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.