Birds Galleries

Hummingbirds in Suburban Los Angeles : These photos were taken using the Panasonic FZ10,FZ20 and FZ30 ultrazoom digicams and most recently with the Pentax K10D with the Sigma 50-500mm lens and the Canon 40D with the 100-400 IS lens. The majority were taken at the South Coast Botanic Garden in Palos Verdes, a suburb of sprawling Los Angeles.

Hummingbirds in Suburban Los Angeles

These photos were taken using the Panasonic FZ10,FZ20 and FZ30 ultrazo ...

Updated: Jun 03, 2008 6:48pm PST

Other Raptors I've Known... : Here are some of the "birds of prey" I've encountered whether it's here in San Pedro or on the road during my travels...

Other Raptors I've Known...

Here are some of the "birds of prey" I've encountered whether it's he ...

Updated: Jun 26, 2007 5:10am PST

Panasonic Lumix FZ10/FZ30 at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, Harbor City, California :

Panasonic Lumix FZ10/FZ30 at Ken Malloy Harbor Regional Park, Harbor City, California

Updated: Jul 23, 2006 6:02am PST

The Terns of Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, Huntington Beach, CA :

The Terns of Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, Huntington Beach, CA

Updated: Jul 17, 2006 9:59pm PST

Panasonic FZ10/FZ20/FZ30 and Pentax K10D Flying Creatures :

Panasonic FZ10/FZ20/FZ30 and Pentax K10D Flying Creatures

Updated: Apr 17, 2008 6:10am PST

The Pentax K10D Spies a Hummingbird Nest : I discovered this Anna's hummingbird nest in the tree behind the pharmacy where I work at Kaiser Hospital in Harbor City, a suburb of Los Angeles, CA. It provides a great opportunity to try out my Pentax K10D DSLR. The nest (you can't imagine how TINY it is) is about 30 feet away from my vantage point. All shots are taken at 200mm using the Pentax DA 50-200mm F4-5.6ED lens, cropped at 50% then post-processed using Paint Shop Pro XI, mostly highlights and brightness adjustment. As events are ongoing (this being March 6,2007) I'll be adding photographs as things develop. However, one of the siblings (there are 2) is already flexing its wings so they may be about to fledge.

The Pentax K10D Spies a Hummingbird Nest

I discovered this Anna's hummingbird nest in the tree behind the pharm ...

Updated: Jun 22, 2007 6:21am PST

Birds with the Canon 40D/EF 100-400 f4.5-5.6L IS Lens : Using the Canon 40D/100-400 IS mounted on a BushHawk shoulder mount.

Birds with the Canon 40D/EF 100-400 f4.5-5.6L IS Lens

Using the Canon 40D/100-400 IS mounted on a BushHawk shoulder mount.

