This last Sunday, I headed down to Reynolds Landing to do some birding and maybe capture some images. Soon after arriving, I found several groups of Hooded Mergansers in the river. At this time of year, the sun was getting low in the sky, so the colors reflected in the water was spectacular. This was a fun group of mergansers that kept me occupied.
Hooded Merganser Group, Reynolds Landing.
These mergansers have crests or hoods. The females have brown plumage, as shown below.
Female Hooded Merganser, Reynolds Landing.
While observing the mergansers, they dip into the water looking for food. I was fortunate to see this female surface with a huge crawdad in her bill. What luck!
Female Hooded Merganser, With Crawdad, No 1.
I made a few images of this bird. Here is another image. Yes, she did swallow the crawdad whole, but that was after I finished shooting a burst of images.
Female Hooded Merganser, With Crawdad, No 2.
This little merganser must have got quite wet dipping into the water to catch that huge crawdad. In this image, she was exercising her wings to shake of the water. Probably also to show off to the other ducks too!
Female Hooded Merganser Exercising Wings.
I also managed to capture a male merganser exercising his wings too. Perhaps he is trying to attract the female who did a great job of catching the crawdad!
Male Merganser Exercising Wings.
Later in the afternoon, I headed south near C-470. At this time, the sun was very low in the sky, about 30 minutes before sunset. Another female merganser made her way close to my location. The low sun was reflecting off the surface waves, lighting up her head.
Female Hooded Merganser, Catching Reflections.
That is all for the mergansers. The next post will have the remaining ducks that I encountered. It was really fun to see the mergansers catch their food and exercise their wings.
After packing up the test at the camp site, I headed out of Death Valley to Las Vegas and then on to Hurricane. Zion National Park is a few miles east of Hurricane, so I managed to spend a couple of hours in the late afternoon. The Watchman is one feature at the entrance to the park, and was still lit by the setting sun. So I headed up to a location where there is a decent foreground to make this location.
The Watchman, Zion, 2021.
Zion had also received that same weather system from the west coast, as evidenced by the snow above. By the time I arrived, the snow had melted, so when I got back to the truck… time to clean boots again!
The next morning, I headed towards Moab along state roads 12 and 24 through Utah. Near Henrieville, I pulled off near the mesa to make this image of the cliffs against the clear blue sky.
Mesa Near Henrieville.
The route back to Moab passes through the Capitol Reef National Park near Torrey. So I spent a couple of hours there. In this image the sandstone cliffs stood out against a blue sky. By this time, there were a couple of thin wispy clouds above the cliffs that I included in the image.
Capitol Reef, No 1.
At the entrance to the park, I stopped by the Fremont River. After walking down to the river, a couple of deer crossed in front of me. This deer stopped to see what I was up to!
Deer, Fremont River.
As the sun moved lower through the sky, the cliff and canyon walls reflected in the river, creating these spectacular orange/brown reflections in the water.
Canyon Reflections, Fremont River.
The road leaving the park passes through Cathedral Valley near the town of Caineville. I stopped to make this image of the valley cliffs, lit by the last rays of the setting sun.
Cathedral Valley Sunset, Caineville.
A few miles later, the full moon rose above the road, but I continued on to Moab for the last night before returning home.
Continuing with my recent trip to California in December… Leaving Monterey, I headed to Salinas and then to Paso Robles along Highway 101. While driving, I noticed that the coastal range was covered with snow from the previous night’s storm. From here, I made my way east to Highway 99 and down to Bakersfield. Much of the journey was under overcast skies.
The next morning, I made my way towards Lake Isabella. Highway closed due to snow. So I headed south and joined Highway 58 to Techachapi. After a few miles, I encountered line of semi’s several miles long in both lanes. Eventually, I managed to leave the highway, returning to Bakersfield to join 99 and later I-5. This was an alternate route to Ridgecrest, via Lancaster.
I could now continue towards Death Valley. Along the route are the Trona Pinnacles. Here I stopped to capture in this image.
Trona Pinnacles.
These are remnants of ancient tufas that once formed below a lake in the Panamint Valley.
Pinnacle And Grass.
Eventually, I got to Death Valley via the western entrance at Town Pass. There was low cloud down to ground level and a few inches of snow over the summit; this was the result of the same storm that had visited Monterey and the Salinas Valley the previous day. Several roads in Death Valley were being cleared of mud that had been washed down by the rain. Several campsites at Furnace Creek were under water. Fortunately, the one I had reserved was not affected. There must have been several cancellations or abandoned plans, as many previously reserved sites were now vacant.
