Long-billed Curlew
Long-Billed Curlew, Elkhorn Slough.
The long-billed Curlew’s most interesting feature is, unsurprisingly, its long, downward curving bill. This migratory bird can be found on the seashore in winter, and during the breeding season, in fields and prairies.
Interesting fact about these curlews: “Both the male and female Long-billed Curlew incubate the eggs, and both are aggressive in defense of nests and young. The female typically abandons the brood two to three weeks after hatching and leaves brood care to her mate. Despite this abandonment the same male and female often pair with each other again the next year.” Source: Cornell Site
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/1000sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 3.29 PM
Date: November 3, 2007
Pelagic Cormorant
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/750sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 1.45 PM
Date: November 3, 2007
Lone Cormorant
A Brandt’s Cormorant in Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing, California.
During the Elkhorn Slough Safari on the pontoon boat, the number or cormorants we saw were amazing. There were easily a couple of hundred cormorants.
Moss Landing, about 10 miles North of Monterey is one of the few commercial fishing harbors left in California. Here, you can watch big and small fishing boats go out to sea and later come back with their fresh catch on any day. This area is has tidal sloughs and freshwater ponds adjacent to each other. No wonder then, that this area is just so fantastic for birding that it has been recognized as and IBA (Important Bird Area) of international significance. This area is a principal staging and feeding area for migratory shorebirds.
Elkhorn Slough is located right in the center of the curve of Monterey Bay and drains directly into the Pacific Ocean through the Moss Landing harbor channel. This channel was created by man, and rivers had to be diverted, one of them being the Salinas River ran north from its present mouth to its old original mouth north of today’s Moss Landing. Today’s Moss Landing harbor and various sloughs around here, to the south are a part of this old river bed.
So thats some information to ruminate over the weekend. I will be back next week with more birds, this time shorebirds. And hopefully, some lighthouse photos. Have a great weekend!
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/1000sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 8.33 AM
Date: November 3, 2007
The Cormorants
Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing.
The green sheen on the cormorants is very fascinating!
Update: I have updated the previous post with exif data.
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/500sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 1.45 PM
Date: November 3, 2007
Pelican Mugshot
Pelican Mugshot, Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing, California
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/1500sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 8.21 AM
Date: November 3, 2007
Sea Otters
Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/350sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 8.43 AM
Date: November 3, 2007
Midflight
Brown Pelican in Midflight, Elkhorn Slough, Moss landing.
“Oh, a wondrous bird is the pelican!
His bill holds more than his belican.
He can take in his beak
Enough food for a week.
But I’m darned if I know how the helican.”
Dixon Lanier Merritt
(1879-1972)
Interesting Fact – The brown pelican is the state bird of Louisiana. (Courtesy: Wikipedia)
On a technical note: Vikas asked “all your recent pics are at f/5.6 . shooting in av mode”.
For the complete series of images from Elkhorn Slough, I was shooting at aperture priority mode, wide open. The thinking was that I want to freeze motion and get the sharpest images I can. Hence lens wide open, beacuse of which I ended up sacrificing depth of field . I did this stupid thing of using evaluative metering. Next time, I’ll go the spot metering way. Hopefully, that will help me with the highly reflective otter coats.
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/750sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 190mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 9.42 AM
Date: November 3, 2007
Huh?
Sea Otter, Moss Landing
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/350sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 1.37 PM
Date: November 3, 2007
Flight of the Pelican
Elkhorn Slough, Moss Landing, California
Pelicans are funny birds. One part of me thinks they are quite ugly looking, especially on land without their mating plumage. But once the take flight they are so very graceful. The mating plumage adds to their charm. Overall, I like these birds quite a bit!
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/1000sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 180mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 9.23 AM PM
Date: November 3, 2007
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Three Pelicans
Elkhorn Slough, California.
Pelicans, fascinating birds, were in abundance during the Elkhorn Slough safari. These three pelicans here were posing for me. The farthermost one is a juvenile. The center one is an adult in full mating plumage with the golden head and the red neck. The closest one is partly in mating plumage.
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/1500sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 170mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 3.19 PM
Date: November 3, 2007
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
Mama and Baby Otter
Elkhorn Slough, California.
Elkhorn slough, about 10 miles north of Monterey is an amazing place for wildlife. Over the weekend, I was on a boat tour run by Captain Yohn. A bunch of photographer buddies from the FM_NorCal group had booked two tours on the pontoon boat, each of us paying for 2 seats – one for us, one for our equipment!
Among other wildlife, I got some shots of sea otters, but this particular one is very special to me. It was just amazing to see the mama sea otter floating on her back, with the baby otter on her stomach. The mama was making a deep humming sound…talking to her baby. “Although the birth takes place ashore, the mother immediately carries the pup into the water and from then on gives it constant attention, nursing and grooming it on her chest as she swims on her back.”
It is an amazing sight, how the mother carries her child on her chest, and when she has to roll over, she carries the by the scruff of its neck, so that its face is above water!
Technical Details:
Exposure: 1/500sec at f/5.6
Focal Length: 300mm
ISO: 100
WB: Daylight
Lens: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6 IS USM
Time: 9.35 AM
Date: November 3, 2007
(1 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
Loading ...