Long-eared owl
Long-eared owl
Long-eared owl
This has to be one of the most difficult owls to photograph as it tends to hide in dense foliage and flushes when you get closer. It took me 4 visits to the area, extreme patience, and very slow movements to get a clean shot without branches in the way. At San Jacinto Wildlife Area.
Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk
I believe this is the Dark Morph Ferruginous Hawk reported by Chet and others around Ramona Expressway and Davis. This one was at San Jacinto Wildlife Area at the north end near the Blue porta potty on Jan 24.
Reddish Egret
I finally managed to get close enough to a Reddish Egret at Bolsa Chica at Huntington Beach, CA. This one was flying right passed me at the Bridge area after searching for a couple of hours with no luck.
Reddish Egret
Reddish Egret
Bald Eagle
I managed to photograph both Bald Eagles and Golden Eagles this week. The Bald Eagle at Lake Elsinore and the Golden Eagle at San Jacinto Wildlife Area. Generally it is very hard to get close enough for decent photos. They always seem to fly away in the opposite direction.
Bald Eagle
Bald Eagle
Golden Eagle San Jacinto Wildlife Area
Golden Eagle San Jacinto Wildlife Area
Golden Eagle San Jacinto Wildlife Area
Golden Eagle San Jacinto Wildlife Area
Vermillion Flycatcher
Vermillion Flycatchers tend to fly back to the same branch over and over, so focus on the branch and start shooting multiple frames right before they land. It helps to use a tripod so you can use a cable release and not look through the viewfinder, but watch the bird BEFORE it gets in the frame. I also switch from Auto Focus to Manual to keep focus on the same area.
Vermillion Flycatcher
Vermillion Flycatcher
Vermillion Flycatcher
Bald Eagle adult
Adult Bald Eagle photographed at Lake Elsinore. Most of the Bald Eagles in S Cal are around the lakes in the San Bernardino Mtns – Big Bear, Arrowhead Lake, and also Lake Perris, Lake Wohlford, and Lake Henshaw further south. The total count is not much more than a dozen or so only in the Winter months.
Bald Eagle juvenile
Juvenile Bald Eagle less than a year old. It takes 3 to 4 years before they develop the white head and tail.
Bald Eagle juvenileBald Eagle juvenile
Ferruginous Hawk
Ferruginous Hawk
I went back to the area north of San Jacinto Wildlife Area on Allessandro and took some improved photos of the Ferrugionous Hawks close to sunset to get blue sky and nice modeling on the hawk. Used a Canon 400 mm lens f 5.6 at 1/1600 sec at ISO 800 on Canon 7D.
Vermillion Flycatcher
This is the lone Vermillion Flycatcher at the Oak Hill cemetery in the northeast corner. These are generally rare in the San Diego area, more common in the S Arizona area and SW Texas.
Williamson's Sapsucker female
We started off the New Year with a Williamson’s Sapsucker female at the Stonewall Mine area at Cuyamaca State Park, CA and saw a flock of Pinyon Jays but they were gone by the time I got out of the van.
Spotted Owl - female
Spotted Owl - female
Photographed this female Spotted Owl near Julian, CA. Her mate was nearby but only heard him.
Red-tailed Hawk
Lots of raptors at the San Jacinto Wildlife Area with Red-taileds everywhere on Dec 27. Don’t go on Wed or Sat for birding as those are duck hunting days.
Northern Harrier
Another hawk common at Jacinto. It has an owl-like head and flies low over grasslands to feed on small birds and rodents.
Red-tailed Hawk landing on tree
Virginia Rail
Virginia Rail found to the south of pond 4 in a pool directly east from the blue Porta Potty at end of ditch.
Sora
Sora in the same location. Note the yellow bill vs the rail which has a longer orange bill. There were at least 3 Virginia Rails and 2 Soras. Thanks to Charity Hagen for ID on Rail. Both of these birds are heard more often than seen and hide in vegetation unless you remain still and wait for them to come out.
lewis's woodpecker
I photographed this Lewis’s Woodpecker at the Santa Rosa Plateau near Murietta, Ca on the Monument Rd trail just below Monument Hill. These birds flit from tree to tree and do not linger long. If you try to approach they take off long before you are close. Best approach is to see which trees they like and stay near that tree for as long as it takes. I had to wait over an hour to get this close.
Lewis's Woodpecker
Pelicans at Sunset
I took this a few min before sunset and exposed for the sky at around 1/2000 sec to freeze action.
Gull and Waves at Sunset
