I was walking along the Permanente Creek Trail in Mountain View, CA at noon when I spotted an enormous bird on Vista Slope at Shoreline Park. Every time I’ve seen one of these large birds on the ground, they were having a meal, and this one didn’t disappoint.
I missed the hunt, but saw the Golden Eagle dining on its lunch catch. I’ve seen a lot of squirrels and an occasional hare running along Vista Slope, so maybe one of them ended up as the prey. Although the animal was obscured by the tall grass, I could see the Golden Eagle tearing off strips of meat and consuming them over a course of 15-20 minutes.
Today was a blazingly hot day. I spotted a pair of red-tailed hawks flying above. Unfortunately, they were not interested in flying close together for a photo. So this solo shot would have to do.
I have seen a few Great Egrets before, but never one with a green mask. A few cursory online searches revealed that the Great Egret shows this green mask during breeding season.
I was tracking this bird when it took off in flight. Fortunately, I had already acquired focus while the bird was still in the water, and the distance did not change much.
Yet another sunset view of Shoreline Lake in Mountain View, CA. At 1/160s, you can see the ripples across the surface of the lake. If I used an ND filter, I could have used a longer shutter, but the ducks would have ended up blurry or ghosted.
During a walk past Shoreline Lake, I spotted this Great Blue Heron. Most of the time, I see egrets, so this heron really stood out. However, it was dusk and I only had the Really Right Stuff Pocket ‘Pod with me. I wasn’t sure if the thin railing was stable enough. Additionally, while the bird appeared to be still, at 2.5 seconds, any movement would result in motion blur.
I think of crabs as being well-protected animals. Between their hard shells and sharp pinchers, I would never have imagined their low position in the food chain until I witnessed this atrocity. This poor crab was not victim to an otter or a stork, but the lowly seagull.
Sure, the gull may have a strong grip on one of the crab’s legs, but how will it break the shell? Unfortunately for the crab, the answer was gravity. Give the crab a lift and let go.
At low tide, the hidden contours of the marsh emerge. Instead of birds floating gracefully on water, I saw these birds with legs and beaks caked in mud looking for food.
I’ve seen Great Egrets and Snowy Egrets around Shoreline Lake, but have never captured a good shot of them feeding. This time, I tracked this Great Egret as it was walking around the lake searching for food. This one caught a good-sized fish. One that was large enough to force it to pause for a few seconds. Slowed down the egret just enough for me to get my photo.
