Bugling bull tule elk, Point Reyes National Seashore

The tule elk rut is in full swing in Point Reyes National Seashore. I started my day with an early morning hike along Limantour Spit, but I again saw very few shorebirds. So since it was still early by the time I was back in my car, I decided to take a trip up to Tomales Point to check on the tule elk. Unfortunately, the fog was so thick that I could barely see the bushes just a few feet outside my window. So instead of taking a hike through pea soup (I've done that enough times in the elk reserve to know that it's just not photographically worth it), I decided to take a drive out to the outer peninsula. I saw some elegant terns on Drake's Beach last week, so I thought perhaps I could find them (or maybe some shorebirds) there as a consolation prize. Instead, I was treated to a fantastic display from the free-ranging tule elk herd. There are often elk near the turn off to Drake's Beach, but they are not often so close to the road. It was a real treat to park the car and spend some time watching three separate harems on the hillside.

The largest harem belonged to this very large bull, and although he was moving with a substantial limp from one of his back legs, he was still bugling loudly, chasing off rivals (no antler-locking fights while I was there though), and mating with his females. He was a truly impressive specimen, and it's always fun to see that slightly crazed look in his eye that you see this time of year. In this shot, he is bugling loudly across the valley, and it was fun to hear the other bulls answer him back. Since I was hearing multiple responses to his calls, it was also nice to know that there were more elk just down the road.

View more images of these majestic animals in my Tule Elk Gallery.

Western sandpiper in summer colors, Point Reyes National Seashore

From an overcast morning in July 2010, a western sandpiper rests on Limantour Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore. This is an exciting time of the year when the shorebirds return from their breeding grounds still wearing their bright summer colors. I was out on this beach last weekend and didn't see many birds, but hopefully I'll have a chance to get down in the sand with them soon.



View more images of peeps in my Sandpipers Gallery.

Osprey fly by, Point Reyes National Seashore

I had this unexpected encounter with an osprey on a hike a few weeks ago on Tomales Point in Point Reyes National Seashore. My goal for the trip was to photograph the tule elk in velvet antlers, and as I dropped into a wildflower-covered valley I started photographing some sparrows as they hopped around on the lupine. Then at one moment I happened to look up and saw this osprey go cruising by at a low altitude. I was already working on my tripod at full height, so I was able to pan with the bird fairly successfully, and managed to snap off a few sharp frames as it shot by.



View more of my birds of prey photos.

Submitted to the World Bird Wednesday blog meme -- Follow the link to check out this week's posts.

California quail on a post, Point Reyes National Seashore

Another day, another quail posing on a fencepost in Point Reyes National Seashore. I've had great luck with quail this year, often finding many different individuals in nice locations on the same trip. In fact, there have been a few trips I've taken, that quail are basically the only subjects I've seen. But I won't complain about that, since they're one of my favorite birds to photograph. I drove by this one on Pierce Point Road on my way to the Tule Elk Reserve, and he had a nice setting of blooming plants in front and behind him.



View more photos of these charismatic birds in my Quail Gallery.

Tule elk feeding in the fog, Point Reyes National Seashore

This herd of tule elk bulls was enjoying a dinner of tall, blooming grasses when I encountered them on Tomales Point in Point Reyes National Seashore. Through the shifting fog I watched them graze on the grasses and occasionally push each other out of the way. Every now and then a few would look my way, which made for better pictures since I could get some eye contact with them. The two looking at me in this frame are average sized, but there were some very large bulls in the group as well. Even though they all still had velvet on their antlers, you could already tell that the smaller bulls respected the larger ones, as they often parted ways when the big guys were coming through.

View more in my Tule Elk Gallery.

Lupine in Bloom at Kehoe Beach, Point Reyes National Seashore

The yellow bush lupine is in full bloom at Point Reyes National Seashore, and the park's coastal scrub is carpeted in yellow. This photo is a view of the Great Beach of Point Reyes, looking south over the dunes along the trail to Kehoe Beach.

View more landscape images from Point Reyes National Seashore.

Female California Quail, Point Reyes National Seashore

In wildlife photography, it's so easy to get caught up looking for just the biggest, flashiest male to photograph. Unfortunately, this often means that the females don't get the attention they deserve, unless they have babies in tow. That's a shame though, since females of many species are just as lovely as their male counterparts. While male California quail are definitely showier, the females are quite beautiful, and share many of the same plumage patterns. Unfortunately, the females tend to be much more secretive, and I have rarely seen them out in the open for extended periods of time. This female, however, hopped up on a fence post and stood there for a minute or two in late afternoon light before returning to her more secretive ways in the tall grass at Pierce Point Ranch in Point Reyes National Seashore. I was quite happy to have this fleeting chance to take some photographs of a female quail out in the open.



You can view more images of quail in my Quail Gallery.

Submitted to World Bird Wednesday -- follow the link to see this weeks bird-related posts!