Updated: Jul 21, 2008 5:10am PST

Mississippi Kite in Los Angeles 2007 : On May 26, 2007 I went to the South Coast Botanic Garden here in Los Angeles' coastal suburb of Palos Verdes. While walking around with my Pentax K10D DSLR and Sigma 50-500mm lens I noticed what appeared to be a medium-sized raptor about 50 feet away from me and 30 feet off the ground drop something from its talons onto a brushy area, then circle back as if trying to relocate it. I looked at it through the 500mm Sigma lens (my binoculars-in-a-pinch)and saw that its head bore a resemblance to the somewhat commonplace White-Tailed Kite, but the markings were strange, and the tail had a "checkboard" pattern instead of pure white. Its behavior differed from a WTK, too; while the White-tailed "hover-hunts", dropping straight down on its ground prey (usually mice or small mammals), this Kite stayed in the air and was in constant motion, circling around then folding its wings back and rocketing towards the earth and pulling back up at the last second. It would also twist and turn in the air, as if it was going after "something". I observed it going through wonderful acrobatic moves for about an hour (a passerby said "Looks like he's performing for you!") then it disappeared into some trees. Once home I looked at the photos on my monitor and pondered the possibilities, but the visual signs pointed only in one direction --- Mississippi Kite. But my Sibley's guide marks them as "rare" for this area --- and the botanic gardens aren't known for rare bird sightings. The following Sunday I went birding down in Orange County and found out on Monday that bird experts on the ground had positively ID'd it as a Mississippi Kite. That Monday morning I posted photos at birdforum.net and folks also ID'd it as a "first-summer" Mississippi Kite. My Saturday photos got linked up to the online Sunday sighting and after that, the local birding world was notified. I went back to the Garden on Monday where I was joined by excited birders from as far away as Santa Barbara who'd heard of its presence. And to make things official, I filed a report with the CBRC along with photos authenticating the Rare Bird sighting. It's now Tuesday evening and it's been at the Garden every day since Saturday. We hope it's in for the long haul, but it may move along at any time... Veteran bird expert and Secretary of the California Bird Records Committee, Guy McCaskie, graciously supplied me with this information on past sightings of a Mississippi Kite in California --- "There are 38 previous CBRC endorsed records for the Mississippi Kite in California, with most (24) in spring between 17 May and 21 June. However, most (20) of these records are for locations in Mojave Desert and Great Basin portions of eastern California, with thirteen of them at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley. Previous spring records for the coast are of single birds in Goleta SBA 18 Jun 1933, Long Beach LA 21 Jun 1982, Huntington Beach ORA 05-11 Jun 1989, and Clairemont LA 26 May 2003. Two of the five fall records from along the coast were on the Palos Verdes Peninsula - 26 Sep 1992 and 18 Sep 2005 - clearly a popular place for lost Mississippi Kites." UPDATE Friday June 1 2007 -- It's been 6 days since I first spotted the Mississippi Kite at the Garden, and the good news is that it's still there! I spotted it flying near the lake and though it was flying high could make out that it was catching insects and feeding while "on the wing," sometimes grasping its meal in its talons then reaching down and munching on it while flying all the while. I ran into David Ellsworth, an avid birder also from San Pedro, who was capturing the action with a 20x-zoom video camera. And Pedra Furmall, an employee at the Garden, said the Kite's favorite tree for perching is a "She-Oak," native to Australia but also found in the southeastern US (thanks for the ID, Pedra! :o) ) So perhaps the Kite, who could possibly have been blown from its home back East by a strong wind, feels right "at home" with that tree... The South Coast Botanic Garden put up its own page of info and background on the Mississippi Kite, with photos taken by Pedra Furmall using a Nikon D50 and Tamron lens -- http://www.southcoastbotanicgarden.org/birderspage.html And on Friday there was a writeup on the Kite in the local newspaper, The Daily Breeze -- http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/7779916.html UPDATE Tuesday June 5 2007 -- I just received word from Ken Hamada, one of my friends who had watched the Kite with me for 9 hours on Sunday, that he had spent the better part of Monday afternoon at the Garden but saw no sign of the Kite. He checked its favorite She-Oak tree and its usual perch, and scanned the skies in the afternoon for its customary eating-on-the-fly acrobatics; nothing. Highly-unusual as this Kite has a "clockwork regularity" to it. This would make it the first time since I first spotted it on May 26 that it hasn't been seen. Only time will tell whether or not it's "flown the coop,"... UPDATE June 8, 2007 --- Apparently the bird has flown. There has been no sighting of it for the past 3 days. I sure am gonna miss Little Miss... :o(

Mississippi Kite in Los Angeles 2007

On May 26, 2007 I went to the South Coast Botanic Garden here in Los A ...

Updated: Jun 26, 2007 4:24am PST

Birds of Big Morongo,CA, 5/12-13 and 7/11-12, 2008 : One of the prime bird spots in Southern California, over 246 species have been found here, mostly during migration. For more info and maps check out the webpage maintained by Friends of Big Morongo Canyon Preserve http://www.bigmorongo.org/index.htm .

Birds of Big Morongo,CA, 5/12-13 and 7/11-12, 2008

One of the prime bird spots in Southern California, over 246 species h ...

Updated: Jul 22, 2008 8:49pm PST