Tag Archives: bird

Marsh Birds in SF Bay

I have photographed the birds on San Francisco Bay quite frequently. One image that I have seen many times there is hard to reproduce through still photography. That is the sight of a flock of birds wheeling around as one and catching the light on their wings as they do so. It is quite impressive to watch as the flock will flying in a direction for a moment with the light bouncing from their wings before turning suddenly and almost disappearing from view as the wings become shaded and angled away from the viewer.

The pictures here are a couple that show the difference between the two extremes. Sadly, without video, I cannot show exactly how it appears but the still make it clear just how much the visibility of the birds changes as the angle to the light varies.

Cormorants Again and Again!

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I am getting repetitive! I can’t get enough of cormorants. I have said it before but they are just my favorite bird. Moss Landing proved to be a fun place to go and watch some. We ended up sitting near the harbor entrance and the waterway there was something of a highway for cormorants. There was a steady stream of them in each direction so I was a happy guy. As they came out, the light was better for them but either way was okay so I was shooting a lot. I was trying to work out whether there was a cormorant traffic plan since they seemed to go out on one side and in on the other. This wasn’t a rule but seemed to happen a lot. Maybe I was just looking for a pattern that wasn’t really there. I’m sure they can manage to avoid each other without implementing traffic rules!

Having said that, I did get watch must count as my first crossing shot of the season. Not fast jets or even any other type of plane. Two cormorants made a head on pass and I caught the moment. Let’s tick that one off for the year. As with Monterey over the holidays, I saw a few birds carrying material which I assume is for nest building. The big load in their mouth doesn’t seem to affect the balance. I also noticed the variation in colors between some of the birds with a light colored breast on a few of them. I was even spoiled by having one fly straight in towards me to land on the water and then proceed to dive under in the area in front of me. What a star!

Living near the ocean now means I have a lot of chances to see these great birds. Therefore, prepare to have a steady stream of cormorant related posts in the months to come. You may not love them like I do but hopefully the shots will be enough to avoid driving you away!

Nice Bird

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No story with this one. I just got a shot of this bird while out and about and I liked it.

Hunting Egrets

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They were hunting – not me! I was hunting too but it was a plane I was after. However, since there was time before the plane arrived, I was able to watch a pair of egrets busily feeding. They are hungry birds! They didn’t always catch something but their success rate was high and then it was straight back to the next fish.

Watching them stalk through the shallows and then strike at their target was a lot of fun. The speed of the entry is impressive and then to see the fish in their mouth before it is swallowed is a sign of a job well done. With the water so calm, they also made for some very symmetrical shots.

Bay Birds

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My recent trips to SFO have also allowed for the occasional bird to be photographed. The bay is very popular with bird life so, in the times between interesting aircraft movements, you can get a few extra shots. A lot of the birds are wading types wandering along the shore looking for life in the mud. You also get some egrets and obviously plenty of gulls. Some ducks life around the area and they can be seen diving for stuff on the bottom of the bay. A few pelicans will sometimes show up and dive for fish a little off shore.

This time I even got lucky with an osprey flying overhead. I haven’t seen one here before so was quite surprised. I grabbed a few shots as it passed overhead and then it was gone. Meanwhile, it was fun to watch some of the larger flocks flying together. The way in which they move seemingly as one is really cool and, with the low sun angle, their changes of direction made them appear to flash as their undersides suddenly caught the light.

Cormorants

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There have been a few cormorant posts of late on the blog so, if those were not your thing, look away now. Santa Cruz may have had a large colony of pelicans as described here but it also was not short of cormorants. They were busy zipping back and forth along the coast, sadly not often coming too close to our location but we did get an occasional look.

More fascinating was watching them land on the rocks. The pelicans seemed to be clearly in charge of things but the cormorants did have some spots they were taking up. However, good landing areas seemed in short supply for them. Instead, they took a rather more direct approach. They would fly right at the rock face and flare into what seemed like an impact with the rock. In doing so, they would grab on to something and then clamber up the rocks to their colleagues.

It all looked rather like hard work but, if you are lowing on the pecking order (and with a bill the size of a pelican’s, who wouldn’t be) I guess you have to be innovative.

Pelicans

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The California coast provides a lot of different options for places to go to and things to see. We decided to take a day trip along the coast south of the Bay Area and started out in Santa Cruz. A little previous research had suggested some possible places of interest. Unfortunately, the weather that had been forecast was a little optimistic. However, even on a cloudy day, the ocean is a great place to be.

We arrived at one state beach and found an overlook that gave a view of the beach and a couple of rocky outcrops that were absolutely covered in pelicans. Not only were they on the rocks but there were plenty of them soaring about the area as well. Given how many were in the air, I suspect there wouldn’t have been enough space on the rocks for them all it once!

They would soar about in formation heading up and down the coast with our position being right under some of the flightpaths. At a distance, gliding pelicans look great. When they are just over your head, you become acutely aware of just how large they are and how, if they want to come where you are, you would be wise to move aside.

The formations flying around were fun to watch but almost as much fun was watching them landing on the rocks. With a spot identified, a lot of wing activity was required to bring them to a halt where they wanted. I could have stayed there for hours watching the fun.

More Cormorants and Swallows

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Having recently posted about both cormorants and swallows, it would appear a little repetitive to post about both together. Oh well, that isn’t going to stop me. While in Indiana for the powerboat racing, I was sitting on the harbor wall for a while. This was a popular place for the local bird life too. We had a cormorant swimming nearby and I couldn’t resist a shot of him (or her – I am not a specialist on these things).

Also, the local swallows seemed to be enjoying the air currents over the waves. When watching them, they seemed to spend a lot of time almost in one spot as they soared on the wind. Of course, trying to get a long lens on them was less straightforward and suddenly it was apparent just how much they were moving. Still, got a few shots off. It certainly provided some practice time between the races!

Cormorants – Not the Helicopter Version Though…

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While I would not describe myself as a bird guy, I do spend a fair bit of time trying to get photos of them. I guess it is the “all things flying” part of my nature but they do make challenging subjects and also help with panning practice when I don’t have planes to shoot. A species I have a particular fondness for is the cormorant. I really don’t know why this should be. Growing up by the sea I certainly saw plenty of them and their enthusiasm for bombing along at surface level over the water does fascinate me.

Cormorants in the US seem to be a lot happier to fly higher up than I remember in the UK. While I was at Waukegan visiting the Warbird heritage Foundation, a pair of them blasted across the airfield. I quickly tried to grab some shots as they flew over. Nothing too special but something that pleased me all the same.

Gratuitous Cute Gosling Images

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During a short break on a trip to Seattle, I was visiting a spot that has an aviation theme which should come as no surprise to anyone. While I was down at the south end of Lake Union, I was surrounded by geese. Since geese are unbelievably abundant these days, that is not so unusual. What I hadn’t counted on was that spring gets to Seattle a lot earlier than it does Chicago. As a result, one pair of geese already had a bunch of goslings in tow.

They looked pretty young and got a lot of attention from passers by. I am not immune to cute baby animals so grabbed a few shots of the family as they wandered around. It might not be quite kittens playing with balls of yarn but I guess I am getting close!