AKA BIRD NERD

950
Sunny Cove, Santa Cruz, CA
October 1, 2011

Just north of Sunny Cove is a very popular outcropping for Cormorants, Gulls, Pelicans and other sea birds. I have my tripod set up on the south side of the cove – looking northward.

Sunny Cove is one of our usual walking destinations. We sometimes walk the 3-4 blocks from our cottage to the beach and then walk up past Corcoran Lagoon and the beach and on up to Sunny Cove. Just before Sunny Cove you have to hug the cliff and walk on the rocks. You can’t pass this way if the water is too rough or high. In that case you have to go up the steps on 18th, 19th or 20th street. I can’t remember which one.

Sunny Cove was a regular family beach hangout when I was a kid.

Tags: Bird Photo, Field Trip, Gallery by David Dilworth
No Comments »

949
Sunny Cove, Santa Cruz, CA
October 1, 2011

The lighting is not very good here. This is almost like a silhouette, but you can make out that this is a Brandt’s rather than a Double-crested Cormorant. The two cormorants are very plentiful around Santa Cruz.

Nikon D80, Tamron 200-500 zoom at 500mm, ISO 200, f/6.3, 1/400 sec, tripod

A cormorant fly by.

Tags: Bird Photo, Gallery by David Dilworth
No Comments »

948
Moran Lake, Santa Cruz, CA
September 28, 2011

I’m not the greatest photographer when it comes to aerial shots, but this one came out OK. I cropped this at 800×600, so if you click on the photo you can see a much larger view that this 450×338.

Nikon D80, Tamron 200-500 zoom at 300mm, ISO 200, f/5.6, 1/1000 sec, handheld

Tags: Bird Photo, Gallery by David Dilworth
No Comments »

947
Santa Cruz, CA
Moran Lake
September 28, 2011

I found this Green Heron at Moran Lake, one of the spots we frequently walk. The lake is more like a lagoon or swamp. When it rains a couple days, the water level can be over its banks, or if the tide is way in, water from the ocean flows into it. This body of water is fed by a small stream at its east end. A trail runs along the north side and a small part of the southwest side.

This photo is not as clear as I would like, but it portrays very well the habitat of the lake.

Nikon D80, Tamron 200-500 zoom at 500mm, ISO 400, f/6.3, 1/50 sec, tripod

Notice the low light situation. It’s a wonder this photo is not even more soft.

Tags: Bird Photo, Gallery by David Dilworth
No Comments »

946
Moss Landing, California
August 1, 2011

This is the last 3 photos I’ll post of the sea lions. I know, I got carried away. The story of Lana the Sea Lion I just posted was in honor of my grand daughter’s 6th birthday. I wanted to have a little fun with the non-bird photos. Even when I lived in Japan and rode the jam-packed trains, I had a whole lot more room than these mammals on this dock.

It was evident that life with the sea lions was a Man’s World.

All of these photos were cropped 800×600, so if you click on them
you’ll get a  much larger photo to see more detail.

Tags: Gallery, General by David Dilworth
No Comments »

945
Moss Landing, California
August 1, 2011

There once was a little sea lion named Lana that desperately wanted a nice warm spot to get some rays and a little afternoon nap. The problem was that there was a big sea lion convention in town for a summer fling, and accommodations were really hard to find. She searched and searched for a spot, but every place she tried,  she was gruffly turned away.

“Please make some room for me!”

Well, this forlorn little sea lion was actually quite brave. Even though she got pushed back into the water when she tried to get up on the dock, she used her intelligence to devise a plan. No sea lion in their right mind would go on the other side of the dock and jump up in that big bull’s spot. What I didn’t know was that this little sea lion was from Santa Cruz, and we all know what that means. So she promptly swam under the dock and jumped up on the big bull.

“This bull sea lion does not look at all happy!”

It didn’t take the little sea lion long to realize that she wasn’t wanted in this spot. She got the point after a few nips and some awful nasty growls, but half the battle was won. She was on the dock. Without delay, she decided to find someone a little less frightening to challenge, and started hopping on top of all the sea lions to find a better place.

“Come on you guys, make room for me!”

One thing was obvious. This little sea lion was stirring up the WAH of the community. “Oh, sorry Ethel, was that your flipper?” “I just want to get a little nap and dry off so my coat is pretty and golden like yours, Ethel.”

“Get lost honey, this is our spot!”

“Come on Gertrude, Lana just wants to fit in. Give her a break. Back to sleep. Don’t be such a grouch”

So, Lana the little sea lion found her spot, even though it was on top of Marge and Freda. Things settled down and a few of the girls celebrated by doing a snazzy little synchronized “whatever it was”. Ever try to nap with your head under water? You’ll never know how cool it is until you try it.

“Don’t try this at home!”

And that’s the story of Lana the sea lion. The motto of this story is – “I’d rather be a sea otter!” Or, “Call ahead for reservations.”

Tags: Field Trip, Gallery by David Dilworth
No Comments »

944
Moss Landing, California
August 1, 2011

If you turn in to Moss Landing State Beach and drive to the end of Jetty Road you will find a parking lot of sorts. This is where people come to watch the sea otters. If you look across the water to a dock, you may see a zillion sea lions laying on the dock. To get a close-up view, leave the state beach and turn right on highway one. Be careful, the cars are moving fast. Be patient when you time your return to highway one. There is or used to be a restaurant next to the dock and this is where you turn in to get down to the dock. There is a large paved parking lot. My advice would be to view the sea lions from above and not go down on the dock.

I took a ton of photos, and I’m only going to show you a half ton. I know these aren’t birds, but as I have said before – this is my blog! If I take some interesting nature photos, I’ll post em!

These photos show sea lions enjoying the sun. I guess they’re working on their facial tan. One fellow seems to have an itch that needs attention.

Tags: Gallery by David Dilworth
No Comments »

943
Moss Landing, California
August 1, 2011

This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a hawk on a post just this side of the sand dunes. This bird was quite cooperative for a bit. Since I’m the worse bird IDer ever, I’m not sure I’m correct. This may be a Sharp-shinned Hawk. I’m sure my son-in-law will jump all over this, and if the title doesn’t change, you’ll know I was right. If the title does change, you’ll know I bowed to the rapter knowledge of Shawn. He probably already told me the ID of this photo, but you know the memory of a senior citizen!

This next photo is terrible, but could be useful for ID purposes.

Tags: Bird Photo, Gallery by David Dilworth
1 Comment »

942
Moss Landing, California
August 1, 2011

Sometimes I take a photo just for the purpose of trying to ID a bird. This particular bird was much too far away to hope for a good photo. I’d just like to know what it is. It has a slightly turned-down beak and yellow legs and a lot of belly white. This was the evidence I used in coming up with Least Sandpiper. Any thoughts? (Click on the photo to get a larger view.)

Tags: Bird Photo, Gallery by David Dilworth
1 Comment »

941
Moss Landing, California
August 1, 2011

This is one of my favorite water birds. Can you imagine living with that long snoz? If I were a Long-billed Curlew I’d starve to death because I would be afraid I’d break my beak off while foraging for goodies.

I photograph this species every chance I get, so if you do a search on this blog you will no doubt get several hits.

Tags: Bird Photo, Gallery by David Dilworth
No Comments »