Bolsa Chica Reserve - Pictures

[Dbl]

Had a bit of time today so made a trip to Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntingtion Beach, CA. Has around 1200 acres of wetlands and 120 acres of upland habitat. There are around 3 miles of trails that are well marked with signs that do not let you stray from the trail.

Most of the paths are elevated making it nearly impossible to get down to water level for shooting. This is one place that demands looooong glass! A 500 or 600 with a TC would be about right. My 300/2.8 with 1.4 TC was far from ideal. I was shooting at high noon which gave me some headaches on exposure. My lens combo just did not give me the performance I normally get so I won't be posting much in the way of waterfowl, that plus I don't care for the higher angle of the shots.

I saw many species of ducks, Widgeons, Pintails, Bluebills, Bufflehead, Rudy Ducks, Teal just to name a few. Many shorebirds, Egrets, Cormorants, Gulls, Lizards, hummingbirds, wildflowers.

#1 These signs were everywhere!

#2 Bluebill

#3 Widgeon

#4 Shorebird

#5 Pelican

#6 Pelican fishing, this shot is not cropped.

#7 Kestrel, normally I would not show a shot from the back but it was a rare angle to really show his feathers.

#8 Just sitting down on this guide shelter.

#9 From my research a Western Reef Heron - white plumage.

#10 Egret

#11 One more...a Bufflehead

[fishinchicks]

These pictures are beautiful! I really like the close up of the pelican.

[123fish]

Love the back angle shot of the sparrow hawk. That is really cool.

[WCS]

Sweet shots Dan. Too many good ones to pick a favorite.

[reelemin]

# 7 is an amazing shot !!!!!!!!!!!

[buzzsaw]

Nice series, Dan! That Pelican head shot works best for me.

[dockothebay]

The pelican gets my vote as well - those are wonderful shots considering the lighting and other "issues" you mentioned - I'd love to be able to produce these kind of pics in excellent conditions!

Thanks for sharing.

[Steve Foss]

I too vote for the pelican, though I like the swallow on the bird sign a lot in the first image. Good work in tough conditions!

[MN Shutterbug]

All nice shots, but my fave is the western reef heron, which I'd never heard of before.

[dukhnt]

I really like the kestrel shots, nice work.

[Deitz Dittrich]

Swesome stuff... I like the sign picture, just cute in my opinion!

[Paul]

Don't really have a favorite. They are great in my book. I guess if I had to choose one, I like the hawk.

[Dbl]

Thanks everyone for the comments.

[hendenhook]

Dbl all great shots #6 & #7 really standout, sounds like a great place to hang out for lunch in CA - you probably didn't even have a coat on.

Thanks for posting - especially nice to see open water that does't have to have current in it to stay open.

[finnbay]

Very, very nice! Hard to pick a fave, though the pelican kinda stands out - but not by much!

[The_Duckslayer]

#7 ROCKS! Nice shot thanks for sharing. Take care and N Joy the Hunt././Jimbo

[MARINERMAGNUM]

Nice work!

Huntington Beach Ca.?

One of our beloved little naive midwest Buffle Heads in 'da hood wit Snoop Dog?

Take care little Buffy. [Hope he doesn't return with a tatoo]