Around Loreto

I'm way behind on processing and posting photos. When I don't travel I take about 10,000 photos a year. This trip I've already taken over 5,000. Here are a few random shots from around Loreto.

There were decorations for the 325 year anniversary of Loreto.

We had some nice sunsets and a full moon.

I always like the Sally Lightfoot crabs. In BC most of the crabs are under water or hiding under rocks. These ones are often visible out on the rocks. The adults are bright orange/red, whereas the juveniles are mostly black. For some reason I didn't seem many adults around town.

We had a few tiny Asian House Gecko's around where we were staying. (They come out at night to hunt insects.)

A few more bird photos since my bird post.

I got a few more photos from the plane leaving Loreto. Here's the harbor from the air. That's where a lot of the bird photos were taken.

Coronado Island, the closest island to Loreto and where we did a lot of our diving. The sea lions are on the main point on the right hand side.

Loreto Birds

Probably the most common birds around Loreto are the Brown Pelicans.

They are quite plain this time of year, but more colorful during spring breeding season.

The cormorants hang out with the pelicans around the docks.

There's almost always at least one Snowy Egret around the harbor.

And often a Great Egret too.

I tend to think of gulls as ubiquitous, but I think this is a Yellow-footed Gull which is only found around Baja.

And I think this is a Heermann's Gull (juvenile) which is endangered.

Blue-footed Boobies also hang around the harbor. I think this is an adult and two juveniles.

One day we spotted a Green Heron, but it was quite skittish and I had a hard time getting close enough for a decent photo.

The sandpipers are also very skittish. I would have liked my long lens for them (which was, of course, back in our room).

On dry land there are White-winged and Common Ground Doves.

Gila Woodpeckers are also quite common, but you tend to hear them more than you see them because they hide in the tops of the palm trees.

And up in the sky there are usually Turkey Vultures and Magnificent Frigatebirds. We also saw some Osprey circling above.

There are also some smaller birds like House Sparrows and House Finches. And I think I even spotted some parakeets (not native).

From the Air

We ended our driving in Los Angeles and flew to Loreto, Baja. We have driven down Baja before but it's a long way and perhaps not always the safest. Shelley is good about letting me have a window seat on the plane, even though that often means she gets a middle seat.

A lot of the way was cloudy, but it cleared up over Baja and I got a few interesting photos. Unfortunately, as usual, the window wasn't very clear.

I find it interesting that such dry countryside still shows a lot of signs of being shaped by flowing water.

In these ones, the sand itself looks like water filling the valleys.

The sea is so blue from the air. And the past volcanic activity is quite obvious in places.

A small island, alone under the clouds, with the mainland barely visible behind.

Waiting for the Birds

After I got back from a run in Santa Barbara, I sat in the back yard of De La Vina Inn where we were staying. There was a fountain, and multiple birds came. After my shower, Shelley wasn't back from CrossFit so I got my big lens and went back to take photos of the birds. Of course, once I had my camera, the birds all stayed away. Finally, after about 30 minutes of waiting quietly, an Anna's hummingbird showed up to have a drink and take a bath. I had about a minute to take photos, and then Shelley arrived and the hummingbird left. Some of the shots that didn't turn out were actually quite funny - the hummingbird would put his whole head in the water at times.

I stayed a bit longer, but the hummingbird I'd photographed was territorial and chased away any others that showed up.

Santa Barbara Botanic Gardens

Another favorite spot in Santa Barbara is the Botanic Gardens. It was a warm day and there were quite a few lizards around. I think they are Western Fence lizards. If I hadn't seen this one move I never would have spotted it. Even when I pointed it out Shelley couldn't see it. (It's easier to spot in the photo.)

This butterfly (Gray Buckeye) was much more colorful when its wings were open, but whenever it landed it closed them.

I'd been seeing what I thought were Acorn Woodpeckers as we were driving through California, but this was the first one that I managed to get a half decent photo of. They are interesting birds - cooperative breeders in groups of about a dozen, laying eggs in the same nest. They also have granary trees where the drill holes and stash acorns (hence the name).

This curious squirrel showed up while we were photographing the woodpecker.

There were other smaller birds around, but this was the only one I managed to photograph. I was surprised to look it up and find it's a Western Bluebird (I think). There's not much blue, but that's because it's a female.

Santa Barbara Zoo

I always enjoy stopping at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

Tawny Frogmouths are an Austrailian bird, a bit like an owl.

I have mixed feelings about zoos, especially when it comes to animals like the big cats. It is such a limited life compared to being wild. Even a big enclosure is still an enclosure. Most aquariums don't have orcas any more, maybe zoos shouldn't have big cats.

I wonder why zoos choose to have exotic animals when there are native ones that would be just as interesting. For example, why Asian river otters instead of North American river otters? Or why Chilean flamingos instead of American flamingos?

Unfortunately, since our last visit the elderly elephants died. Their space has been taken over by kangaroos and an emu (which hid in the bushes). The nice part was that you could go inside the enclosure (like a walk through aviary) which was great for taking photos.

The rescued Channel Foxes were also new, and very cute.

Santa Barbara Zoo was involved in the recovery of California Condors. In 1987 the last few wild condors were captured for breeding. Since then condors have been released back to the wild and their numbers and range are gradually increasing.

One of the gorillas was enjoying some alfalfa cubes.

A face only a mother could love.

It's always fun to watch the meerkats.

This giraffe was just finishing eating the leaves off this branch.

One of the colorful Scarlet Macaws

And a much less colorful Sacred Ibis (sacred to the ancient Egyptions)

Of course, there were lots of exotic (to a northerner) flowers around the zoo.

See also Shelley's post and photos

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