Month: April 2017

Despite some really bad directions by Pahtah and his iPhone Ap, we finally got to Bodega Head, a favorite spot to get an overview of the Northern California coastline. Lael got some great shots of the surf breaking on the rocks below, better than I managed with my 400mm lens.

I particularly liked the colors in this wave breaking on the shoreline.

Though I took some shots of the shoreline, I focused on the gulls riding the updrafts while playing a game of King of the Mountain.

My favorite shot from Bodega Head was this one of a California Gull swooping down toward the water.

When you compare this shot of a Marbled Godwit with yesterday’s shot of a Willet, it’s hard to believe that I could have confused them. Godwits definitely look much more orange than Willets. I did notice this during the shoot, but I thought it was because these shots were taken with the sun to my back while the shots of the Willets were taken into the sun.

The upward turn of the bill and the reddish-orange base of the Marbled Godwit definitely sets it apart from the Willet even when they’re both in breeding colors.

I thought this bird looked different even as it walked away from me,

but it immediately became obvious when I saw the downward curve of the beak when it flew away.

At first I thought it might be a Curlew, but it’s size and the length of its beak revealed it was a Whimbrel,

a bird I see even less commonly than a Curlew.

The real treat of the morning, though, was catching sight of a pod of Porpoises moving up the shoreline. When I first saw the dorsal fin I thought Orca, but once one jumped it was clear that it was a large porpoise.

Despite spending considerable time trying to get a shot of one of the dolphins as it sailed into the air, I had to settle for a shot that simply proves I did see a dolphin and wasn’t just making up a fishy tale.

Although there weren’t as many birds as I’ve often seen in the past at Bodega Bay, or as many as I’d hoped for, since this was the only “birding” I had planned on this trip to California, there were enough birds to occupy me while we strolled the beach for a couple of hours.

At first it seemed that there was only a flock of Marbled Godwits spread up and down the beach, but I later realized this one was a Willet,

not a Marbled Godwit, but I didn’t recognize it first because it was in breeding plumage, not the normal grey shades I’ve seen in the past.

These wing markings definitely confirmed it was a Willet.

The bird caught my attention because it seemed to be running away from ME, though I quickly realized it wasn’t me it was running from when it suddenly headed directly back toward me

just as a large gull tried to scare it into dropping its catch.

It doesn’t always require a larger bird to scare off a bird, as this Sanderling flew toward me rather abruptly when the other Sanderling charged it.

This one, however, seemed more scared of me than it did a flock of fellow Sanderlings.

Although there weren’t really many birds on the beach, they kept me entertained by flying back and forth on the beach to avoid getting too close to us, and to all the rest of the people on the beach.

Considering how busy the beach was, I was surprised that the birds hadn’t become totally indifferent to people walking by, camera or no camera.

While, strictly speaking stopping at the Founder’s Grove at Avenue of the Giants was Lael’s second time seeing Redwoods since we had stopped earlier in the morning at another grove, this was still her first day. She was seeing the Redwoods through fresh eyes, but, like almost everyone I’ve ever know who has tried to photograph the Redwoods, she looked straight up.

She was also impressed by the Redwood’s ability to withstand intense forest fires as shown by the fact that this tree was still alive despite being hollowed out.

I’d never thought of trying to convey that ability to survive in quite this way.

Perhaps because the Founders Grove features one of the tallest Redwoods that “recently” fell, Lael took a number of shots of Redwoods that had fallen more recently,

including one that looks like it must have fallen within the last year, judging from the lightness of the wood.

It’s hard to imagine what forces were required to shatter a tree like that.

Luckily, as the placards explained, the death of these ancient giants made it possible for new life to emerge where a lack of light made it impossible before. Dwarfed by the giants looming overhead, delicate flowers

reflect their own beauty.