I found "gold" at Montana de Oro yesterday

We took another trip out to Montana de Oro yesterday. It was very windy and most of the birds were hidden away deep in foliage. But as I slowly walked through the campground I saw a splash of yellow. I only had moments to compose and take as few photos of this Wilson's Warbler. Then it flashed off into the bushes. What a joy!

A day in Montana de Oro State Park

A few days ago we took a jaunt out to one of my favorite places on the Central Coast - Montana de Oro State Park. We were hoping to find lines of Brown Pelicans flying over the ocean and perhaps a Pigeon Guillemot to photograph. And indeed we did find them, but they were all too far away and only looked like dots in our viewfinders. It was time to find something closer at hand to photo. This little White-crowned Sparrow was feeding on the ground near me. I took some shots, but there were many twigs and branches obscuring my view of him. But when he jumped onto a railing right in front of me, I was ready and got a good portrait of him.

Photo day - April 17, 2010

I took another 'photo drive' with Don last Saturday. We explored Bitterwater Road and then drove out toward Parkfield. Most of the wildflowers seem to be past their prime. Though we did see some lovely owl's clover painting the hills. But the gift of the day was unexpected. In a wet area next to the road we found Avocets! Don took the first turn taking photos out the window of the car as I slowly drove past and stopped where there were birds feeding. Then he returned the favor and I was lucky to capture some great images. Who would have thought to drive out into the countryside to photograph  shorebirds?

Last Saturday Don and I took a drive to Figueroa Mountain to look for wildflowers. It was a very cold, foggy and windy day at the top of the mountain. So all the poppies were closed up tight and the other flowers were a challenge to try and photograph in the wind. But down the road toward Happy Canyon we found the most beautiful Bush Lupine I have ever seen. The blooms were profuse and bushes lined the road. We had a wonderful time taking photos here. It ended up to be a good outing.

First day on my BLOG!

So it begins.

Last January I took a Bay cruise in beautiful Morro Bay and I was lucky enough to capture a sea otter in action. These are amazing creatures. They have no fat but do have incredibly dense fur to insulate them. They need to groom constantly to keep their fir in top condition. I call this shot OTTER BATH.