-
Coyote Eyelashes
Have you ever seen a Coyote’s eyelashes before? It was very windy and this fellow was walking straight into the wind as it headed for shelter to ride out an incoming storm. Squinting into the wind, the Coyote revealed its delicate white eyelashes for my camera.
-
Short-Tailed Coyote
I always wonder what the story is when I see an animal that looks different from the rest. This Coyote is obviously missing the long and luxurious tail its species usually sports. Sometimes a shorter tail is a sign of mange, but you can usually see the core of the tail hanging down below the
-
Elephant Seal Water Polo
A couple of subadults engage in a vigorous game of Elephant Seal water polo.
-
Wrentit
I usually prefer my birds photos to be less branchy, but this is the best shot I’ve yet to manage of a Wrentit, so you get to deal with a branchy photo. Wrentits are kind of fascinating if you’re into taxonomy. Their name doesn’t reflect any relationship to wrens or tits. It’s pretty much ornithologists
-
American Kestrel in the Rain
Continuing my obsession with raptors in the rain, this time with North America’s smallest raptor, the American Kestrel. She was hunting from an exposed perch even as the wind picked up and rain started driving. I’ve seen Kestrels out hunting in heavy rain before, but on this occasion she abandoned her hunting perch before getting
-
American Kestrel With Prey
An American Kestrel flies to her perch clutching a Jerusalem Cricket. I’ve read on Wikipedia the Jerusalem Crickets are nocturnal, but I regularly see Kestrels pluck one after the other off the ground. They hover for a few minutes, swoop down, bring one back to a perch, devour it, and repeat over and over. If
-
Three Amigos
Most of the Coyotes I see in Point Reyes are solitary, or in pairs during mating season. It stands to reason since they almost exclusively prey on small rodents that there wouldn’t be much if any advantage to hunting in packs. If anything, a pack-mate is just a potential tipoff for a skittish gopher or
-
Kestrel on a Bush
What a treat for an American Kestrel to let me approach her as she perched on a natural coyote brush perch. I’m usually happy just to get a moment with one of these ferocious little raptors on a fence post before it inevitably takes wing. When she alighted on a nearby bush and then stayed
-
Evening Bobcat
A Bobcat emerges for its evening hunt. It’s always such a thrill when a Bobcat trusts you enough to walk towards you. Some want nothing to do with humans, some need a painstakingly slow approach to warm up to you, and some don’t mind if you saunter in their general direction. In every case the
-
Juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron
A juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron standing uncharacteristically tall. I’m more used to seeing them all coiled up on themselves, but this young fellow was craning to look over the bank of the lagoon.