Protecting the Harem

An elephant seal beachmaster defends his harem at Ano Nuevo State Reserve.



This was probably the largest alpha male that we saw on this trip, and he was a real brute. You can see how the chest shield of scar tissue that forms during their brutal battles extends nearly around the back of his neck, which means that he has done some serious fighting throughout his life. His reward for this is to be the chief protector and only mate of a harem of ladies.

In the above shot, he is moving at full tilt to fend off another male intruder. One of the females in the harem was calling loudly for a few minutes to alert the alpha male that she was uncomfortable with this newcomer, and once he decided to respond he moved quite quickly through the harem. The challenger was behind the dune from where we were standing, but apparently backed down since we didn't get to see a fight, and the alpha male then settled down for a nap where he stopped. Watching him move his huge mass so quickly was really awesome, he is surely a force to be reckoned with. Unfortunately, he was moving too fast for my shutter speed in the overcast light, and this was the only sharp frame I got of his burst.



This is a more traditional shot of the beachmaster, and why they call them elephant seals. It really shows off his long proboscis which is covered in scars from his battles and his serious chest shield. It is truly an awesome experience to be in their presence, and especially on the beach with them. A trip to Ano Nuevo State Reserve is a must for any wildlife lover in the area!

Elephant seal after dusk

I'll begin my series of elephant seals from our weekend trip to Ano Nuevo State Reserve with a few shots that were taken right at the end of our terrific trip. After our late afternoon tour we went back down to "Losers Beach" to spend the final minutes of light with some big brutes that usually camp out there. We had a chance to watch a younger guy displaying his toughness for a while, and as the last bit of light slipped out from behind the clouds and below the horizon I took a few final shots of this beast who was right near the stairs from the beach.



My wife had a lens with a wider zoom range, and she took some wonderful shots of the seals as part of their environment. Here's one of my favorites, with the last sliver of sunset included.

Great weekend for wildlife

I had a fantastic weekend for experiencing and photographing wildlife. We took a hike out to the end of Tomales Point in Point Reyes National Seashore, which goes through the Tule Elk Reserve there. We must have seen at least 100 elk along the trail! Then we also took our annual trip to Ano Nuevo State Reserve to see the elephant seals and their breeding season antics. As you can see here, this image is neither an elk or seal, but it was a shot that I had already processed and was just waiting to be uploaded. So since I have a few thousand shots to go through from this weekend and haven't had the time to do so yet, this is what I've got for now.



This shot was taken in a small dog park along the Bay Trail in Marin County near Bothin Marsh on Richardson Bay. I had used up the good morning light in the marsh but decided to wander up the trail to see if there was anything else interesting around. I wasn't expecting much, but a group of these little guys were playing in the shadows of some trees that hadn't yet seen the light of morning. This gave me some nice even lighting instead of the harshness that was in the rest of the park.

Birds from the San Diego Zoo -- Part 4

There were a ton of aviaries within the three parks we visited (San Diego Zoo, The San Diego Zoo Wild Animal Park, and Sea World), which made for some great opportunities to photograph birds up close.


It felt like there were flamingos (both African and Caribbean) everywhere, and it was hard to pick just one shot to include.


This spoonbill was in the first exhibit we visited (of course it would be an aviary if I'm leading the way!) and you can see the sparkle of the early morning light in its eye.


I'm not sure what kind of bird this is, but I love that beautiful teal color


The penguin exhibit at SeaWorld was really cool -- they had both Emperor penguins (pictured) and King penguins, which are the two largest species.


If you enjoyed these images, please view more of my bird photographs in my Birds Galleries.

Out of Africa -- San Diego Zoo, Part 3

Another post in my San Diego Zoo and Wild Animal Park series from our December trip there. To try to have some logical grouping of the photos I wanted to share, I've picked a handful of species that come from the African continent.

We took the tram tour through the Wild Animal Park, which was themed to be the African plains, and was quite nice, although its not included in the general admission price, and is the only way to see a large part of the park. We got to see a variety of antelope, the only species of African deer, multiple rhino species, as well as this sleepy young giraffe.


When I was young, warthogs were one of my favorite animals (which my mom still laughs about), but as I've gotten older, I think the Red River Hog has replaced them on my list. These guys are just a bit more charismatic, and you have to love that gorgeous color.


The hippo exhibit was really great with the large underwater viewing area. The first time we stopped by, the hippo pair was on its way out of the water and went into the back where you couldn't really see them. We were disappointed and decided to come back later -- and we just happened to pick the perfect time to do so, as it was just when they were coming back into the water. This male took a lap around the tank then came over to check me out eye-to-eye (photo by my wife).


This cute little klipspringer was in the African Kopje (Rock Outcrop) exhibit. They had really interesting hooves that looked as if they stood on their tip toes. I suspect it was to help it keep its grip on its world of jumping between rocks. It rained a lot while we were in the park, but this is one of the few shots where I brought the camera out -- and I liked how the drops showed up with the longer shutter speeds.


Here's another zebra shot, since they put on a nice show for us