How about some photos of egrets? They aren’t rare and they all look pretty similar but they are still an interesting looking bird and, since they like to hunt in the shallows, they end up being pretty close and therefore accessible to shoot. I have shot a bunch of them while waiting for something else and, occasionally, specifically because they were there. Here are a few of the more recent shots I have got.
As a Brit living in the USA, there are certain animals that, when you see them, seem most unusual because you don’t have them on the other side of the pond. Some of these are large creatures which people who grew up here are still fascinated by like bison. Others, though, are not so interesting to the natives. Raccoons seem to fit that bill. They are more of a pest to most people. To me, they are more exotic. As we were walking through Golden Gate Park, we came upon a family of raccoons alongside the trail. They seemed totally uninterested in the people walking by and more bothered about feeding. However, the click of the shutter was obviously enough to get their attention as they all perked up and stopped what they were doing when I took some shots. This didn’t last long, though, and they were quickly back to eating.
This post doesn’t have any images sadly but I am writing it so you can go online and check something out. Nancy and I took a walk along the shoreline in Hayward. We saw something strange out in the water and, when it happened again, we realized that it was a pair of grebes running across the water. We Googled this and it turns out it is a mating dance that grebes do. They pair up and then start slapping their feet on the water so quickly that they can actually run across the surface in formation. It is called rushing and is quite amazing to watch. I can’t show you anything myself but do look it up. It is crazy stuff.
This time the shots I am sharing are not my own. I was there when they were taken but these were taken by Nancy. I was traveling light with one camera and a wide angle lens as we walked along the trails to the falls and Nancy was carrying her camera. It is a Nikon P900 and that thing has a phenomenal zoom range. When I saw the geckos on the leaves of the trees, there was no way I was going to be able to get a shot that showed anything of them given how small they were and the distance to them.
Nancy, on the other hand, had an ideal opportunity to get some shots of them. There were multiple geckos on the plants, some on their own, others together and some others chasing the first ones out of the way. They move very slowly for a while and then burst into action. You do end up with some shots of empty leaves as they spring away just before the shutter is pressed. However, she still got a number of them and their bright coloration really shows up well.
Rain forest conditions do tend to mean lots of moisture in the air. That much moisture means perfect conditions for the growth of lichen. The lichen do a great job of collecting the moisture from the air to keep them well watered. The way the water drops form on the surface of the plant can be really interesting. Just a small vibration would send them dropping to the plant life below but, for now, they were safe.
One evening, while having dinner near the beach, we saw a flash of wings as a bird flew down to the water’s edge and landed. It was a heron. He was standing on the rocks as the waves washed in. Every once in a while, he would catch a fish and then walk away from the water before dealing with his meal. We talked to the staff about him and they told us he was a regular feature every evening. They had even named him Roger. Each night we came by to see if Roger was there and, sure enough, there he was. Same spot each time, just standing and waiting for dinner to come to him. On our first night he was joined by a manta ray that came in very close inshore but, sadly, he never showed up again while I was there with a camera. Roger was far more reliable though.
Rain forest conditions produce plants that are uniquely able to exploit the environment. This tree was like something out of a fantasy movie. I think it was one plant but, to be honest, there would be no obvious way to tell where one ended and another started if it proved to be two or more. The branches and roots were spread everywhere. It really did seem like something that should come alive at some point and just envelope the unwary traveler. It was dark and creepy underneath its canopy. I found myself fascinated with it and looking at it from every different direction. The sad part was that it was really hard to find a shot that really conveyed the feeling you had when there.
While watching the waves come rushing in to the Santa Cruz shore, I saw something floating on the surface just a little way out. It appeared to be seaweed but that wasn’t all that was there. A look through the longer lens confirmed that a sea otter was sitting out there enjoying the ride. The clump of weed was drifting closer in so, when the waves started to break over the top, the otter would dive underneath and pop back up once the 
turmoil had passed. The current was taking him along the shoreline over time so we lost track of where he ended up but he seemed to be enjoying the ride quite a lot!
We took a day trip up to Davis to check out the arboretum. Running alongside the old Putah Creek, it has a range of different plants and trees along its length. With the university buildings stretching alongside the creek, the paths provide access to the students and staff of the university as they get where they need to be. Being, at least most of the time, away from the roads makes for a quiet and pleasant place to stroll. At the time we visited, it was a turning point for some of the plants. Fall had already done it work on some trees while others were still showing signs of color.
We weren’t the only ones appreciating the view. We passed a number of painters (whether they were part of a class or just like minded individuals I don’t know) who were capturing the scenes around them. I didn’t get to see whether any of them were particularly good but I hope they had a good time anyway. There was plenty of wildlife along the creek. Ducks were abundant, the occasional turtle showed itself, squirrels were everywhere gathering food for winter and some of the visitors had their dogs with them so no shortage of life.
Work was underway to reconfigure the flow of water through the creek. This is intended to freshen up the water, deal with some of the weed growth on the surface and promote some other wildlife activity. In some areas it was already showing results but the work was due to run into 2017 so it will be a while before the full effect is seen.
The reef by our hotel was home to some green turtles. They seemed to have developed a good schedule. Morning was feeding time. They would go out on the reef and spend their time nibbling away at the plant life growing on the rocks and coral. By early afternoon they would have pulled themselves up onto the beach in an area the hotel had fenced off to keep people away. There they would sleep all afternoon and into the night. Come by during the afternoon and you could see them. In the evening, lights on the beach would be switched on and you could still make them out a little way above the waterline.
No pictures from me of them in action. I saw plenty of them while snorkeling on the reef and sometimes they would come and check me out. You are meant to avoid disturbing them but when they come after you, it is hardly your fault. However, I did kill my GoPro while out snorkeling so the photo opportunities were lost and will have to remain as memories. Shots of them on the beach were a lot easier though so that is what we have here.
