Despite the rough surf and rocks of Panalu’u Bay, Hawaii the beach is frequented by Green Sea Turtles. These two were taking a well deserved rest on the black sand after braving the conditions to make it to the beach.
Tag Archives: beach
Just Above The Waves
I love watching pelicans glide effortlessly over the ocean. They hang in the air, sometimes just inches off the water, bobbing up and down with the passing waves.
Grackle In The Surf
This Grackle seems to have learned a few things from the Sanderlings on North Carolina’s Outer Banks. It waited for the waves to bring tiny mollusks and crustaceans into the shore and then tried to catch them before they dug into the sand. I captured this image just as the Grackle realized the wave was a little too big.
Snowy Egret Walking Through Shallow Water
This Snowy Egret heads back to shore after fishing in the shallow Gulf Coast waters. There’s some speculation those bright yellow feet may actually help the Snowy Egret catch fish off guard.
These birds were once prized for their beautiful plumage and the fashion industry hunted them to the to the brink of extinction in the late 19th century. They’ve made a wonderful comeback and are fairly common now.
Landing Pelican
I tracked this Brown Pelican in my camera as it came soaring in from the Gulf Of Mexico. As luck would have it the pelican decided to land on the beach just in front of me. There’s no substitute for being in the right place at the right time.
Hovering Forster’s Tern
Forster’s Terns soar above the water hunting for their prey. When they see a potential target they hover briefly to take a closer look. One they’ve decided to pursue their target they dive, nearly straight down, and splash into the water to make the catch. This one was eyeing a possible meal above the Gulf Coast of Florida.
Resting Willets
Willets are pretty common along the beaches of the southeastern United States, at least during the winter months. I sat on a Gulf Coast beach in Florida and watched a fairly large flock resting well above the water line. The pictures I took of the larger group didn’t really do much for me. They were simply too busy. This smaller group of three made for a much cleaner composition.
Snowy Egret and Sandal
When I first saw this Snowy Egret it was at the edge of the water and I was walking along the beach. As I approached it flew around a bend before I could snap a single picture of it. I snuck around some vegetation and took a few photographs of it wading just off the beach. Fully expecting it to fly away at any second, I remembered a tip I once heard about photographing shorebirds. Sometimes they seem to be less concerned if you’re actually in the water with them. So I slowly began wading out into the water and the egret didn’t even seem to notice me.
The same bird that took flight when I approached it from land actually began coming towards me while I stood in the water with it. I was still wading when it decided to head back to the beach, probably no more than…
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Juvenile Laughing Gull
This juvenile Laughing Gull was investigating a tidal pool on the beach at Corolla, NC while I was there last summer. I had a little trouble identifying it until it finally occurred to me that it might not be an adult.
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