Wow what a day I had yesterday! Trying to beat the New Years weekend crowds I decided to get an early start and walk the Tomales Point trail. I have to admit all the food and celebrations of the last couple of months inspired me to maybe burn a few calories on this 10 or so mile hike. Before even getting to the parking area I had already seen plenty of wildlife including a bobcat, elk, ravens and assorted birds. Now it all really began when I got to the the trail head and I ran straight into my first raptor. It was a female Northern Harrier Hawk. I’ve seen these in many places including the marshes of Louisiana but nothing compares to seeing these raptors hunting low and fast over the coastal scrub of the Point Reyes coastline. They zip and dart low over the terrain trying to flush small prey animals out of the brush. Once food is spotted they strike with deadly accuracy. Of course when I pointed my camera in her direction she was off like a rocket. Challenge accepted and that was the start of an amazing birding day. If it was flying around Point Reyes yesterday I probably seen it and attempted to take a photo. Besides Harriers the species went like this Meadowlarks, Merlin, Kestrels, Red Tail Hawks, Bluebirds, Burrowing Owls, Ferruginous Hawk, Vultures and more assorted birds. Sometimes I don’t even know what they are until I look them up! Now contrary to many peoples belief that just because you have a DSLR camera (Digital single-lens reflex camera)and a big glass lens, not all your photos will be good ones. Really it is not easy to catch the right light, the right moment and the precise composition timing you need to make a awesome photo. Most photos turn out to be mediocre documenting type snaps that may still get oohs and ahhs from friends but leave me thinking what I could have done better. A stick or blade of grass in front of a animal or bird may not be noticed by some folks but it will generally bug the hell out of a wildlife photographer. Lets not even talk about the photos where you miss the exposure triangle (I can recommend these books) and you end up with a blurry “artistic” shot…..
Anyway on my drive out of the parking lot hallway up the hill there it was a male Northern Harrier Hawk that had just landed on a perfect perch. These birds are somewhat spooky in my experience and I just stopped right on the road until I could figure out how to setup. The sun was right behind me lighting his face. Their faces do look some what like an owl and I watched as he settled down and started preening. What a show he put on preening all his feathers with his beak interspursed with a karate/thai chi like stretching routine that kept me in awe. Did I get good photos? Yes. Did I get amazing photos? Well lets say I got some that I’m really happy with and a couple I just really like. Mainly because I was there and it reminds me of the moment. That is wildlife photography for me in a nutshell. Its living the moment, recording the moment and sharing that with those that cannot or did not see it. The image below is one of those moments that I feel is given a bit of life by the outstretched leg and wing. I’ve also added the last photo taken that day as a tribute to the photographers, wildlife lovers and supporters that became our friends during 2016. The sun has set on this year and now we soar into 2017!
Cheers
Randall Bryett
