Just the Kids

Just the Kids


It's Egret baby season again! Starting in April, Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets and Black-Crowned Night Heron begin building nests in the Baylands wildlife sanctuary on San Francisco Bay. What few palm trees and eucalyptus are available become crowded like a New York City apartment building as birds pack in their nests near one of the prime fishing spots in the area.

Eggs are laid and young birds begin to emerge: first, the Night Herons, followed in a few weeks by the first round of Snowy Egrets. The babies continue to hatch into the summer months and the earlier-born fledglings test their wings for the first flight.

As summer winds down, the birds quietly disappear from the area, seeking out better hunting grounds and possibly a little peace and quiet, but they are guaranteed to return again next spring.

Just the kids on Flickr - Photo Sharing!

DC Nature Photography : CafePress.com

Wild Coyote on DC Nature Photography : CafePress.com

This coyote was out hunting at dusk at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge, which is a great refuge in California to observe migratory birds in the fall and winter. This coyote was standing at the side of the auto trail and didn't mind my car pulling up near it. I watch for several minutes as she looked for prey coming out after sunset. There are lots of ground squirrels and bunnies in this refuge and I'm sure they keep the coyotes busy!

You can shop for gifts with this photograph at my online CafePress store here.

DC Nature Photography : CafePress.com

DC Nature Photography : CafePress.com: "Smiling Bunny
This bunny really is smiling. Why is he smiling? Because I was taking his picture, of course!"

This bunny had just woken up from a nap at a wildlife refuge in Merced and was enjoying a good stretch. After the stretch, he took a dust bath.

You can order Smiling Bunny gifts, including T-Shirts, magnets and tote bags at the DC Nature Photography CafePress online shop.

It's Baby Season

Spring is one of my most favorite times of the year. Flowers are blooming, bees are buzzing and baby animals appear everywhere.

Over at the Palo Alto Duck Pond, Canada Geese parents are proudly parading around their young ones. This is the first time I have seen such young babies being brought out and up close to the lucky visitors of the pond. Last year I had to search around the outside trails of the preserve, but this year I've already counted 2 sets of babies--a total of 16 cute, fuzzy yellow goslings.

Not to be outdone, the Mallards have started showing off their cute little ducklings. The first family to bring babies out for a swim in the pond had 9 fuzzy little yellow and brown babies that explored, sunbathed and a few even met with visitors bearing bread (a practice much beloved by some of the visitors, however discouraged by the park rangers).



Of course, the stars of the show are the Snowy Egrets, the Great Egrets and the Black-Crowned Night Herons, all of which crowd together in the handful of palm and eucalyptus trees near the duck pond to build their nests and raise their young. It's a sight to be seen and heard.







If you like my photographs, please come take a look at my shop at CafePress: http://www.cafepress.com/dcnaturephotos

Wild San Simeon

Just after New Year's I took my mom to see the elephant seals at Piedras Blancas, which is just a little north of San Simeon on the California coast. This area is used year-round by elephant seals, but in January, the seal pups are born. Over the past few years, it has become increasingly popular with tourists who come to see these immense creatures from a vantage point that can be as close as 10 feet away, with no fence or cage to separate the people from the wildlife.

We arrived a little early in the season, it turns out, since only about 30 pups were on the beach. We were told that mid-January would be the peak, with over 3000 pups with their mothers on the beach. I made a note of this and planned to come back in a couple of weeks. Still, it was quite an enjoyable day. We even spotted a couple of sea otters resting in the kelp beds a safe distance from the elephant seals.

As we headed south on Highway way back towards Cambria, somthing caught my eye in the fields below Hearst Castle. It looked about the size of a coyote, but was greyer in color. I decided to turn around to get another look. Much to our surprise, it was not a coyote but instead a beautiful bobcat. Excitedly, I jumped out of the car at the side of the road with my camera and started taking shots. As I watched through my 400mm lens, the cat got bigger and bigger and I started to wonder if he would reach us. He kept trotting toward the road, but eventually made his way down a drainage ditch to a tunnel that ran under the road and opened to the beach on the other side. We didn't see him come back out.

Overall, despite the long drive (~3hrs), it was a great day and I plan to watch the fields more closely next time I drive along Highway 1.

If you like my photographs, come take a look at my shop at CafePress:
http://www.cafepress.com/dcnaturephotos