Thursday Nov. 27, 2014
Happy Thanksgiving Day everyone! The weather is perfect
and it's time to go birding.
Got to the San Elijo Lagoon just as the gate opened.
Noticed that there were only a few visitors today. It was also the same for the birds.
Only a few ducks and Willets on the shore and the tide was coming in. There is
one bird that is always around... the Snowy Egret and no matter how many shots
you take of this beautiful bird it always tempts you to take more. This
Snowy Egret is chasing after some fish.
It is like a dance that is never repeated. Every step a
different pose.
The Snowy follows the fish as it swims by...
The wings appear to give it some shade from the glare of
the sun.
The chase is intense.
He hops and turns in the air.
Missed but there is always another fish.
Skips off after some other fish.
Spots one now.
Got it!
We get to see it for a moment before it is swallowed.
On to the next meal. Since the snowy was the only subject
at San Elijo, I decided to go over to the Rios side and try to spot
the Nelson's Sharp-tailed Sparrow again.
Arriving at the peninsula trail I find the female
American Kestrel sitting on the dead bush where the Nelson's has been spotted.
This is not a good sign for spotting the
Nelson's.
She sees me walking up and she isn't pleased about it either.
Gives me that "what do you want" look...
and takes flight.
I sit on the bench nearby and wait for the tide to come
up. It is almost 1 hour to maximum high tide. I decide to walk back to the
lookout at the top of the trailhead and wait for the tide. On the
way to the outlook I ran into an older gentleman photographer who came up from
San Diego to look for the Nelson's
Sharp-tailed Sparrow and asked me if I knew the exact spot to get a look. I said
"yes, I did". He asked me if I could show it to him and I
said "of course" and took him to the spot. It wasn't two minutes after we
arrived at the spot that the gentleman spotted the Nelson's on the old dead branch of the bush. I was in shock! All I could
do was thank the man for asking me to bring him to the site. A frontal shot of the ever elusive Nelson's Sharp-tailed
Sparrow.
Side view...
He even moved to a clear area for a better pose!
The final shot on the branch... but a good look at his
underarm and that famous tail. The gentleman from San Diego was delighted
because he had only a little while before he was expected for
Thanksgiving dinner at his daughter's house. Now he has a camera full of
Nelson's Sharp-tailed photos. He was a
very happy birder and left for the big feast.
As the tide came in, I was joined at the spot by a lady
photographer from Las Vegas... she came over just in time for a few shots of
the Nelson's as he surfaced again. She was delighted because
it was a life bird for her!
One last shot and he dives for cover... I look around to
see what made him panic... and look who just flew in!
The reason the Nelson's has disappeared so fast is the Kestrel
coming in to land with a tasty dragonfly snack. Thank goodness she is hunting only dragonflies today! The Nelson's is safe for a
while now and it is time for me to say good-bye and head
for home...
Hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving day!
Have a beautiful day everyone.
Absolutely amazing photos Jo, I love the way your capture your images and tell a story along the way on your inspiring blog.
ReplyDeleteYou may recall that my wife and I bumped into you on Oct 28 on your marvellous local patch. We were staying in Carlsbad for that particular week having flown to Vegas the previous week from the UK.
During our month long holiday in the USA we had a fantastic time, glorious weather for the most part, wonderful scenery and some great birding!
I am sure you know just how lucky you are to live in such a beautiful part of the world.
You were kind enough to give me details of your blog when we met and having already viewed it whilst we were in the US I passed on your details and cards to a few American birders I met later on, great no doubt for your hit counter, however I would love to contact you personally and tap in to your photographic expertise with your current set-up and also send a pic or two to you, therefore is there any possibility you could provide me with your email address?
Finally your photographs of the Peregrine Falcon in flight the other day are as good as I have seen, simply breathtaking in the detail shown, well done, I cannot wait for another helping of my 'California Birding Fix'. From David & Anita Tattersley on a cold, misty and dreary December day in the UK!
Thank you for your very uplifting comments David! You really made my day. It was great to talk to you and your wife Anita at the San Elijo Lagoon. I would love to see some of your photos. Please leave your e-mail with Eve my "blog administrator" and she will pass it on to me. Her name and profile appears on the upper right side of the page right below my name. It's great to hear from you and I am looking forward to your photos!
ReplyDeleteBest Regards, Jo