Female tule elk, Point Reyes National Seashore

Yesterday was one of the best trips to Point Reyes National Seashore I've had in a while. The park never ceases to surprise me, and even though the day started slow with a lot of rain for the first hour after sunrise, I left the park later that afternoon with a ton of images to sort through. One of the highlights of the trip was spending some time in the middle of a very large herd of tule elk up on Tomales Point. I've had great experiences with the elk before, but never in a group this large. Perhaps in the winter some of the smaller herds form together into a larger one. Anyway, this is one of my favorite shots from my first glance though the trip. There's just something about the way this beautiful female is glancing out of the frame that just pulls me in.

Southern sea otters at Moss Landing State Beach

Southern sea otters are such a charasmatic species. They always look like they're having a good time, and those faces are adorable. Moss Landing State Beach on Monterey Bay is one of the best places to see them, since there's almost always a raft of them floating in the estuary right by the breakwall. Here are two shots from a recent trip down to see them.

Snuggle up to your Sweetheart -- Happy Valentine's Day!

I figured the most appropriate thing to post for today is a pair of pintails. Here's a male and female snuggling up together on the water. Hope you all have a fun Valentine's!



This lucky duck has her choice of suitors, since all the drakes are lining up to impress her!

Sunrise over Point Reyes National Seashore

Landscapes are certainly not my strength, although I'm making an effort to get better at them. It can be tricky though since I almost always have my wildlife lens (ie, 200-500mm zoom) on the camera to make sure that I'm ready if an interesting animal appears. But even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while, and it was hard to pass up an opportunity to shoot the gorgeous sunrise light falling on the sandstone cliffs of Drake's Beach in Point Reyes National Seashore in early January. This particular sunrise was one of the most amazing I've ever seen, since most of the park had a fog bank hovering above it, except for the area I was in.

Here's a second view, taken a few minutes earlier from the parking lot area (looking in the opposite direction).

Preening Northern Pintail

I love to photograph northern pintails, and I think the drake's can look especially stunning when they show off those patterns as they preen. So in honor of Valentine's Day coming up on Monday, here's a few shots of this handsome fella getting himself ready to impress the ladies.