TRAVEL DIARIES
Behind the scenes - a window on my creative process
FLORIDA
NEW ORLEANS - DECEMBER 2023 - Less birds than usual around this time of year. A few snowys, great egrets and brown pelicans moving through the cold, overcast and sometimes drizzly landscape.
AROUND THE SANTA BARBARA NEIGHBORHOOD with Snowy Egrets - 2023
FLORIDA March 2023 - Traveled to my favorite birding spots in Florida. The Venice Florida Rookery, St. Augustine’s Alligator Farm and Merritt Island Wildlife Refuge. Morning coffee klatsch at the rookery.
RIO LARGATOS, YUCATAN. January 2023 - Traveling to Mexico is always a high point. The Flamingos at Rio did not disappoint. In the early morning, they take flight to find places where the food is plentiful.
The birds from left to right are Flamingos, White Pelican, Tiger Heron, Great Blue Morph, Green Heron and an Osprey
Muyil Lagoon, Sian Kaan Biosphere, Quintana Roo, Mexico - January 2023 images from iphone taken of the clear waters we traveled through the mangroves at Muyil south of Tulum city.
Time spent at home in Santa Barbara, sitting, waiting for the snowys to arrive at the Point Carrillo Walk by the Harbor. They fish in the waves. When done, they return to the trees nearby to feed their chicks.
PUAKO, HAWAII SUMMER 2022 Photographed the juvenile black-crowned night heron fishing, ever still and patiently waiting for a fish to swim by…. The last phototgraph is an adult - there is definitely a transformationt.
AT HOME IN SANTA BARBARA - When COVID keeps me from traveling I open my window and photograph the Allen’s Hummingbirds that sits on top of a branch, preen and call for his mate. His mate also arrive Notice that the female has a white throat that is sometimes marked with faint grey or buffy streaks, unlike the male’s flashing feathers under his throat. The titmouse and a blue jay come looking for a handout.
THE GOLETA SLOUGH, SANTA BARBARA, CA APRIL 2021 - Traveling during COVID has been rare. I live in Santa Barbara so I can easily visit the Goleta Slough to photograph birds. From left to right, black-necked stilts mating, a breeding double-crested cormorant with white tuftson the side of his head, a great blue heron in early morning light and a few great egrets (and a snowy) just hanging in the shallows.
KENYA JANUARY 2020. Richard’s River Camp, Wilderness Safari Camp in Laipaika and Sirikoi Lodge at Lewa Downs Conservancy.
We stopped because the Landcruiser broke down at The .Wilderness Camp. Great opportunity to walk around in Laikipia (north-east of the Great Rift Valley, and north-west of snow-capped Mount Kenya, the high plains of Laikipia)
Secretarybird, Richard’s Camp, Maasai Mara - One of the many images of Secretarybirds I photographed on this safari trip.
Secretarybirds ©2020
The final print created when I returned to my studio
Lilac-breasted roller at Sirikoi Lodge in Laipikia. One of the many images of lilac-breasted rollers I photographed on safari. I created the image to the right when I arrived back in my studio.
Lilac-breasted Rollers ©2020
BALI, INDONESIA December 2018 - A side trip to Petula Gunung Village, 5 km from Ubud to photograph as many of the thousands of Cattle Egrets who roost in the frangipani trees in the village. They breed during the winter months and become incredibly colorful!
SEMIAHMOO BAY, WASHINGTON STATE 2018 Bald Eagle in A Pine Tree - Traveling along , this majestic Bald Eagle (on the left) was perched on top of a pine tree searching for his primary food - fish. When he dives, he reaches speeds of 75 - 99 mph. His wing span is 5.9 - 7.5 feet (adult).
Bald Eagle Stare ©2019
MY BACKYARD AND BEYOND - SANTA BARBARA COUNTY 2017. I found my birders' paradise! The area is known for 496 bird species (including ones found on the islands).
RIO LAGARTOS MEXICO December 2016 The Biosphere Reserve on the Yucatan Peninsula offers the perfect opportunity to be among thousands of these beautiful flamingos. They spend much of their days wading in the warm low waters, so did I. I climbed out of the boat and anchored my tripod in the shallow estuary. The blue and pink sky, their bright pink bodies, long legs and and elegant s-shaped necks made for an incredible day. the hardest part was having to pack it up and go back to my studio. And, that is where I created Flamingos At Rio Lagartos ©2017.
