Photographed this beautiful Willet at Scripps Beach in La Jolla. One of my goals was to photograph a Willet with his wings spread because they have such a beautiful pattern in flight. I did get to see them displaying their flight feathers but sadly my shots did not turn out well. This was my best Willet portrait.

Our annual Willet in Vancouver never came back so it was so nice to see so many Willets in San Diego.

This photo was taken during Tim Boyer's San Diego Workshop for Birds.

www.timboyerphotography.com/workshops/

Tags:   EXPLORED EXPLORE Willet San Diego California USA CA La Jolla Scripps Pier Scripps Beach Shorebird Tringa semipalmata Tim Boyer Photographic Workshop seaweed

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This is the reason we went to the Channel Islands and boy was it a trip of a lifetime we found this lifer there. This bird is not found anywhere else in the world except for this one Island (Santa Cruz). It is located in the Channel Islands and only accessed by boat from Ventura California. We saw Black-vented Shearwaters (Lifer!), Bottlenose dolphins and Gray Whales on the way there and on the island we saw several subspecies only found on Santa Cruz Island including the Allen's Hummingbird and Rufous-crowned Sparrow and Channel Island Fox and many Acorn Woodpeckers. We saw about 15 of these Island Scrub-Jays and many of them were vocal as they stole acorns from the Acorn woodpeckers. We located most of them on the Canyon trail on Nature Conservancy land accessed from Prisoners Island.

Tags:   Aphelocoma insularis Island Scrub-Jay Channel Islands Santa Cruz Island endemic species RARE Island packers Nature Conservancy Land Canyon Trail

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We were really lucky to see this little endangered Island Fox in the Channel Islands. We were on Nature Conservancy land on Santa Cruz Island when we spotted this elusive species. He was foraging for grubs and insects. He is the size of a small toy dog or cat. They are only found on 8 of the Channel Islands n California and no where else in the world. The subspecies we saw is only found on Santa Cruz Island and called The Santa Cruz island fox. Their latin name is: Urocyon littoralis santacruzae .

This fox is the smallest fox in North America. They weigh between 2.2 and 6.2 lb and the head-and-body length is 18–20 inches and the shoulder height 4–6 inches.
The fox became endangered when feral pigs were brought to the islands and Golden Eagles came in to eat the piglets and in turn started to predate the little foxes. Feral pigs have now been completely removed from the islands and Golden Eagles are being trapped and relocated to Northern California and Bald Eagles are being brought in to take over territory. These efforts have helped improve the Channel Islands Fox Population incredibly.
The island fox eats fruits, insects, birds, eggs, crabs, lizards, and small mammals, including deer mice.

Tags:   Channel Islands Fox Santa Cruz Fox California Santa Cruz Island Smallest fox in North America magic engangered USA Urocyon littoralis santacruzae island fox RARE

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Not easy to get close to these birds in Vancouver! Their eyes and feather detail are quite striking. This photo was taken right above three sitting Brown Boobies above the La Jolla Caves and Cliffs in San Diego, CA during Tim Boyer's Photography Workshop.
www.timboyerphotography.com/workshops/

Tags:   La Jolla Phalacrocorax penicillatus Brandt's Cormorant Cave Store La Jolla Cliffs San Diego California USA breeding plumage Tim Boyer Photography workshop

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Almost all of the Brown Pelicans we saw (and we saw both White and Brown Pelicans) were in Breeding plumage. I just loved seeing their bright breeding colours and their funny neck rolls which of course I never did catch on camera! They are such unique interesting and beautiful birds. These were taken at the La Jolla Cliffs in San Diego. There were also 3 Brown Boobies here, many Breeding Brandt's and Double-crested Cormorants, nursing sea lions and Heermann's and Western Gulls.

This photo was taken during Tim Boyer's Photography workshop www.timboyerphotography.com/workshops/

Tags:   La Jolla La Jolla Cove La Jolla Cliffs Brown Pelicans breeding plumage breeding neck rolls mating Tim Boyer Photography workshop season Pelecanus occidentalis

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