Tule elk bulls in fog, Point Reyes National Seashore

I encountered a herd of maybe 20-25 tule elk bulls with velvet antlers on a hike along the Tomales Point Trail in Point Reyes National Seashore earlier this week. The tall grasses are blooming on the grasslands, and I thought it would make for a great setting if I could find some elk. It's always fun to encounter a "bachelor herd" of males, since there's just something cool about seeing so many big bulls with their large antlers all at once. Unfortunately, they were in the foggiest part of the trail when I found them. Just 5 minutes up the trail I was above the rolling fog, and 5 minutes after the encounter I was below it -- but this is where the bulls were, so I made the best of it. At times, like for this shot, it briefly thinned out and the elk came into clear focus, but then moments later it could change back to pea soup. But really, is there anything more classic for Point Reyes than some elk shrouded in fog? I have a lot of images to sort through from my time spent with the tule elk, including a kick-boxing match between two of them. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that at least a few of them will come out reasonably sharp through the fog.

View more in my Tule Elk Gallery.

California quail in late light, Point Reyes National Seashore

This is the same handsome male quail that I posted some shots of last week as he posed in front of some rattlesnake grass lit by the late afternoon light. For those shots, he strolled along the bottom rail of a fence. As I sat there watching and photographing him, I took note of this fence post, which was in the direct light and had a nice background of a grassy hillside behind. I silently urged him to go up there, and after about 10 minutes or so he actually did.



He surveyed the scene from the top of the post for a few minutes before his lady-friend decided that it was time to move on. As soon as she started wandering away, he hopped down and followed her up the hillside.



View more images of one of my favorite birds in my Quail Gallery.

Submitted to World Bird Wednesday -- follow the link to view this week's posts!

Young mule deer buck, Point Reyes National Seashore

A young mule deer buck that I found browsing the coastal scrub near Abbott's Lagoon in Point Reyes National Seashore. He was travelling with a female that I assume would be his mother, but she was only slightly larger than him. Both were quite curious and came quite close to the trail as I stood there watching. I particularly liked this little guys velvet covered spikes.

Visit my Mule Deer Gallery.

Yellow bush lupine (with bug), Point Reyes National Seashore

A branch of blooming yellow bush lupine, complete with a cute bug crawling on the top flower, along the trail to Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore. The backdunes and coastal scrub at Point Reyes are turning yellow, as these lovely blooms paint the landscape.

View more images from the Kehoe Beach area of Point Reyes National Seashore.

Quail and rattlesnake grass, Point Reyes National Seashore

When I was out in Point Reyes National Seashore last weekend, I wasn't seeing very much as I drove through the park. I started out by heading towards the outer peninsula, and I stopped by Drake's Beach, South Beach, and the Estero Trailhead while seeing very little. So I decided to take a drive up to Tomales Point, since I wanted to end up along the Abbott's Lagoon trail for sunset. After reaching Pierce Point Ranch without seeing a single quail or elk, I stopped at the McClure's Beach to eat my PB&J for dinner. As I sat there, I enjoyed my sandwich and was listening to the Giants pregame on KNBR. After I finished my meal and was going to stop at the restroom before leaving, I noticed this handsome quail sitting right in front of the car on a fence railing. Perhaps he was drawn to the melodic cadence of Jon Miller's voice on the radio?



Such a pleasant surprise to show up after I had resigned to a non-photographic outing for the evening. I spent the next 15 minutes shooting this quail first out of my open window, then with the door open (to get slightly closer), then from my tripod set up next to my car door.



I moved slowly between positions, and while I think he knew I was there, he was fairly indifferent. He was however, quite interested in his lady-friend, who spent most of the time in the tall grass behind the fence. Every now and then though he would get noticeably excited (quick, agitated movements, fluffed feathers) and then she would appear out in the open. Eventually, she had enough of the area and wandered off up the hill -- and he was quick to follow!



I was excited to be surprised by this handsome quail set against those lovely grasses backlit by the setting sun in the background. For those of you that are curious, the pods are rattlesnake grass (easy to see where it gets its name, no?), which is an invasive species in California.



More images from this area of the park in my Tomales Point Gallery.

Acorn woodpecker, Point Reyes National Seashore

The Bear Valley Visitor's Center in Point Reyes National Seashore is a great place to look for birds. Quail are almost always hanging around, there's a great blue heron that likes to hunt for gophers in the area, and in addition to many other birds in the trees, there is a family unit of acorn woodpeckers that maintain some granary trees right in the middle of the picnic area. Whenever the light is still reasonable on my way out of the park I'll stop by and check out these colorful birds.



Much to my delight on this trip, instead of having to crane my neck to watch the birds up high in the trees, this woodpecker was pecking away at eye level on the tree. It was so focused on chipping apart the bark, and apparently digging out insects from inside, that I was able to get quite close without disturbing it.

