Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline

Neighborhood Critters

January 24, 2016

I feel like I've been neglecting the neighborhood wildlife lately.  It's winter, I should be out collecting those local bird pictures.  I haven't been doing that.

I've been a little under the weather over the last week.  I figured if I wasn't up for a decent day trip I could at least get out and at least make up for a little lost local time.

So, let me introduce you to my neighbors.

Western Gull -- Oakland/Alameda Estuary, Alameda, CA

Bufflehead

I live a block from the Oakland/Alameda Estuary.  As you can imagine, we see a lot of seagulls.  I don't take a lot of pictures of seagulls, though.  They're too damned hard to identify.  I keep my out for easy ones.  Ring-billed gulls.  California gulls.  Western Gulls.  Adult gulls, no juveniles.  I've got no chance with juveniles.

Bufflehead -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Brush Rabbit

Rabbits and ground squirrels are common on the shoreline.  Brush rabbits can be found just about anywhere while black-tailed jackrabbits stick to a particular fenced-in are of the MLK Shoreline.  At night they seem to spread out across the entire fenced-in area, otherwise they tend to stick to the back corner.

Black-tailed Jackrabbit -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

What keeps the rabbit population in check?  Poachers, for one.  I've heard stories of shotgun shells being found in the rabbit corner and the population being decimated only to rebound in a few months.  I'm not sure if there's anything to those stories.  Northern harriers are commonly seen in the area, as is the occasional cooper's hawk.  I expect the main cap on the potential rabbit population growth is this particular red-tailed hawk shown in the picture below.  It's rare to visit the area near Arrowhead Marsh in the morning and not see this individual bird, and he/she has been there for at least three years.  I've even seen the bird eating a rabbit in a tree.

Red-tailed Hawk -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Greater White-fronted Goose

Canada geese are always around in winter.  Sometimes a few greater white-fronted geese will stop by as well.  Last year one had an injured foot and stayed for the entire winter.

Canada Goose -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Common Goldeneye

Shorebirds are plentiful on the shoreline.  Like gulls, I tend to avoid shooting shorebirds because they can be difficult to identify.  Some aren't difficult and some are even kind of exciting.  The shoreline is one of the few places one can find a ridgway's rail.  I didn't see any ridgway's rails on Sunday, but I saw a few sora's and even a couple of virginia rails.

Sora -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

My favorite inhabitants of the shoreline are the burrowing owls.  It takes a little luck to see one.  They're only around in winter and I've only seen them early in the morning.  They look like large potatoes with big yellow eyes.  They tend to hide behind the burrow mounds so I often can only see their heads.

Burrowing Owl -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Fort Point National Historic Site

January 17, 2016

I got a late start on Saturday, so I decided to keep my photo session close to home.  I considered heading to Marin but then decided if I went into the city I could keep shooting after the sun went down.

Fort Point National Historic Site, San Francisco, CA

The weather was a bit of a challenge.  It was was overcast, which I don't mind so much.  Better than a bright blue sky, if you ask me.  It was also raining off and on.  Never hard.  It felt a lot like Oregon, actually.  You may notice as you progress through these photos that they blurrier and marked by water spots on the lens.  I did what I could to keep things dry but it was a losing battle.

Fort Point National Historic Site, San Francisco, CA

For whatever reason, Fort Point is usually not open when I stop there.  Today it was.  It has regular hours, I guess.  It's a National Historic Site, meaning it's managed and maintained by the National Park Service.

Fort Point National Historic Site, San Francisco, CA

The fort is directly under the Golden Gate Bridge.  If you enjoys old movies you'll know that it has been used as a location in number of films, most notably Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo.  It's a pretty fun place to photograph.  There are so many lines, curves and textures, and of course you've got perhaps the most famous bridge in the world.  It's easy to understand why film makers would keep going back.

Fort Point National Historic Site, San Francisco, CA

Fort Point National Historic Site, San Francisco, CA

I stopped by the Palace of Fine Arts on my way home for some practice with long exposures.  At this point a light and steady rain ensured my lens was never dry or clear.  Most photos weren't worth keeping, but I found a few I liked in spite of some very obvious flaws.  This was also a location used in Vertigo, for what it's worth.

Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA

Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA

Yosemite National Park

January 2, 2016

Pongo and I spent Saturday afternoon in Yosemite Valley.  It was a cold, wet, overcast day.  The park was extremely crowded.  Still, it was a worthwhile trip in many regards.

Bridalveil Fall, Yosemite National Park, CA

The roads into the valley--even 120--were clear.  I suppose that at least partially explains the large crowd.  The fact that it's a holiday weekend is the other part of it, I'm sure.  Poor planning on my part to go on this particular weekend.  No planning, actually.  I was going to take Pongo camping at Pinnacles but thought we might give it a go at Yosemite instead.

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, CA

Clouds filled the sky for most of the day, but the sun cracked through here and there.  The crisp, cold air felt refreshing with only a slight bite to it.  If I had been alone I'd have stayed and camped out overnight.  It was too wet for Pongo, though.  With all the melting snow in the campgrounds he'd have had to stay in the car all evening.  We'd have slept in the car, but still it didn't seem like a good situation for him so we only stayed until nightfall.

Yosemite National Park, CA

Upper Yosemite Fall, Yosemite National Park, CA

The overcast skies paid off here and there.  I was able to take my best shots of Yosemite Falls yesterday.  The upper falls usually get washed out out in the bright light, but the muted light kept that from happening.  The water wasn't flowing high, but at least it was flowing.

Yosemite National Park, CA

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, CA

Half Dome, Yosemite National Park, CA

There are all pretty standard shots of the valley, at least for me.  It's not a large place and I tend to hit the same places.  I like these spots.

Yosemite National Park, CA

Soundtrack:

• Flatbed -- Like a Rocket
• Blondie -- Parallel Lines
• Neil Young -- After the Gold Rush / Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere