They're back :-)

Steve Cavigliano

Hello All,

It's been awhile since I posted any bird pics. I was up the peninsula shooting some buildings and as I was coming home I noticed some large white birds landing in the wetlands to the East. So I cut across 3 lanes of traffic (Hey!! I'm drivin' here :lol3 ) and got off at San Antonio Rd. This is the exit just before (or after depending on the direction you are traveling) the famous Baylands exit There's some parking and lots of trails at the end of the road. I attached the Bigma and went hunting for what I thought were White Pelicans. After seeing lots of juvenile herons/egrets around the marshes I found what I was looking for. Oddles of them.



As I stood there watching them, groups were taking off and landing so I was able to get some decent BIF's too :clap The lighting was tough (mid-day) but the shots came out OK, I think :dunno



Just thought I'd share figuring that some of the other Bay Area birders might want to get up there to shoot these guys before they're gone again.

Comments, criticisms always welcome :thumb

Steve

bfjr

Excellent work Steve
Happy to see shootin them birdies again, but ya never really stopped did you ??

Peli BIF outstanding

wholenewlight

Boy, the second shot is great .


I think pelicans are pretty amazing birds. I was boating with a friend in Utah this spring and we couldn't figure out what the large objects were, floating on the water in the distance. Later we got closer - Pelicans!

Andy

llove them! white pelicans are da bomb. nice work, steve

bochie

The pelican in flight is amazing.
I'm still trying to catch my first bird in flight. It shouldn't be long until the ducks & birdie migrating to AZ.

Harryb

The pelican BIF is outstanding Steve. Good to see your pics back here.

Dee

Yes, I appreciate the sighting
Rayna and I had to go to Palo Alto Fry's to return something that didn't seem to work on her computer, and I told her we had to go see the white pelicans.

We were both excited, because previously we'd only see them through a fence on the Hayward side of the San Mateo bridge at 70 mph!

What a feast of pelicans! And the other birds too -- and I got my very first dragonfly!!!! I was so excited, but it was so HOT... we're planning to go again, this time with the movie camera.

Thanks, you're the best... and that BIF -- to die for!

Osprey Whisperer

Cool beans!!! Great BIF capture. Love those white pelicans. Wish they would come visit us here on the Gulf coast of Florida. Same old browns all the time.

**looks for a large can of white spray paint** :

Well done.

BMP

jwear

that bif is as good as they get .great shot Steve

traunerk

Steve...

The second shot (below) is really terrific! How did you adjust exposure for the bright light?

Regards...Keith




Just thought I'd share figuring that some of the other Bay Area birders might want to get up there to shoot these guys before they're gone again.

Comments, criticisms always welcome

Steve[/QUOTE]

Steve Cavigliano

bfjr wrote:

Excellent work Steve
Happy to see shootin them birdies again, but ya never really stopped did you ??

Peli BIF outstanding

Thanks Ben

Yep, you know me too well I've been shooting buildings, but some of them happen to border on wetlands. So yeah, I've been sneaking a few bird shots in here and there...lol

Thanks for looking,
Steve

Steve Cavigliano

wholenewlight wrote:

Boy, the second shot is great .


I think pelicans are pretty amazing birds. I was boating with a friend in Utah this spring and we couldn't figure out what the large objects were, floating on the water in the distance. Later we got closer - Pelicans!

Thanks John

I agree that pelicans are a blast to see and shoot. Usually we get lots of the brown ones by the ocean. They aren't as beautiful, but when they fold their wings and dive after a fish it makes for a really kewl shot These white ones were feeding in the Bay and resting in the marshes, so no action shots

If you get a chance to shoot some, you should try to take advantage. They are large enough so you don't have to get too close and their antics are usually funny to watch

Thanks for your comments,
Steve

ginger_55

Fantastic shots of a beautiful bird, Steve.

I am sorry, I have not been monitoring and responding as much as I would like, and I hadn't seen this until now. Am glad I didn't miss it. Am going out of town, oh, hum. Have to get ready, but I did want to say.

Nice shooting!

ginger

Steve Cavigliano

andy wrote:

llove them! white pelicans are da bomb. nice work, steve

Thanks Andy

I would have rather shoot these guys later in the day, but once you see them you better shoot them. Because they could be gone by evening

Loved your golf pics, even though I didn't have time to leave a comment

See ya next month,
Steve

Steve Cavigliano

bochie wrote:

The pelican in flight is amazing.
I'm still trying to catch my first bird in flight. It shouldn't be long until the ducks & birdie migrating to AZ.

Thanks Bochie

BIF's are tough to nail when you first try, but once you put in enough practice it gets much easier FWIW, you can practice on those pretty roadrunners you guys have. Even though they aren't flying, panning and tracking them on the ground is great experience to gather prior to doing the same with BIFs :

Thanks for the comments and good luck with your future BIFs,
Steve

Steve Cavigliano

Harryb wrote:

The pelican BIF is outstanding Steve. Good to see your pics back here.

Thanks Harry

I pray you're almost physically ready to get back out to the wetlands Although you probably have so many really good pics on your drive, you could post new pics for a year without leaving your PC....

J/K buddy, and I hope everything is going OK for you and Linda


Thanks for the comments,
Steve

Steve Cavigliano

Dee wrote:

Rayna and I had to go to Palo Alto Fry's to return something that didn't seem to work on her computer, and I told her we had to go see the white pelicans.

We were both excited, because previously we'd only see them through a fence on the Hayward side of the San Mateo bridge at 70 mph!

What a feast of pelicans! And the other birds too -- and I got my very first dragonfly!!!! I was so excited, but it was so HOT... we're planning to go again, this time with the movie camera.

Thanks, you're the best... and that BIF -- to die for!

Thanks Dee

Glad they were still there for you and Rayna. Plus you guys got dragonflies too Sony never sent me my dragonfly :cry .....lol I hope it wasn't too hot for you. It was a relatively mild day (low 80's versus 90's :uhoh ) It would be best to shoot this place early or late, but the traffic is horrible at those times

I checked out your shots and will comment in that thread. I was happy to be able to turn a fellow Dgrinner on to a good shooting spot : I look forward to your next set of shots from this locale


Steve

Seamus

The bif is excellent Steve.


Shay.

Steve Cavigliano

Bird Man Photographer wrote:

Cool beans!!! Great BIF capture. Love those white pelicans. Wish they would come visit us here on the Gulf coast of Florida. Same old browns all the time.

**looks for a large can of white spray paint** :

Well done.

BMP

BMP and thanks

I feel so sorry for you guys NOT.....lol Maybe there are no white pelicans there, but you do have wood storks, flamingos, cranes, tri-colored herons and cattle egrets just to name a few excellent bird subjects that most of us never get to see outside of a zoo I'll trade ya a few white pelicans for a cattle egret?

Thanks for taking the time to look and comment,
Steve