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top 25 items viewed per day
Week reset Sunday, Month reset the 1st, Year reset 1/1 |
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(235 views)
Two Macaws preening one another. A very intimate, gentle moment in a birds' life.
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(230 views)
This photo shows a sea lion swimming in the late afternoon sunlight beneath the wharf in Santa Cruz. Lovely light on a lovely animal.
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(230 views)
The Spectacled Bear is the only bear that comes from South America. I hope this unique and beautiful endangered bear survives.
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(227 views)
An adult night heron in full breeding plumage showing off its pink legs which are yellow the rest of the year.
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(226 views)
This is a close-up of the same Pelican I posted yesterday,
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(226 views)
A large group of pelicans were perched on the fish processing equipment.
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(225 views)
For an unforgettable wildlife experience, I highly recommend the Elkhorn Slough Safari in Moss Landing. We saw over one hundred sea otters, almost eighty harbor seals and dozens of sea lions very up close and personal.
This photo shows a raft of about eighty sea otters. Raft is the official label for a bunch of otters hanging out together, looking like a raft.
In addition to sea mammals, I also photographed sixteen species of birds. The trip was two hours of wildlife bliss. There were a few . . . |
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(225 views)
A great egret at the edge of the bay looking for food. It is a very graceful bird whether walking or flying.
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(225 views)
Close up of a male sea lion. According to Wiki, "Zalophus californianus" means "Californian big-head" because a male grows a crest of bone on top of his head that causes a bulging forehead.
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(225 views)
A flock of pelicans flying in typical formation with Anacapa island in the background.
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(225 views)
Pelican posed aboard an old fishing boat.
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(225 views)
Bette Davis eyes? Bedroom eyes? Puppy dog eyes? They've got nothing on harbor seal eyes!
The little slit behind the eye is the ear which is an easy way to distinguish it from a sea lion with its little external ear.
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(224 views)
Here is an older otter, recognized by the light colored fur on its face. It is grooming itself after eating. Otters must have one of the cutest faces in the animal kingdom
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(224 views)
Two Harbor Seal were of quite different fur colors but all the whiskers were blonde.
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(224 views)
A capybara peeking coyly from behind its giant palm frond.
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(224 views)
I was able to get nice close-ups of the harbor seals because I used a telephoto lens. If the boat had come this close they would have been disturbed and swum away.
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(224 views)
A female avocet sits on her eggs. When the tide comes in this nest will barely be above the water.
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(223 views)
I love the pattern of this seal's fur, but I would never entertain the idea of taking it away from her to use for myself.
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(223 views)
A very pregnant Harbor Seal looking quite pleased with herself.
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(223 views)
The Harbor Seal was very curious about us as we motored past, but not curious enough to actually move.
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(222 views)
This group shot of harbor seals illustrates their cuteness and wide variations in colors.
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(222 views)
Harbor seals are close to the top of the cute list, right up there next to sea otters.
We saw close to eighty harbor seals that day, most of them lying on shore watching us watching them.
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(222 views)
I know they are wild animals with big teeth and claws but jeez, don't they look cuddly?!
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(219 views)
I saw many lizards that day. This one was recharging his "solar batteries". When I was a kid we called this type of lizard a blue-belly.
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(218 views)
It was beautiful day in Santa Cruz and I had been photographing the sea lions when this pelican landed a few feet away on the pier railing.
If there was ever a compelling visual argument for birds being the modern descendants of dinosaurs, it's the pelican. I could easily imagine them flying just out of reach above the snapping jaws of some aquatic sea monster.
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