Natural History Photo of the Day

July 7, 2026

Cormorants Rafting on the Ocean

Cormorants Rafting on the Ocean

Species: Royal tern, Sterna maxima, Thalasseus maximus
Created: 2026-01-31
Image ID: 41514

Previous 100 Natural History Photo of the Day entries

July 6, 2026: Great White Shark, South Neptune Islands, South Australia
July 5, 2026: California sea lion, Coronados Islands.
July 4, 2026: Midnight Snapper, Fiji
July 3, 2026: Plates of Porites arnaudi coral, Clipperton Island
July 2, 2026: Brown pelican in flight. The wingspan of the brown pelican is over 7 feet wide. The California race of the brown pelican holds endangered species status. In winter months, breeding adults assume a dramatic plumage.
July 1, 2026: Snow geese at dawn. Snow geese often "blast off" just before or after dawn, leaving the ponds where they rest for the night to forage elsewhere during the day.
June 30, 2026: South American sea lion, Otaria flavescens, Patagonia, Argentina
June 29, 2026: Aerial Photo of Point La Jolla and Scripps Park, La Jolla Coastline
June 28, 2026: The Fish Eating Anemone Urticina piscivora, a large colorful anemone found on the rocky underwater reefs of Vancouver Island, British Columbia
June 27, 2026: A great white shark is countershaded, with a dark gray dorsal color and light gray to white underside, making it more difficult for the shark's prey to see it as approaches from above or below in the water column. The particular undulations of the countershading line along its side, where gray meets white, is unique to each shark and helps researchers to identify individual sharks in capture-recapture studies. Guadalupe Island is host to a relatively large population of great white sharks who, through a history of video and photographs showing their countershading lines, are the subject of an ongoing study of shark behaviour, migration and population size.
June 26, 2026: Sunset and Boat Horizon at San Clemente Island, aerial photo.
June 25, 2026: Breaking wave, tube, hollow barrel, morning surf.
June 24, 2026: Leather coral, Sinularia sp., Fiji
June 23, 2026: South American sea lions underwater, Otaria flavescens, Patagonia, Argentina
June 22, 2026: Solitary inquisitive humpback whale underwater near the island of Moorea, French Polynesia
June 21, 2026: Gorgonian soft corals, Grand Cayman Island
June 20, 2026: Young California sea lions playing underwater, Coronados Islands, Baja California, Mexico
June 19, 2026: Southern elephant seal, Mirounga leonina, Valdes Peninsula, Argentina
June 18, 2026: Dendronephthya soft corals and schooling Anthias fishes, feeding on plankton in strong ocean currents over a pristine coral reef. Fiji is known as the soft coral capitlal of the world.
June 17, 2026: California sea lion underwater, Sea of Cortez, Mexico
June 16, 2026: Silky Shark at San Benedicto Islands, Revillagigedos, Mexico
June 15, 2026: Laguna Beach Coastline including Views South to Three Arch Bay, Aerial Photo
June 14, 2026: Aerial Photo of San Diego Scripps Coastal SMCA. Blacks Beach and Torrey Pines State Reserve
June 13, 2026: Brin Mesa and Wilson Mountain, Sedona, Arizona
June 12, 2026: California sea lion underwater, Sea of Cortez, Mexico
June 11, 2026: Tiger shark and underwater photographer
June 10, 2026: Pacific harbor seal mother and newborn pup, at the edge of the ocean at the Children's Pool in La Jolla
June 9, 2026: The Wreck of the HMCS Yukon in San Diego. Deliberately sunk in 2000 as part of San Diego's Wreck Alley to form an artifical reef, the HMCS Yukon is a 366-foot-long former Canadian destroyer. It is encrusted with a variety of invertebrate life, including Cornyactis anemones which provide much of the color seen here.
June 8, 2026: Bobcat, Sierra Nevada foothills, Mariposa, California.
June 7, 2026: Colorful anemones cover the rocky reef in a kelp forest near Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Strait. Strong currents bring nutrients to the invertebrate life clinging to the rocks.
June 6, 2026: Snow goose in flight.
June 5, 2026: Hotel Del Coronado and Coronado Island City Skyline, viewed from Point Loma
June 4, 2026: Coral reef expanse composed primarily of porites lobata, Clipperton Island, near eastern Pacific
June 3, 2026: Lunar Eclipse and blood red moon sequence over Arch Rock, planet Mars above the moon, composite image, Joshua Tree National Park, April 14/15 2014.