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The vertical frames are cropped from horizontal images, which isn't something I like to do on a regular basis. Unfortunately, I made the worst mistake a nature photographer can do before approaching the woodpecker -- I decided to leave my bag in the car, which held all of my extra memory cards. I almost always have an extra card in my jacket pocket, to make sure that this never happens. But on this day I made the mistake. So I fired away horizontally to get some establishing shots, and then just as I was getting ready to go vertical, I realized that I was out of "film". Very frustrated with myself for that one, since my long lens caught the attention of other visitors to the park, and after I walked away from the woodpecker to get another memory card, they proceeded to photograph it with their point and shoot -- which required getting way too close, and the bird flew off. Oh well, just another lesson of why you should always have an extra memory card in an accessible pocket and not in your bag (or in the car!).



This last shot was a bit of an experiment, as I tried to capture the motion of the bird as it pounded away at the bark. I'm not always a big fan of blurred images, but this characteristic motion almost works for me.



Visit my Bear Valley Visitor's Center Gallery.

Submitted to the World Bird Wednesday blog meme -- follow the link to check out this week's posts!

Quail on gnarled branches, Point Reyes National Seashore

While driving on Pierce Point Road through the northern end of Point Reyes National Seashore, I can't drive by the Abbott's Lagoon parking lot without taking a swing through to look for quail. There always seem to be some around, and even though I was planning to start my day looking for elk near the Pierce Point Ranch on my most recent trip, I swung through the lot to have a peek as I passed.

Much to my delight, there was a large male sitting on a fence right in the parking lot. Unfortunately, by the time I got my camera and tripod out of the car, he had wandered into the bushes with his female, but it didn't take long to locate others. In fact, this was the highest density of quail I've ever seen in the park. They seemed to be everywhere along the trail to Abbott's Lagoon, with couples wandering through the pastures and males occupying high vantage points all throughout the coastal scrub. Some chose nice clean fenceposts, and others selected luxurious green bushes, but this particular quail selected the old gnarled branches of an coyote bush long past its prime.



View more in my Quail Gallery.

Song sparrow singing, Point Reyes National Seashore

On my last trip to Point Reyes National Seashore, I walked the trail to Kehoe Beach in hopes of finding some song birds in the wildflowers that grow very thick all along the trail. Near the dues, I got distracted by some of the wildflowers and focused on making floral compositions. At one point, my concentration on the blooms was broken by a very loud melody of a song sparrow, and I looked up found this bird perched quite close (closer than any of the other sparrows I saw that day!). So I swung the lens around and fired off a few frames as it sung the next chorus of its song.



View my Song Birds Gallery

California quail, Point Reyes National Seashore

California quail are one of my favorite birds to photograph (if you couldn't tell from my blog banner and gallery page icon), and I often take trips this time of year specifically looking for quail opportunities. I was rewarded greatly on my most recent trip to Point Reyes National Seashore with a real abundance of quail throughout the park. The once exception was where I most reliably find them, and that's near the Tomales Point Trailhead at Pierce Point Ranch. Surprisingly, I didn't see a single quail in that area -- although I was nearly attacked by a gopher as I walked around looking for them. (True story! I wouldn't have even noticed it except that it was grunting at me in an aggressive fashion and faking charges at my shoe. After my initial shock wore off I tried to get a quick shot of this behavior, but unfortunately, it scampered off into the grass by the time I was able to get my lens on it.)



In addition to a lot of quail on nice perches, I was treated to some great overcast light throughout the day due to the very late season rain we had this past weekend. These three shots are of a bird I found along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard, in the area of the Bull Point Trailhead. I came across three males perched together, each with an empty pole between the closest rival, and each bird gave me an opportunity for a slightly different backdrop.



View more images of our delightful state bird in my Quail Gallery


Submitted to World Bird Wednesday Blog Meme -- follow the link to check out this week's posts!
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Shorebirds on the beach, Point Reyes National Seashore

It's been a while since I posted some shorebirds to the blog, and I was getting that itch. Since most of them are up north on the tundra to breed right now, I've dug into the archive from last November to find a few to put up. These are from a terrific morning that I spent with a very large flock of western sandpipers, sanderlings, and dunlin on Limantour Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore. I liked how the dunlin stood taller than the other birds in this flock, and I took many different compositions with dulin having a head above the crowd.



View more in my Sandpipers Gallery.

Mule deer buck in velvet, Point Reyes National Seashore

Two shots of a young mule deer buck with velvet antlers enjoying the tall spring grass in Point Reyes National Seashore.



View more in my Mule Deer Gallery.

Quail on a diagonal fencepost, Point Reyes National Seashore

A male California quail posing on a fencepost along Sir Francis Drake Blvd in Point Reyes National Seashore. This was the only quail we saw on our drive along the length of the road that day. Around this time of year there are usually a bunch hanging out along the fences, but at least this one stayed on the post for a while to let me get a few different compositions.



Visit my Quail Gallery.

Tule elk bulls in velvet, Point Reyes National Seashore

Two bull tule elk with velvet covered antlers stand in a field of wildflowers along the Tomales Point Trail in Point Reyes National Seashore.

Browse my Tule Elk Gallery.