazing resource for birders in the Bay Area.
I’ve seen a Bobcat five times so far. Given how much time I’ve spent in Point Reyes, I’m sure Bobcats have seen me plenty more times. Most of those times the Bobcats made themselves scarce before I got a chance to photograph them. This was the first one that was relaxed enough to get any sort of photograph.
It’s not an amazing frame-filling golden hour face shot of a bobcat carrying a gopher, but it’s a bobcat that deigned to give me with a look of feline distaste, so I’m very happy with it.
I wrote more about the outing where I took this photo at Bobcats in Point Reyes.
An elephant seal bull surveys its future territory at Point Reyes.
This is a fairly young bull based on its weight and small proboscis (the trunk-like appendage on its face). The dominant bulls rely on younger bulls to help patrol their territory. Fighting off intruders is hard work for mammals used to being cooled by frigid ocean water, and the alphas save their strength for the largest interlopers. In return for driving off smaller challengers, the young bulls get the opportunity to mate with the occasional cow while the alpha is otherwise occupied.
Snowy plover on a Bay Area beach after sunset.
I love photographing shorebirds. What I don’t love is watching people’s dogs chasing after them on public beaches. There isn’t an easy answer. The dogs are just being dogs. It’s impossible to educate everyone on the state of our shoreline ecosystems. But a little bit of thought about how it would feel to have a giant carnivore 20-200 times your weight chasing you around would go a long way.
I don’t know if they were waiting, or if it was just a coincidence, but I was relieved not to see the snowy plovers come out until after the sun had set and all the dogs had headed home. Unlike sanderlings, which are perpetual motion machines, the plovers like to do a little dash, and then pause, and then dash again. Those pauses are perfect opportunities for a photographer to capture them standing in front of a snowy-looking pile of foam. Especially when the photographer is shooting at 1/50s to achieve 10000 ISO.
