Tag: point reyes national seashore

Badger, Bobcat, Coyote, Hawk, Other Mammal, Owl, Tule Elk

Best Photos of 2011

I learned about Jim Goldstein’s blog project some time in 2011.  To learn more about it click here.  Basically, you do a blog about your best 10 or so photos of the year and Jim will link your blog to his list of blogs that participate.  I recently looked at some of the 2010 participants’ “Best 10” blogs.  It’s a great way to find good nature photographers you weren’t aware of.

I photographed a lot at Point Reyes National Seashore in 2011 so I decided to use Point Reyes wildlife photos that were in my blog in 2011.  I want to say at the outset that I never really photographed much at Point Reyes before 2011 and I was very surprised at how good wildlife photo opportunities are there.  I’m a big fan of Yellowstone, but Point Reyes is almost the equal of it and in some ways it’s better.  For example, I’ve never seen a single bobcat in Yellowstone and hardly ever fail to see one at Point Reyes.

So, without further ado, here are some of my favorite Point Reyes wildlife photos that were in my blog in 2011.

Photo of long-tailed weasel peering out of a burrow.
Long-tailed Weasel, Point Reyes National Seashore

Long-tailed weasels are one of my favorite animal subjects at Point Reyes.  Unfortunately, they are hard to find.  I saw four last year in Point Reyes, but this guy is the only one I was fortunate enough to get close photos of.

Photo of a bobcat daydreaming.
A Bobcat Daydreams, Point Reyes National Seashore

Bobcats are a lot easier to find, especially in the winter. This male lived on one of the ranches along Pierce Point Road.  I saw him a lot last winter, but he disappeared in the early spring.  I’m not sure what happened to him, but I think a pack of coyotes got him.  I saw them pass through the open area he used to hang out on.  I think he could have held his own with one coyote, but I doubt he could do so with two or more.  There were no trees or other means of escape anywhere near where I used to see him.   I photographed him a lot and miss him.

Photo of a coyote looking back at sunset.
Coyote at Sunset

Point Reyes has a healthy population of coyotes.  Like the bobcats, they are easiest to find in the winter when they spend more time out during daylight.

Photo of a badger after it awakens from a sunbath.
American Badger, Point Reyes National Seashore

Point Reyes has a good population of badgers, but they are somewhat hard to find because they are such nocturnal critters.  In 2011 I photographed two single adults plus two females in the spring with two cubs each.  This is one of the single adults.  I found this individual a couple of weeks ago.

Photo of a 7-point bull bugling during the rut.
Tule Elk Bugles During Rut; Point Reyes National Seashore

Of all the wildlife Point Reyes has I think the species people think of first is the tule elk.  They are fairly easy to find and photograph at Point Reyes.  Needless to say, this photo was taken during the rut.  With his angry-looking eyes and wide-open mouth he looks pretty fierce.  Every time I see how big his mouth is I picture four canine teeth in there and wonder what life would be like if elk had canines.

Photo of peregrine falcon eating its prey.
Peregrine Falcon Holding Its Prey

Point Reyes has some resident peregrine falcons.  They are often seen from Chimney Rock to the Point Reyes Lighthouse.   This one decided to dine in ranch country.

Photo of a male california quail.
Overseeing His Covey

California quail are quite common in the Seashore.  When things are slow they can save the day.  I think the peregrine above was feeding on a quail.

Photo of an osprey perched on a dock.
Osprey; Tomales Bay, California

There are several ospreys that live and nest in and around the Seashore.  This one decided to perch on a dock in Inverness which is just over the ridge from the Seashore.

 

Red-tailed Hawk, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a red-tailed hawk.
Red-tailed Hawk, Point Reyes National Seashore

Red-tailed hawks are common at Point Reyes, especially in the winter.  They are probably the raptor seen most often in the Seashore.

Photo of a great horned owl sitting in a barn window.
Great Horned Owl in Barn Window

Great horned owls are also common, although you don’t see them as often as their numbers would suggest because of their nocturnal ways.  Find any good sized clump of trees, though, and odds are good that you will find one or more great horned owls in there.  Pound for pound they are about the most deadly bird in North America.  While they normally prey on mammals and birds smaller than them, they have been know to prey on such things as house cats, canada geese and even bald eagles.  Field Guide to Owls of California and the West, Hans Peeters, at 191.

There are a lot of other wildlife species at Point Reyes , many of which I blogged about, but it’s time to stop.  If you’d like to see some more images from Point Reyes or elsewhere you can continue viewing my blog or you can visit my website, www.jimcoda.com.

Happy New Year to All, and thank you Jim Goldstein.

Tule Elk

Bull Elk, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of big bull tule elk.
A 7-Point Bull on the D Ranch

I photographed this bull the day I photographed the badger.  I’ve seen and photographed him before.  He’s one of the Limantour herd that uses the D Ranch as part of its habitat.  What’s nice about these elk is that they are often on the east side of the road to Drake’s Beach in the late afternoon.  The light is usually pretty nice then.

Badger

Badger, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a badger after it awakens from a sunbath.
A badger wakes up from its sunbath.