June 2, 2026: Spectacular pristine tropical reef with vibrant colorful soft corals. Dendronephthya soft corals, crinoids, sea fan gorgonians and schooling Anthias fishes, pulsing with life in a strong current over a pristine coral reef. Fiji is known as the soft coral capitlal of the world.
June 1, 2026: Beautiful Dendronephthya soft corals display incredible color on Fijian coral reefs. They swell when the current is running and extend outward to capture passing plankton and food.
May 31, 2026: Breaching southern right whale, Eubalaena australis, Patagonia
May 30, 2026: Spectacularly colorful dendronephthya soft corals on South Pacific reef, reaching out into strong ocean currents to capture passing planktonic food, Fiji
May 29, 2026: Flamingos, Amboseli National Park, Kenya
May 28, 2026: Aerial photo of Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad. The Batiquitos Lagoon is a coastal wetland in southern Carlsbad, California. Part of the lagoon is designated as the Batiquitos Lagoon State Marine Conservation Area, run by the California Department of Fish and Game as a nature reserve
May 27, 2026: Anacapa Island, west end, aerial photo
May 26, 2026: 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.
May 25, 2026: Boat Ambar at Isla San Diego, Aerial View, Sea of Cortez
May 24, 2026: Steller sea lions underwater, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
May 23, 2026: Peregrine Falcon fledgelings jousting in mid-air during flight
May 22, 2026: Colorful anemones cover the rocky reef in a kelp forest near Vancouver Island and the Queen Charlotte Strait. Strong currents bring nutrients to the invertebrate life clinging to the rocks.
May 21, 2026: Beautiful South Pacific coral reef, with Plexauridae sea fans, schooling anthias fish and colorful dendronephthya soft corals, Fiji
May 20, 2026: Peregrine Falcon in flight seen through tall grasses, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
May 19, 2026: California sea lion with strange eyes, Coronados Islands, Baja California, Mexico
May 18, 2026: Grand Canyon at sunrise viewed from Yavapai Point on the south rim of Grand Canyon National Park
May 17, 2026: Blue whale underwater closeup photo. This picture of a blue whale, the largest animal ever to inhabit earth, shows it swimming through the open ocean, a rare underwater view. Since this blue whale was approximately 80-90' long and just a few feet from the camera, an extremely wide lens was used to photograph the entire enormous whale.
May 16, 2026: Tomb of Napolean Bonaparte in Les Invalides. Les Invalides, officially known as L'Hotel national des Invalides (The National Residence of the Invalids), is a complex of buildings in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, France, containing museums and monuments, all relating to the military history of France, as well as a hospital and a retirement home for war veterans, the building's original purpose.
May 15, 2026: California sea lion injured by fishing line, at Los Islotes in the Southern Sea of Cortez
May 14, 2026: Mammoth Peak and alpine meadows in the High Sierra are reflected in Tioga Lake at sunrise. This spectacular location is just a short walk from the Tioga Pass road. Near Tuolumne Meadows and Yosemite National Park.
May 13, 2026: King penguin, showing ornate and distinctive neck, breast and head plumage and orange beak.
May 12, 2026: Southern right whale mother and calf underwater, Eubalaena australis, Argentina
May 11, 2026: Mexican Barracuda, Los Islotes, Baja Califorinia
May 10, 2026: San Diego city skyline, showing the buildings of downtown San Diego rising above San Diego Harbor, viewed from Point Loma with the San Diego Yacht Club in the foreground, sunset.
May 9, 2026: Olowalu reef and West Maui mountains, Maui, Hawaii, aerial photo
May 8, 2026: South American sea lions hauled out on rocks to rest and warm in the sun, Otaria flavescens, Patagonia, Argentina
May 7, 2026: Wood Stork in flight, Mycteria americana
May 6, 2026: Courting group of southern right whales, aerial photo. Mating may occur as a result of this courting and social behavior.
May 5, 2026: Caribbean reef shark
May 4, 2026: Courting Pair of Southern Right Whales, Aerial Photo, Sand is disturbed in the shallow waters of Golfo Nuevo from their socialization and mating activities. By permission of the Government of Argentina, Chubut, permit # 51 / 2025-SsCyA.
