Prowling plover, Pillar Point Harbor

A black-bellied plover hunting for worms in the sand at Pillar Point Harbor on Half Moon Bay. There was surprisingly little in the way of birds along the shoreline on this particular evening, but I did manage to make a tentative friendship with this plover. After watching it pluck a number of worms from the sand before sunset, I was able to work my way in close and gain its trust. I followed it up and down the beach a number of times as it ran back and forth, and on a few occasions it came so close that I couldn't keep the whole bird in the frame. No complaints here though -- it's always a pleasure to have the chance to spend some quality time with a shorebird!

Turnstone in kelp, Pillar Point Harbor

Reaching into the archives after a busy week of traveling, here are two shots of a black turnstone in the intertidal area of Pillar Point Harbor at low tide from last August. I've had so many interesting settings in which to photograph shorebirds there, from seagrass to bulbous pods, and the red color of this kelp really makes for a unique foreground, I think.



Submitted to World Bird Wednesday -- follow the link to see this week's submissions!

Frosty sparrow, Tennessee Valley

With the extra cold weather this weekend in the Bay Area, I figured I'd take a walk in Tennessee Valley with the hope of seeing some wildlife in the frosted meadows. Unfortunately, nothing was stirring in the early morning light except for some sparrows along the trail.



Perhaps it was singing about how cold its feet were!

Bobcat among the branches, Tennessee Valley

When this bobcat decided to go off trail for a bit, it made the photography a little more challenging, since it was wandering through an area with a lot of dead vegetation. But I stayed patient and waiting for the moments that its head was in a clearing to try to get an unobstructed view of its eyes. It's amazing how much of the clutter in an image your mind will ignore if you can get contact with a clean set of eyes.



It was cruising along when it heard something in the undergrowth. It just happened to stop right in a clear line of sight for me, and even gave me a glance before continuing its walk.

Great horned owl in Tennessee Valley

We spotted this great horned owl sitting along the trail watching the hikers go by near the lagoon in Tennessee Valley. It really blended in quite well with the rocks, so it's easy to see why it selected what could otherwise have been a conspicuous perch.



Great horned owls seem to be pretty common in the park, and I guess that's no surprise since there are plenty of rodents in the meadows. It's a lot of fun if you plan to be walking the trail around sunset, since they really start to make a racket in both the eucalyptus trees and the willows. We even saw a pair mating as we were walking out that evening! We heard two hoots coming right after another from the same location, and as we searched for the source, it was pretty easy to find once the feathers started fluttering!



We watched this one for a while, and pointed it out to many hikers who were curious about what my big lens was pointed at. I was happy also to get some frames of it preening. My wife laughed and said that most people would be more excited to get it with its head showing, but I like to capture their everyday behaviour as well.