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(195 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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(190 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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(190 views)
A shell was almost the size of the otter's head, but was no match for its appetite.
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(190 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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(189 views)
A very large, old Leopard Tortoise sunned itself that afternoon.
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(189 views)
Here is another otter grooming or maybe he is thinking "oh, not another boatload of paparazzi!"
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(189 views)
This photo shows just part of a very large raft of otters we saw in the Elkhorn Slough. The older individuals had light faces, and such cute faces they were.
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(188 views)
A male Anna's hummingbird perches on Neptunes' trident. I was surprised to see a hummingbird stay still for so long.
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(188 views)
Sea Otters appeared to spend a great deal of their time grooming themselves. They use their bodies as tables, so have to keep food scraps washed off. While they clean, they also push and sometimes blow air bubbles into their fur. The extra air trapped in their fur contributes to their buoyancy and increases insulation.
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(188 views)
This is one otter trying to persuade another otter to share its meal. It wasn't very successful.
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(188 views)
The otter balanced his "plate" on his stomach while enjoying that last little morsel.
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(188 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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(188 views)
This killdeer tried to lure me away from her nest and eggs fluttering her wings as if injured. Ironically, the only reason I knew her nest was nearby was because of the mother killdeer's behavior. She faked being hurt and then looked back to see if I was buying it.
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(188 views)
The flower stalks ran vertically over the Heuchera plant next to our first pond.
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(188 views)
A lone individual popped up out of the water after a dive for food. We suspected he has a clam grasped in his paws. Otters love shellfish.
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(187 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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(187 views)
The King of the Jungle appeared regal that day.
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(187 views)
More of the endless variation of facial expressions you can always find in sea lions.
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(187 views)
Portrait of a large male sea lion sleepily surveying his domain.
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(187 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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(187 views)
A very large tortoise with an imposing look.
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(187 views)
The larger Great Egret was stalked by the smaller Snowy Egret.
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(187 views)
These conjoined damselflies are a mated pair and stay connected like this until the eggs are laid. Both damselflies seen here are bright blue so this may be a "gay" pairing as documented in National Geographic.
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(187 views)
Having escaped from a collection somewhere this Flamingo showed up in Elkhorn Slough in January. It was tagged but no-one has claimed it yet.
I had previously seen this type of Flamingo in zoos but this was the first time "in the wild".
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(187 views)
The King contemplated freedom.
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