This Week's Most Frequently Viewed Images

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Striated caracara feeds upon a gentoo penguin chick it has just killed, Phalcoboenus australis, Pygoscelis papua, Steeple Jason Island
Oakum boys, juvenile king penguins at Salisbury Plain, South Georgia Island. Named 'oakum boys' by sailors for the resemblance of their brown fluffy plumage to the color of oakum used to caulk timbers on sailing ships, these year-old penguins will soon shed their fluffy brown plumage and adopt the colors of an adult, Aptenodytes patagonicus
California poppies, wildflowers blooming in huge swaths of spring color in Antelope Valley, Eschscholtzia californica, Eschscholzia californica, Lancaster
Kelp fronds and pneumatocysts. Pneumatocysts, gas-filled bladders, float the kelp plant off the ocean bottom toward the surface and sunlight, where the leaf-like blades and stipes of the kelp plant grow fastest. Giant kelp can grow up to 2' in a single day given optimal conditions. Epic submarine forests of kelp grow throughout California's Southern Channel Islands, Macrocystis pyrifera, San Clemente Island
Purple lupine flowers bloom in late summer, along a stream that feeds to Lake Evelyn in the high Sierra Nevada near Vogelsang High Sierra Camp, Yosemite National Park, California
Desert iguana, one of the most common lizards of the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, Dipsosaurus dorsalis, Joshua Tree National Park, California
Nevada Falls in peak spring flow, from heavy snow melt in the high country above Yosemite Valley, Yosemite National Park, California
Blue whales feeding on krill underwater closeup photo. A picture of a blue whale with its throat pleats inflated with a mouthful of krill. A calf swims behind and below the adult. Over 80' long and just a few feet from the camera, an extremely wide lens was used to photograph the entire enormous whale, Balaenoptera musculus
Stars and the Milky Way rise above ancient bristlecone pine trees, in the White Mountains at an elevation of 10,000' above sea level. These are some of the oldest trees in the world, reaching 4000 years in age, Pinus longaeva, Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, White Mountains, Inyo National Forest
Mesquite Dunes sunrise, dawn, clouds and morning sky, sand dunes, Stovepipe Wells, Death Valley National Park, California
Aerial view of the Mara River, Maasai Mara, Kenya. Photo taken while hot air ballooning at sunrise, Maasai Mara National Reserve
Large adult male sea lion underwater, Zalophus californianus, Sea of Cortez
Sarah's Cavern, a natural sea cave hidden below sea cliffs in Carlsbad, opening onto a flat beach at sunset, inner walls adorned with graffiti
Blue shark and offshore drift kelp paddy, open ocean, Macrocystis pyrifera, Prionace glauca, San Diego, California
Two band anemonefish, Amphiprion bicinctus, Egyptian Red Sea
Pacific harbor seal swims in the protected waters of Childrens Pool in La Jolla, California. This group of harbor seals, which has formed a breeding colony at a small but popular beach near San Diego, is at the center of considerable controversy. While harbor seals are protected from harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other legislation, local interests would like to see the seals leave so that people can resume using the beach, Phoca vitulina richardsi
A Pacific harbor seal swims over surf grass in the protected waters of Childrens Pool in La Jolla, California. This group of harbor seals, which has formed a breeding colony at a small but popular beach near San Diego, is at the center of considerable controversy. While harbor seals are protected from harassment by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and other legislation, local interests would like to see the seals leave so that people can resume using the beach, Phoca vitulina richardsi
West Indian manatee at Three Sisters Springs, Florida, Trichechus manatus, Crystal River
Kelp stipe and blades, Macrocystis pyrifera, Santa Barbara Island
Sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, Sao Miguel Island
Mature male (bull) sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, Sao Miguel Island
Bluebanded goby, Catalina, Lythrypnus dalli, Catalina Island
California sea lion colony, Zalophus californianus, Monterey
Guadalupe fur seal, Arctocephalus townsendi, Guadalupe Island (Isla Guadalupe)
Pacific torpedo ray, Farnsworth Banks, Tetronarce californica, Torpedo californica, Catalina Island
Humpback whale competitive group, several adult male escort whales swimming closely together as part of a larger competitive group, Megaptera novaeangliae, Maui
Two Florida manatees, or West Indian Manatees, swim together in the clear waters of Crystal River. Florida manatees are endangered, Trichechus manatus, Three Sisters Springs
Gray whale, blow, Eschrichtius robustus, Big Sur, California
Soft coral, Plexaurella
Southern stingray, Dasyatis americana
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All photographs copyright © Phillip Colla / Oceanlight.com, all rights reserved worldwide.