Bolsa Chica Wetlands

Alpenglow Images — Wed, 21 Apr 2010 16:46:50 +0000

Although I don’t normally consider myself a bird photographer, or much of a bird photographer, I do enjoy getting out to our local wildlife areas now and then. Last week, I met Mac at Bolsa Chica Wetlands near Huntington Beach for an early morning, pre-work photo session. I work about 10 minutes from Bolsa Chica so its the perfect place to hit before work during the week. On weekends, you can expect to find several photographers on the bridge across the bay, all with more expensive glass than I can afford. But, during the week, you have the occasional walker or runner, but otherwise it is just you and the birds.

Pied-billed Grebe, April 2010

Ecologically, Bolsa Chica is very important. It provides a rich feeding ground for several migratory species of passerines and water birds. It also has several unvegetated islands that provide a safe breeding ground for the endangered California Least Tern. In a nearby eucalyptus grove you can find nesting Great Blue Herons, and multiple species of raptors are also common, including Red-tailed Hawks, Red-shouldered Hawks, American Kestrels, and Peregrine Falcons. You can also find the uncommon Belding’s Savannah Sparrow here.

Common Tern, April 2010

As the seasons pass, you have the opportunity to shoot many species here. Right now, several species of tern (Least, Common, Elegant, Forster’s, etc…) are beginning to get active near the bridge and with some luck you can get some good flight shots of these species (I quickly learned this is much easier said than done…see some results here and here). In winter, you can photograph Brown Pelicans in breeding plumage. Shorebirds like sandpipers and larger birds like egrets are present all year.

Common Egret, April 2010

In addition to birds, there is the opportunity to photograph wildflowers, sunrises/sunsets and various other fauna (rabbits, southern Pacific rattlesnakes) at the wetlands. With this in mind, if you’re in the area, its worth your while to stop and spend a few hours at Bolsa Chica Wetlands.

Sunrise over Bolsa Chica Wetlands, December 2009

A visit to Bolsa Chica wetlands

Alpenglow Images — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 17:00:19 +0000

The last two posts, I’ve shared sunrises from Bolsa Chica Bay and wetlands near Huntington Beach. Although I didn’t plan it this way, yesterday morning my friend Mark and I went out there to see if any birds were active. We arrived before dawn, and were able to photograph a pretty sunrise before walking out on the bridge to photograph passing birds. I think it has been just about a year since I’ve visited Bolsa Chica, and at least that long since I’ve made an outing to just photograph birds. It felt a little awkward, but good, to be “back in the saddle again.”

I’m still in the process of editing images, but here are a couple of my favorites from yesterday. The Kestrel was taken with Mark’s 800/5.6 + 2x converter; with the 1.6x crop factor on my 30D, that’s 2560 mm focal length! I don’t know if it will blow up for a big print, but I am happy to have been able to add a Kestrel to my portfolio.

American Kestrel, Falco sparverius, December 2009

Brown Pelican, Pelecanus occidentalis, December 2009

Alpenglow Images » bolsa chica

Bolsa Chica Wetlands

A visit to Bolsa Chica wetlands