The next day, I visited several familiar areas. The playa, which always seems to have water during the winter, was very muddy!
Playa, Death Valley, No 1.
But worth cleaning muddy boots later!
Playa, Death Valley, No 2.
During the afternoon, I made my way to Artist’s Palette. The low clouds had been hanging over Telescope Peak and the Panamint mountain range for much of the day. However, the backlit mountains and clouds made for some spectacular stormy scenes.
Afternoon Storm, Death Valley.
I made several stops along Artist’s Drive, making images of the colorful rock formations that give Artist’s Palette its’ name.
Artist’s Palette, Death Valley, No 1.
There was even a couple having their wedding photo session taken along the route.
Artist’s Palette, Death Valley, No 2.
This is the final image before the sun set over the Panamint mountain range for the day.
Artist’s Palette, Death Valley, No 3.
The next morning, I was up early to view the sunrise over the valley. Over the past few years, I have visited this area several times; every visit presents remarkably different scenery.
Playa Salt Crust, Death Valley.
This year, the surface was covered with tall encrusted salt ridges — much different to my first visit.
I spent the next morning exploring Joshua Tree National Park. After entering the park, the sunrise was fabulous. However, this was short-lived. Soon it became overcast as a Pacific storm moved in. I entered the park through a north entrance and exited through the southern entrance. There is a marked change in the landscape as the Mohave Desert transitions to the Sonoran Desert.
After leaving Joshua Tree National Park, I headed along I-10 to Palm Springs and on towards the Los Angeles area in the pouring rain. Eventually, when I reached Camarillo, where I stayed, the clouds had cleared. Later I met up with our daughter in Ventura. The next day, after she finished work, we headed to the Emma Wood beach, close to Ventura. We walked along the beach and later watched the sunset over the ocean.
Walking The Dog, Ventura Sunset.
After leaving Ventura, I headed north along highway 101, where I stopped at several locations; finally reaching King City. After checking in to the hotel, I headed towards the coastal range that I had briefly explored a couple of years ago. Autumn comes much later than inland areas, so the oak trees were still in their fall colors.
Oak Fall Colors, Coastal Range.
I had planned to spend a couple of days in the Monterey area. From King City, I headed to Point Lobos, where I spent the rest of the day in overcast conditions. This was great for making images of various rock formations along the coast.
Point Lobos Patterns, No 1.
This is one of the interesting images of natural rock features. This was made along “Weston Beach”, named after that great early 19th century photographer, Edward Weston.
Point Lobos Patterns, No 2.
There a was a big Pacific weather system that was forecast to make landfall in the coming days. The waves started increasing in size and became more aggressive.
Point Lobos Sea Spray, No 1.
I made several images over a couple of hours, attempting to catch spray as the waves struck the rocks along the shoreline.
Point Lobos Sea Spray, No 2.
This image is one of the more successful images, that shows the white spray with the translucent blue of the ocean waves.
Point Lobos Sea Spray, No 3.
Much of the California coast has towers of kelp growing offshore below the waves. This provides an ecosystem that supports marine sea life. Occasionally, kelp is washed ashore. I found this kelp trunk among the rocks.
Kelp Trunk, Point Lobos.
Point Lobos is one of two locations along the coast where there are groves of cypress trees. I made this image the shows the edge of the cypress grove along the cliffs.
Cypress Grove And Sea, Point Lobos.
Soon after leaving Point Lobos, the weather system arrived dumping rain and snow for a couple of days.
A few weeks ago, I made a trip to California to meet up with our daughter. The first day, I headed out along I-70 to reach Richfield, UT. This route crosses the San Rafael Swell, where there is some spectacular scenery. I made this image at one of the Rest Areas along the route.
San Rafael Swell Sunset.
The next day, I left early in the morning to head to Yucca Valley, CA. This city is located adjacent to the Joshua Tree National Park. After checking into the hotel, I headed into the park just before sunset. This image shows some of the typical plants that may be found among the granite hills. We can see Cholla, Yucca and Joshua Trees.
Cholla Sunset, Joshua Tree National Park.
As the sun set lower in the sky, the spines on the Cholla light up to outline the limbs of the plant. I chose a monochrome black and white rendition for this image.
Cholla Spines, Backlit.
Here is another image that shows some more of this landscape before the sun set.
Sunset, Joshua Tree National Park.
Along the park road, I found a large Joshua Tree at the roadside. In this image, I composed a silhouette of the tree, with the sun behind the tree’s trunk.
Joshua Tree At Sunset.