May 3, 2026: Full Moon Rises over the San Diego City Skyline and Mount Laguna, viewed from Point Loma, panoramic photograph
May 2, 2026: Black's Beach sea cliffs, sunset, looking north from Scripps Pier with Torrey Pines State Reserve in the distance
May 1, 2026: Aerial Panorama Photo of Swamis and Encinitas Coastline. Swamis reef and Self Realization Fellowship.
April 30, 2026: Bodysurfing sea lions in La Jolla, suspended in a breaking wave as they play together, Boomer Beach
April 29, 2026: Steller sea lions underwater, black and white, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
April 28, 2026: Adams River sockeye salmon. A female sockeye salmon swims upstream in the Adams River to spawn, having traveled hundreds of miles upstream from the ocean.
April 27, 2026: A California Sea Lion Bodysurfing on a Big Wave at Boomer Beach in La Jolla
April 26, 2026: Full Moon over San Diego City Skyline, San Diego Convention Center
April 25, 2026: Anthias fishes school in strong currents above hard and soft corals on a Fijian coral reef, Fiji
April 24, 2026: Tiger shark close up view, including nostrils and ampullae of Lorenzini
April 23, 2026: Broad Tail of a Black Sea Bass in the California Kelp Forest showing distinctive unique black spots that allow researchers to identify individual giant sea bass.
April 22, 2026: Gray whale blowing at the ocean surface, aerial photo
April 21, 2026: Plastic Debris, Sorted and Cataloged for Study, collected on Clipperton Island
April 20, 2026: San Evaristo at dawn, panoramic view, a small fishing town, aerial photo, Sea of Cortez, Baja California
April 19, 2026: Aerial panorama of Clipperton Island, showing the entire atoll. Clipperton Rock, the top of an old volcano, is at middle bottom. Clipperton Island, a minor territory of France also known as Ile de la Passion, is a small (2.3 sq mi) but spectacular coral atoll in the eastern Pacific. By permit HC / 1485 / CAB (France)
April 18, 2026: Desert Lily in bloom, Anza Borrego Desert State Park
April 17, 2026: Oceanside Pier aerial photo, Oceanside, California
April 16, 2026: Steller sea lions underwater, Norris Rocks, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada
April 15, 2026: San Clemente Island, aerial photo, steep cliffs and mountainous terrain on the south eastern shore of the island.
April 14, 2026: Full moon rising at night over the San Diego County Fair. Del Mar Fair at night.
April 13, 2026: Paraglider soaring at Torrey Pines Gliderport, sunset, flying over the Pacific Ocean.
April 12, 2026: Freediver photographing pelagic gelatinous zooplankton, adrift in the open ocean.
April 11, 2026: False Kiva at Sunset, Canyonlands National Park, Utah
April 10, 2026: Sunset and Coral trees, San Diego Embarcadero Marina Park.
April 9, 2026: Brandt's Cormorant in Flight
April 8, 2026: California sea lions, Coronado Islands.
April 7, 2026: Barrel cactus, brittlebush and wildflowers color the sides of Glorietta Canyon. Heavy winter rains led to a historic springtime bloom in 2005, carpeting the entire desert in vegetation and color for months.
April 6, 2026: Western gull, flying.
April 5, 2026: Tiger shark and underwater photographer
April 4, 2026: Aerial photo of Batiquitos Lagoon, Carlsbad. The Batiquitos Lagoon is a coastal wetland in southern Carlsbad, California. Part of the lagoon is designated as the Batiquitos Lagoon State Marine Conservation Area, run by the California Department of Fish and Game as a nature reserve
April 3, 2026: Male and female southern right whales mating underwater, Eubalaena australis. The male positions himself below the female and turns upside down, so the two whales are belly-to-belly and can mate. Sand has been stirred up by the courtship activities and the water is turbid.
April 2, 2026: Peregrine Falcon in flight, Torrey Pines State Natural Reserve
April 1, 2026: A California Brown Pelican flying over the Pacific Ocean, spreads its large wings wide to slow down as it banks, turns in midair, to land on seacliffs in La Jolla. Winter adult non-breeding plumage.
March 31, 2026: Spiny brittle stars (starfish) detail.
March 30, 2026: San Diego City Skyline at Sunset, viewed from Point Loma, panoramic photograph. The mountains east of San Diego can be clearly seen when the air is cold, dry and clear as it is in this photo. Lyons Peak is in center and the flanks of Mount San Miguel to the right.
March 29, 2026: California Brown Pelican flying over a breaking wave