I got a late start yesterday on a birding/photography trip to Bolsa Chica Wildlife Preserve in Huntington Beach, CA. Arriving around 11:20 AM, I started in the Northeast in an area referred to as Brightwater. The first thing I noticed was how few birds were out. An earlier start (like 7:00 AM) would have probably have found many more birds to view and maybe photograph. Most of the ducks have migrated. The sun was bright and moving overhead, so you won't see any golden hour photos here. Postprocessing helped me deal with the hard, deep shadows. I then worked around the Pocket Pond area until 12:30 PM. Driving down Pacific Coast Highway, I renewed my trek across the walkbridge and through the main wetlands. I found around 40 Least Terns in the designated and protected Least Tern nesting area and was lucky to capture shots of the rare and threatened Beldings Savannah Sparrow on the ground or in its preferred pickleweed environment. Brown and American White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, Western and Ring-billed Gulls, and a few wading birds like Killdeer, Marbled Godwits, and Black-necked Stilts were often too far away for decent photographs, even with my Nikkor 200-500 mm zoom lens. The noise of Caspian, Elegant, Least and Forster's Terns filled the air and the birds offered some nice photo ops. As I returned to my car across the walkbridge, another birder pointed out where he'd been watching a Ridgeway's (Clapper) Rail walking along the shore. Just then the rail appeared, walking around a corner behind the shoreline plantlife. Hurrying back to the parking lot, I was was able to snap off one not quite sharp and distant photo. It was a warm, sunny day with a nice ocean breeze, and in the end, I had some decent photo opportunities. Hope you enjoy some of these.

jak

.

I got a late start yesterday on a birding/photography trip to Bolsa Chica Wildlife Preserve in Huntington Beach, CA. Arriving around 11:20 AM, I started in the Northeast in an area referred to as Brightwater. The first thing I noticed was how few birds were out. An earlier start (like 7:00 AM) would have probably have found many more birds to view and maybe photograph. Most of the ducks have migrated. The sun was bright and moving overhead, so you won't see any golden hour photos here. Postprocessing helped me deal with the hard, deep shadows. I then worked around the Pocket Pond area until 12:30 PM. Driving down Pacific Coast Highway, I renewed my trek across the walkbridge and through the main wetlands. I found around 40 Least Terns in the designated and protected Least Tern nesting area and was lucky to capture shots of the rare and threatened Beldings Savannah Sparrow on the ground or in its preferred pickleweed environment. Brown and American White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, Western and Ring-billed Gulls, and a few wading birds like Killdeer, Marbled Godwits, and Black-necked Stilts were often too far away for decent photographs, even with my Nikkor 200-500 mm zoom lens. The noise of Caspian, Elegant, Least and Forster's Terns filled the air and the birds offered some nice photo ops. As I returned to my car across the walkbridge, another birder pointed out where he'd been watching a Ridgeway's (Clapper) Rail walking along the shore. Just then the rail appeared, walking around a corner behind the shoreline plantlife. Hurrying back to the parking lot, I was was able to snap off one not quite sharp and distant photo. It was a warm, sunny day with a nice ocean breeze, and in the end, I had some decent photo opportunities. Hope you enjoy some of these.

jak

.

I got a late start yesterday on a birding/photography trip to Bolsa Chica Wildlife Preserve in Huntington Beach, CA. Arriving around 11:20 AM, I started in the Northeast in an area referred to as Brightwater. The first thing I noticed was how few birds were out. An earlier start (like 7:00 AM) would have probably have found many more birds to view and maybe photograph. Most of the ducks have migrated. The sun was bright and moving overhead, so you won't see any golden hour photos here. Postprocessing helped me deal with the hard, deep shadows. I then worked around the Pocket Pond area until 12:30 PM. Driving down Pacific Coast Highway, I renewed my trek across the walkbridge and through the main wetlands. I found around 40 Least Terns in the designated and protected Least Tern nesting area and was lucky to capture shots of the rare and threatened Beldings Savannah Sparrow on the ground or in its preferred pickleweed environment. Brown and American White Pelicans, Double-crested Cormorants, Western and Ring-billed Gulls, and a few wading birds like Killdeer, Marbled Godwits, and Black-necked Stilts were often too far away for decent photographs, even with my Nikkor 200-500 mm zoom lens. The noise of Caspian, Elegant, Least and Forster's Terns filled the air and the birds offered some nice photo ops. As I returned to my car across the walkbridge, another birder pointed out where he'd been watching a Ridgeway's (Clapper) Rail walking along the shore. Just then the rail appeared, walking around a corner behind the shoreline plantlife. Hurrying back to the parking lot, I was was able to snap off one not quite sharp and distant photo. It was a warm, sunny day with a nice ocean breeze, and in the end, I had some decent photo opportunities. Hope you enjoy some of these.

jak

.