fish

March 15, 2013

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Late last year I finally made it to the Monterey Aquarium for the first time. In addition to fish and water mammals, I was happy to see a variety of birds there, including an excellent local injured bird care facility (stay tuned for a future post specifically covering those birds). I hope to make it back soon, because there is so much to see there (I didn’t even make it all the way around in one visit). Here are a few of my personal highlights.

First up, in the seahorse exhibit, was the leafy seadragon.

A leafy seadragon swims at an exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

This master of disguise was quite amazing to watch moving about its tank. I would love to see one in its natural environment to see how well it can blend into surrounding vegetation.

The aquarium had a quite extensive jellyfish collection as well.

Jellyfish move through a water exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

And of course, no aquarium is complete without many, many fish. Here is a large bony fish (I didn’t catch the species of this one, and he looked rather grumpy so I didn’t bother asking him).

A large bony fish swims in a water tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

One of my favorite fish seen that day was the ocean sunfish, mostly because if its sheer size.

An enormous ocean sunfish swims in a large tank at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

The sunfish is the heaviest known bony fish in the world, with an average weight of 2200 pounds. The largest specimens can be over 10 feet in length, 14 feet across the fins, and weigh up to 5100 pounds.

And of course some birds! Here are two species I’d have to travel to Alaska to see in the wild: the tufted puffin and the horned puffin.

Tufted puffin headshots are possible at an exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

A horned puffin stands alone in an exhibit at the Monterey Bay Aquarium

I highly recommend a visit here, particularly if you can get there on a non-field trip week day. Other days can get quite busy. There is a ton to see, and it is hard to beat the beauty of the surrounding coastline of Pacific Grove and Carmel.

February 27, 2012January 14, 2013

Green Heron At Sunset

A green heron stands at the edge of a slough in the setting sun

Image Page

A little while ago I had the good fortune of finding and photographing a juvenile green heron in the last few minutes of the golden hour of sunset. Green herons are much more difficult to spot than their prolific cousins, the great blue heron, and the great and snowy egret. First of all, there are fewer of them around. Secondly, they usually hide out of sight more often, and they are notoriously difficult to spot against their background. Once I was 15 feet from a green heron, and I kept losing sight of him amongst the rocks – not because he was behind anything, but because he blended in so well.

Crouching down and ready to strike, a juvenile green heron watches the surface of the water for movement

Image Page

I found this heron more of less out in the open, but only saw it because it landed a mere 40 feet away from me. I slowly crept down to the water’s edge, lowering my tripod carefully as I went. I crept a little closer but did not want to flush this bird. The chances that it would land somewhere else that was as accessible were slight. As I watched it poke around in the mud at the edge of the slough, it started working its way toward me. All I had to do was remain very still and wait.

Eventually it got within about 20 feet, its body now filling my entire frame. By now the sun was just starting to set behind me, bathing the heron in beautiful warm light. As it settled into its now position, it started to watch the water carefully, looking for movement beneath the surface.

A juvenile green heron pulls a small fish out of the still water of a slough

Image Page

In the last minute of sunlight, its beak snapped into the water and out emerged a tiny fish. A quick gulp and it was gone, along with another successful day of bird photography.

Had I tried to approach this bird, I never would have gotten this close. Only by remaining absolutely still did my presence put the heron at ease. Also, young birds tolerate human presence much more than adult birds. I suppose its because they have not yet learned to fear humans, but whatever the reason, I was happy to take advantage of even a temporary trust.

July 6, 2011January 14, 2013

White-faced ibis with fish

A white-faced ibis catches a small fish for dinner. Canon 800mm f/5.6L IS lens with the EOS-7D. ISO 640. Evaluative metering +1 EV: 1/500 sec. at f/8.

Purchase

I took this photograph in February, but just now had a chance to process it and get it up on my site. With the spring migration ending, and way too much snow still in the high Sierra, I’ve been biding my time photographically by culling through some older shots that I was too busy to attend to when I took them.

This photo features one of several white-faced ibises that make an annual appearance at Palo Alto Baylands every winter. Seemingly out of place in the Bay Area, there are always at least one or two that stop by for a couple of weeks. Usually, they hang out far into the marshes, but occasionally they come closer within camera distance. Then it becomes a game of patience.

I was watching this ibis for about an hour and a half as the sun was creeping toward the horizon behind me. With each passing minute, the light got sweeter, but my opportunity for getting a shot that stood out was vanishing. Then, just before the light started to fade, he made a quick thrust into the shallow water, and up came a small fish. He seemed quite proud of himself, and actually strutted around a bit with the fish before consuming it. All the while my shutter clicked away. This was my favorite photo from the day – a proud ibis with his fresh catch.

July 4, 2010January 14, 2013

Catch Of The Day (Photo of the week)

Watching birds in action can be much more interesting than just watching them look back at you. Mornings and evenings are the best times to catch birds moving about, most often looking for food.

This great egret had found a spot along the edge of a slough with plenty of fish. He seemed to be preoccupied with eating, allowing me to slowly sneak closer. I was surprised with the frequency at which he plucked fish out of the water – about one every 20 to 30 seconds.

He would stare at the surface of the water, his body leaning forward, and his neck coiled back ready to strike. At the opportune moment, his head would dunk into the water, almost every time coming up with a fish. Throwing his head up and back, he could fling the fish back into his throat, swallowing the fish whole. As he was swallowing, his neck and head feathers bristled, making his head appear almost twice its normal size.

Great egrets are one of my favorite species to watch eating because they tend to fish from the same spot, instead of moving around to look for food.