In this image, the sun had just set, but continued to light up some of the distant hills. I found a Yucca and nearby Joshua Tree to complete the composition.
Yucca And Joshua Tree, After Sunset.
In the above area of the park, there were grass fires that occurred several years ago. Perhaps, that contributed to the dead trunk of the Yucca?
Continuing with our trip to National Wildlife Refuge at Bosque Del Apache, we arrived at the Flight Deck ponds at sunrise. The Sandhill Cranes and Snow Geese were leaving the safety of the ponds to find their daily feeding grounds. I managed to capture these three snow geese as they flew out for the day.
Snow Geese Leaving For The Day.
These five Sandhill Cranes were preparing to leave the pond. They had adopted the typical pose before they take flight.
Sandhill Cranes About To Take Flight.
Here is another crane considering taking flight. In the meantime, the crane in the background had just headed out.
I Am Leaving.
The fall colors were late arriving in the refuge. I could not help but make some images of the autumn leaves.
Fall Colors, Bosque Del Apache.
Later in the morning we were looking out for a Northern Harrier that we had spotted. I made another image showing the fall colors.
Fall Colors, Bosque Del Apache, No 2.
That afternoon, we found a Northern Harrier hunting for small critters in the grass. These raptors fly a few feet above the ground and have highly maneuverable and unpredictable flight paths. We spent an hour or so, watching this harrier work the field.
Western Harrier Hunting, Bosque Del Apache.
We also found a Red-Tailed Hawk that had just attempted to catch a wild turkey without success. I made this image as it was perched and watching the flock of turkeys walking past.
Red-Tailed Hawk, Bosque Del Apache.
Around sunset, we headed to the pond by the Flight Deck. The moon was close to being full. I made this image of the reflection of the moon in the pond.
Moon, Reflected In Pond.
We enjoyed the short visit to Bosque Del Apache, and returned home the next morning.
Last month we visited the National Wildlife Refuge at Bosque Del Apache. We arrived in Socorro late in the afternoon. After checking in, we managed to get to Bosque with plenty of time before sunset, where we spent all the time close to the Flight Deck. The Sandhill Cranes were starting to arrive to spend the night in the safety of the ponds. I capture this crane as it gliding in to the ponds.
Sandhill Crane, Gliding To The Pond.
As the sun began to set, the sky lit up in pink. Here, I captured an image of one tree against a backdrop of the pink sky, that was reflected in the pond.
Tree Reflection At Sunset.
Grasses growing in the pond were silhouetted by the sunset.
Grasses In The Pond At Sunset.
The following morning, we headed back to the Flight Deck for sunrise. Then we spent a couple of hours in the refuge before heading for breakfast. We found this Great Blue Heron standing on one leg by the irrigation ditch.
Great Blue Heron, Bosque Del Apache.
Later that afternoon, we explored some other areas of the refuge. We were lucky to spot a Road Runner crossing the road ahead of us.
Road Runner, Bosque Del Apache.
Finally, I made this image at sunset, with the skies reflected from the pond at the Flight Deck.
We have been enjoying a fabulous fall in the Denver metro area. At the end of the day, I either talk a walk through the neighborhood, or a bike ride along the Platte River. During a walk, I took a different route where a path crosses a ditch. There are several Sumac bushes growing in this area, with bright red leaves.
Sumac Fall Colors.
Close to Halloween, there are many seasonal decorations in front yards. Here are group of smiling lighted pumpkins.
Halloween Pumpkins, 2021.
While walking next to Kunming Park, I noticed these pastel colored leaves that had fallen from various different trees. The range of colors in these leaves is absolutely amazing!
Pastel Fall Colors, Kunming Park.
On another day, I found some more Sumac.
Sumac Fall Colors, No 2.
The late afternoon sun created a spectacular backlight for the red leaves.
Backlit Sumac Fall Colors.
That evening, there were some really interesting clouds in the evening sky. We were treated to another spectacular sunset.
Fall Sunset, Harvard Gulch.
Returning from a bike ride, I crossed the Platte River as the sun was setting. I could not resist making this image from the middle of the bridge.
Platte River Fall Sunset.
Close to Halloween is the “Day Of The Dead” celebration. So here is a fun image of decorations in the front yard.
Day Of The Dead Decorations, 2021.
We planted several Clematis plants in our backyard. This year they grew to cover much of the fence. Several plants had flowered to create seeds. Last weekend, I spent a couple of hours in the yard making macros images of the wispy seeds.
Clematis Seed Strands.
The flowers create a cluster of seeds. Each seed has a long wispy tail. This helps to disperse seeds when a string wind blows.