After lunch today I decided to go out to Point Reyes.  I’m anxious for the coyotes and bobcats to return to their winter ways of spending more time out during daylight hours and I hoped I’d see some today.    I had barely gotten inside the Seashore when I  saw a lot of badger diggings on a hillside.  They looked fresh, although it had rained last night and I wondered if the wetness of the dirt made them look fresher than they were.   I scanned all the diggings and the one that was highest up the hill had a brownish lump on the side of the digging.  It was partly obstructed by vegetation.  I grabbed my 7X binoculars and took a look.  They weren’t powerful enough to be certain, but it looked like brown fur and it wasn’t moving.  I assumed it was a badger and that it was asleep.  I grabbed my lens and tripod and  decided to move slowly up the hill to try to get close enough for a good photo.  I used a telephone pole between us as cover.

I got to about 40 to 50 yards from what I knew by then was a badger and was about to shoot a few frames when out of the corner of my eye I caught a flash of movement.  It was a a coyote and it was running straight up the hill on my left.  I have no idea why or how the coyote did that.  I think it may have been sleeping somewhere to the left of the badger and me and I startled it.  I started shooting the coyote as it ran, but it topped the hill quickly.  I re-focused on the badger and, no surprise, it was no longer asleep.  It was staring straight at me.  I’m sure the coyote caught its attention first and the noise from my shutter got its attention next.  I fired off several shots and the badger went down the burrow it had dug.  It quickly popped back up to take a longer look at me.  After a few seconds it had seen enough.

Photo of a badger peeking from its burrow.
A badger takes a peek.

After a bit, I circled around the burrow hoping he’d come up again and, not seeing me where he expected me to be, he’d come out.  It was not to be and after about 30 minutes I gave up.  It was a good start though.

It turned out that that was the high point of the afternoon.  I did see another coyote later.  I also had one bobcat cross the road in front of me.  I also saw another critter for a second or two before it disappeared into a swale.  I think it was either a bobcat or coyote.  Things were pretty slow elk-wise on the Tomales Peninsula.

I then headed over to Drake’s Beach hoping to see some elk on the way or maybe something at Drake’s Beach itself.  On the way I saw a burrowing owl that my friend Jeff told me about just before the turnoff for Drake’s Beach.  There was also a big 7-point bull elk on the east side of the road to Drake’s Beach.  Drake’s Beach itself was dead.  I then headed back to Pierce Point.  It’s often pretty good for elk late in the day.  Not today.

Things seem to be getting better at Point Reyes in terms of seeing bobcats and coyotes.

Tule Elk

Tule Elk Cow, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of cow tule elk.
Caught with her Mouth Full

I drove out to Point Reyes recently.  Things look a little greener in places.  Red-tailed hawk numbers have increased.  The Pierce Point Ranch area was free of fog for a change.  This cow, along with some others, was grazing near the ranch.  I don’t particularly like the background (or foreground) in this photo, but I do like the expression on her face.  She is wondering what my intentions are and why she failed to see me until now.   Now if I were a mountain lion ….

Song Bird

Western Bluebird, Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a western bluebird perching near the Estero Trailhead.
Western Bluebird, Point Reyes National Seashore

I’m almost done upgrading my website.  Having to search for the master file for every image on my website so I can enlarge it has caused me to look at nearly all the images I have and that has taken a lot of time.  It’s been very beneficial though because I’ve found a number of images that I should have put on my website when I took the photos.   This little bluebird is one.  It has everything I look for in a good wildlife photo.  It has an appealing subject, good body position/pose, good light, good color and a clean, out-of-focus background.  No distractions.  It’s now on my website.  To see the upgraded/larger image click here.

I’ve added a number of other overlooked images as well.  The tule elk portfolio is a good example.  I’ve added about 10 new images to that portfolio.  I’ve also removed several.

One thing I’ve realized doing the web upgrade is that I’ve not been paying enough attention to my website since I started doing this blog.  I’m probably not the only photo blogger doing that.  Keeping current with my website seems like a good New Year resolution.

Uncategorized

Non-Native Bird at Point Reyes National Seashore

Photo of a Eurasian-collared Dove.
Eurasian-collared Dove, Native to India

As I go through my images taken at Point Reyes in upgrading the images on my website I’m finding some interesting photos I didn’t appreciate when I took them.  I took this photo last February.  I don’t think I had any thought about it at the time.   When I came across it yesterday my first thought was that it was a mourning dove.  But it didn’t look exactly like a mourning dove.  Band-tailed pigeon?  No.  It’s a Eurasian Collared-Dove.  It’s native to India.  It seems they got started in Florida (like so many things) and spread from there.  They compete with our native mourning doves.  This got me to thinking.  How many non-native birds are there in Point Reyes National Seashore (and/or Marin County for that matter)?  The ones I see most at Point Reyes are brown-headed cowbirds and European starlings.  Sometimes I’ll see a wild turkey there.  There must be house sparrows.  I think there are barred owls in the Seashore, which compete with Northern spotted owls.  What other birds?  I don’t know.  Probably several more.

Tule Elk

Seven-Point Bull

Photo of a 7-point bull bugling during the rut.
Tule Elk Bull Bugles, Point Reyes National Seashore

I’m still upgrading my website by making each image larger.  It’s a lot of work, but I think it will be a nice improvement to the site.  One extra benefit is that I’m finding some images that I like that I didn’t know I had.  This photo was taken in early August.  As I often do, I came back to this photo after I published the blog and was struck by how wide this bull can open its mouth.  For some reason, I pictured a set of canine teeth in there, developed for defensive purposes.  I wonder what wolves would say — if they had any say in it?  For that matter, I wonder what elk hunters would say?