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Photographs: Central California, Photographs: Wildlife

Egret Alights, Whaler’s Cove

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Egret Alights

Egret Alights, Whaler’s Cove. Point Lobos State Reserve, California. November 30, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

An egret flies close to the kelp covered surface of Whaler’s Cove at Point Lobos State Reserve, California.

As I arrived at Whaler’s Cove I was hoping to perhaps be able to photograph sea otters up close. Although this was a high surf day along the coast, Whalers Cove is sheltered and I had heard that it is a good place to look for wildlife. After parking my car I did not see any otters, but I immediately saw this egret hunting in the kelp right next to the road. I grabbed the long lens and found a comfortable spot close by and began observing and photographing. The bird was apparently hunting for small fish in the kelp bed. It stood on top of the kelp and would occasionally make a lunge into the water, on one occasion coming up with a fish in its bill.

 One of the things I like most about this photograph is the shadow of the bird’s curving neck cast on the translucent feathers of its wing.

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Photographs: Wildlife

Two Gulls In a Row

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Two Gulls in a Row
Two Gulls in a Row. Pacific Coast, California. March 1, 2008. © Copyright G Dan Mitchell – all rights reserved.

Two gulls follow one another along the edge of a bluff along the California Pacific coast, flying past my position at eye-level.

I made a series of photographs of birds from this spot – the images that have been appearing recently included. To get these I followed a strategy that can work well in some places along the California coast: spend a few minutes figuring out the “line” that the birds follow along the end of the coastal cliffs, apparently looking for updrafts. Then set up close to or under one of these invisible paths, sit quietly, and photograph like mad as the birds fly by.

keywords: two, gulls, sea, seagulls, birds, in, row, follow, fly, flying, flight, pacific, ocean, coast, california, usa, bif, wings, sea, shore, shoreline, sky, nature, animals, wildlife, stock