Seabird

The first two weeks of 2024 have been great as far as photographing wildlife in La Jolla is concerned. Many mornings the weather has been typically "winter perfect" (shorts and hoodie) and we have consistently had large swells rolling in which leads to a lot of flight activity in all…

Our long run of perfect weather mornings changed, and my string of uninterrupted days photographing in La Jolla came to an end, in mid-December around Christmas.  Still, I enjoyed several nice mornings including a few with good flight behavior. Most interesting were two days in which a large bait ball…

I'm shooting the La Jolla pelicans often this winter; see recent blog posts about La Jolla Pelicans as well as a gallery of my favorite brown pelican photos. Our stretch of near-perfect weather for bird photography came to an abrupt end around New Years, with the arrival of a projected…

In overcast light there is really only one type of photograph I am looking to make: a portrait.  Overcast skies can be thought of an enormous soft box, diffusing the light so it has little or no directionality. That means no shadows, which can be a good look for portraits!…

Glottis exposure -- what is it?  A "glottis exposure" is a not-so-well described pelican behavior. I have seen it thousands of times among California brown pelicans but didn't know the proper term for it until recently, when I became aware of some guy on Twitter who described what the behavior…

I'm shooting the La Jolla pelicans often this winter; see recent blog posts about La Jolla Pelicans as well as a gallery of my favorite brown pelican photos. Our wonderful weather and bird activity continues. It's the day after Christmas and the rest of the country remains freezing and in…

If, like me, you enjoy photographing pelicans, Christmas came a day early this year. Well, sort of.  I had to get some bread at Girard Gourmet for Christmas dinner, so went into La Jolla early on Dec 24.  I had been photographing 3 of the previous 4 mornings but the…

When photographing the birds in La Jolla, lately I have found myself trying to capture their bizarre contortions and realized these birds are the original yoga practitioners!  (When brown pelicans bend their head backward to their back it is usually as a part of preening, so that the preen oil…

The first few weeks in December were generally great for photographing a variety of subjects in La Jolla with the exception of La Jolla's California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis), at least on the mornings I was there. The pelicans seemed to be mostly gone, perhaps offshore foraging or just occupying cliffs that…

This is the time of year that I photograph in La Jolla often, and California brown pelicans are one of my favorite subjects.  Adult brown pelicans are now entering the period when they display vibrant breeding and non-breeding winter plumage. And there is a variety of juvenile plumage to be…

November is a bit early for the best displays of California brown pelican breeding plumage.  But we recently had a week-long run of perfect weather to photograph mornings in La Jolla. By perfect I mean just the right combination of sunlight, wind, certain water conditions (hint: think how the water…

While February does bring a pronounced fading in the colorful breeding plumage of the California brown pelican, it also brings a near-absence of other photographers and as a partial result, a lot of birds on the cliffs. There are usually at least a few that are still exhibiting beautiful colors.…

This winter my bird photography goal was to make about a dozen strong images of California brown pelicans in flight.  I've been out many mornings photographing them.  In late December I had some productive days with a run of four straight mornings during which conditions were ideal.  There was nobody…

I usually photograph California brown pelicans in La Jolla from late December through February. I spent many mornings photographing them already this season, and am mainly interested in flight images.  But it is hard to resist a beautiful portrait or head throw when a pelican decides to oblige, especially when…

I photograph California brown pelicans often, and lately have been working on different ways to portray them besides being lit by the warm morning sun.  Well before sunrise, I have been out trying to capture them as they glide over waves or approach the seaside cliffs of La Jolla. I…

On Preening, Seabirds and the Uropygial Gland Many birds, including most seabirds, preen their feathers. This involves spreading a substance known as "preen oil", secreted from the uropygial gland (preen gland) near the base of the bird's tail, to feathers all over the body.  The preen oil protects the feathers…

The Yellow Variant, or Morph, of the California Brown Pelican I have noticed quite a few brown pelicans sporting yellow gular pouches (throats). As everyone knows, the gular pouch expands to catch water and prey, as much as three times the volume of the pelican's stomach.  Not only is the…

I spend an inordinate amount of time photographing California Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus) each winter. It's partly because I need the practice and they are a great subject upon which to hone my topside camera skills, and partly because mornings on the ocean in La Jolla, without summer tourists and…

The plumage of La Jolla's California brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) has been especially striking this year, it seems there are more really red throats and deep brown necked adult brown pelicans on the bluffs than usual. I also find it interesting how much color variation there is in the bills…

I have not been down to the La Jolla bluffs for a couple weeks to see my favorite seabirds, the California race of the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), so I thought I would take a look this morning. I had hoped the projected swell would be up this morning, allowing…