March 30, 2014 - Birds - West Coast Trip

I visited Oak Canyon Nature Center in Anaheim, California, last fall. There was a small stream running through the park and some Wood Ducks were on the water. This female was in dark shadows but I decided to try a photo anyway. I had to reduce my camera’s shutter speed to 1/13th of a second. Fortunately, the camera was on a tripod and the duck wasn’t moving, so the photo is quite sharp. I really like the way the iridescent colors of her back feathers stand out.

DuckWoodfemaleOakCanyonNatureCenterAnaheim20131031

Here’s a male Wood Duck from the same area. He’s in full breeding plumage and you can see why male Wood Ducks are described as North America’s most beautiful waterfowl.

DuckWoodmaleOakCanyonNatureCenterAnaheim20131031

We ate at the Nepenthe Restaurant in Big Sur, California. I was standing on their deck overlooking the grounds below and saw this Steller’s Jay. It was flying into a nearby oak tree, picking one acorn at a time, and then burying each one in the ground.

JaySteller'sburyingacornNepentheRestaurantBigSur20131027

This is a Golden-crowned Sparrow, a species we rarely see here in the Midwest. It nests in Alaska and western Canada and migrates to Washington, Oregon, and California for the winter. At 7¼” it’s one of our larger sparrow species. Notice the bi-colored bill. In breeding plumage it develops a broad, black border to the gold on its crown.

SparrowGoldencrownedMendocinoCoastBotanicalGardensFortBragg20121022

I photographed this Bewick’s Wren (pronounced like “Buick”) in Cambria, California. This species is found across the southern half of the United States from the west coast to the Appalachian Mountains, and on the coasts of Oregon and Washington. Like many other wrens, it is small (5¼"). For the most part it is non-migratory. Its diet consists mainly of insects.

WrenBewick'sCambria20131028

This Red-tailed Hawk was also photographed in Cambria, California. The tail leaves no doubt about which species it is.

HawkRedtailedCambria20131028