Pearl-spotted owlet at Lebala Camp in Botswana’s Okavvango Delta
BOTSWANA, Lebala Camp - May 2016 - I just returned from a photo shoot in Botswana and South Africa. Wow! Another amazing adventure. The last afternoon at Botswana's Lebala Camp was another day spent searching aimlessly for a wild dog experience. Our tracker and driver were barreling down a dirt road headed back to camp, when I shouted STOP! STOP! And, there he was - a beautiful Pearl-Spotted Owlet. At only 7-1/2” tall, he’s a little one.
The moment and the light were perfect. He looked at me and I looked back at him, and this is the result.
Pearl-Spotted Owlet ©2016
Once I arrived back in my studio, the final composition began to take shape. The landscape of Botswana was photographed from our small plane on our way to Maun. The night sky was captured after everyone was asleep and offered an incredible look at the Milky Way. The combination of all of these elements, became the perfect environment for my new little friend.
BOTSWANA - LIitle Tubu Camp, OKAVANGO DELTA
With a guide, traveled by boat down a river lined with Malachite Kingfishers. They were happily sitting on branches, diving into the water to catch little fish, and flying about. They weren’t too happy about our being there, and would constantly fly off whenever we approached. After a while, we gave up and headed back to camp. It was then we spotted a single Malachite, barely 5” tall, quietly sitting on a reed. He wasn’t bothered by us at all and we sat with him for some time. At one point, the wind kicked up. His crested headdress caught the wind, and I caught the moment. Wow. What a great look.
Malachite Kingfisher ©2016
NEW ORLEANS, Bayou Sauvage National Wildlife Refuge 2015 across the Pontchartrain River to
NEW ORLEANS - 2015 MORE BIRDS! My travels took me to Lake St. Catherine area on the I-90 in New Orleans at the end of 2015. There were more snowy egrets fishing than I had ever seen. They were at the edge of the lake right next to the highway. Trucks would drive by at top speed. The birds didn't move nor care. Driving slow or stopping made them skittish and they would fly away. But if you waited patiently, they would come back to their same fishing spots.
Two Snowys ©2016
KAUAI August 2015 Night Calls and more!
On a recent trip to Kauai, I was photographing night shots at the Lighthouse on the North Shore when a bird came out of the sky and landed in front of me. And just as quickly, he vanished back into the night sky. Then came the sounds. Sounds that were amazing. It was the wedge-tailed shearwater and here is their sound.
night sky near the Kilauea Lighthouse in Kauai
wedge-tailed shearwater mating call at night
Wild Mating Feathers And Colors!
(Birds Play Dress-Up)
Cattle Egrets
Cattle egret beaks, lore and eye color explode during the short mating season around April and May (in Florida). Their feather displays are spectacular as well.
Great Egrets
Little Blue Herons
Snowy Egrets
Cattle Egrets Behaving Like Cattle Egrets
cattle egret with gecko
June 2014 - The US Government imported cattle egrets to Kauai in 1952 to solve the insect problem. Unfortunately, solving this problem created a much bigger one. Unlike other herons and egrets who eat fish, cattle egrets feed on insects, including the adorable and useful geckos and bird eggs. The government would like to declare open season on cattle egrets as well as barn owls. The barn owls are known to eat native baby Pueo and cattle egrets dominate habitats where endangered Ae'o or Hawaiian stilts live.
To the islanders the cattle egret is called the "gardener's bird". They follow the gardeners around in search of a quick meal. How well they have adapted to humans.
I photographed these images when the palm tree maintenance men came by to trim the trees. Down came the stunned Kauai anole lizard, down came the gecko and in flew the cattle egrets to scoop them up.
cattle egret with Kauai anole lizard
BOSQUE DEL APACHE, NEW MEXICO December, 2010 - is the spot for migration of the canada geese and sandhill cranes. Most photographers go there in the cold of winter for the "blast off". When the sun rises, all the geese fly off at once.
