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top 25 items viewed per day
Week reset Sunday, Month reset the 1st, Year reset 1/1 |
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(186 views)
This Capybara needs a good brushing.
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(185 views)
A capybara peeking coyly from behind its giant palm frond.
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(185 views)
Catching the afternoon sun, the master of the grasses rests in its domain.
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(184 views)
Sea Otters appeared to spend a great deal of their time grooming themselves. They use their bodies as tables, so have to keep food scraps washed off. While they clean, they also push and sometimes blow air bubbles into their fur. The extra air trapped in their fur contributes to their buoyancy and increases insulation.
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(183 views)
To our left as we exited the harbor and entered the slough, we saw an old pier covered with sea lions. We slowly motored past them. It was quite satisfying to be at their level and so close to them. I feel like I ended up with a family portrait instead of a wildlife photo.
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(183 views)
This is one otter trying to persuade another otter to share its meal. It wasn't very successful.
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(183 views)
For an unforgettable wildlife experience, I highly recommend the Elkhorn Slough Safari in Moss Landing. We saw over one hundred sea otters, almost eighty harbor seals and dozens of sea lions very up close and personal.
This photo shows a raft of about eighty sea otters. Raft is the official label for a bunch of otters hanging out together, looking like a raft.
In addition to sea mammals, I also photographed sixteen species of birds. The trip was two hours of wildlife bliss. There were a few . . . |
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(182 views)
It surprises me that a big bird like a Pelican can fly so effortlessly.
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(182 views)
I was able to get nice close-ups of the harbor seals because I used a telephoto lens. If the boat had come this close they would have been disturbed and swum away.
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(180 views)
Two Macaws preening one another. A very intimate, gentle moment in a birds' life.
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(179 views)
The otter balanced his "plate" on his stomach while enjoying that last little morsel.
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(179 views)
This photo shows a sea lion swimming in the late afternoon sunlight beneath the wharf in Santa Cruz. Lovely light on a lovely animal.
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(178 views)
Here is another otter grooming or maybe he is thinking "oh, not another boatload of paparazzi!"
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(178 views)
Here is an older otter, recognized by the light colored fur on its face. It is grooming itself after eating. Otters must have one of the cutest faces in the animal kingdom
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(178 views)
A lone individual popped up out of the water after a dive for food. We suspected he has a clam grasped in his paws. Otters love shellfish.
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(177 views)
Two Harbor Seal were of quite different fur colors but all the whiskers were blonde.
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(177 views)
This group shot of harbor seals illustrates their cuteness and wide variations in colors.
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(177 views)
This photo shows just part of a very large raft of otters we saw in the Elkhorn Slough. The older individuals had light faces, and such cute faces they were.
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(177 views)
A great egret at the edge of the bay looking for food. It is a very graceful bird whether walking or flying.
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(177 views)
A very pregnant Harbor Seal looking quite pleased with herself.
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(177 views)
A shell was almost the size of the otter's head, but was no match for its appetite.
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(177 views)
This bedraggled juvenile black-crowned night heron was perched on the dock near the boat we were going to use. I hoped it wasn't a harbinger of how our trip would turn out.
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(177 views)
I love the pattern of this seal's fur, but I would never entertain the idea of taking it away from her to use for myself.
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(177 views)
The Harbor Seal was very curious about us as we motored past, but not curious enough to actually move.
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(177 views)
The larger Great Egret was stalked by the smaller Snowy Egret.
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