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The Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve in Huntington Beach is part of the largest coastal wetlands restoration in Southern California. Bolsa Chica is a stop on the Pacific Flyway, a migratory route over which a billion birds migrate (20% of the birds in the United States).
This page displays 70 portrait and flight shots of Snowy Egrets, Great Egrets, Great Blue Herons, Black Skimmers, and Grebes.
Some images on this page were taken at Ballona Creek, further to the north.
Click an image to open a larger version. Use your back button to return to this page.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections
Egrets & Herons Terns and Skimmers Grackles and Grebes
Assorted Scenic & Potpourri
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Black Skimmer
Black Skimmers HS5233
Black Skimmers have a long, slender bill, with the lower bill overhanging the upper bill. They drag the lower bill in the water while soaring a few inches over the surface and catch small fish. Detail can be seen in the image below, taken while a bird was wheeling around for another run. Exposing the birds properly and catching a clean shot with eye detail can be a challenge. They are quick and difficult to track while crossing in front of the camera.
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Black Skimmer X4519
Note how much longer the lower bill is than the upper bill, and how little definition there is between the black eye and head.
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Black Skimmer X4523
The Black Skimmer’s long wings give it exceptional control. Here, the bird is literally flying sideways. Note how narrow the bill is.
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Black Skimmer X4515
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Black Skimmer X4516
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The dark wings and back combined with the bright white body and tail feathers make for a challenging exposure. The best images result when you allow brighter areas of the white feathers to fully saturate, but there is a fine line between a perfect exposure and an unusable shot. You have to dance that line carefully to be able to retain detail in the white areas while revealing the black eye in the black head. This must be done while tracking and composing a very fast moving bird.
Black Skimmer X4517
Note the position and warp of the wings... this Skimmer is flying diagonally.
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Black Skimmer X4598
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Black Skimmer X4601
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Skimmer images with an X in the shot number were taken at 500mm, those with an HS were taken at 300mm.
Black Skimmer HS4627
A Black Skimmer drags his elongated lower beak to troll for fish in Bolsa Chica’s Main Canal.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections
Egrets & Herons Terns and Skimmers Grackles and Grebes
Assorted Scenic & Potpourri
Egrets
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Great Egret 0353
A Great Egret posing for a portrait on a path.
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Great Egret X8430
This shot was a very challenging exposure problem.
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Great Egret Portrait X1068
A Great Egret vignetted by bushes by the Main Canal on an overcast day in June.
The Great Egret stands about three feet tall and is nearly as large as the Great Blue Heron. It has a yellow bill, black legs and feet, and all white plumage. In the breeding season, the legs become lighter and the Egret grows long ornamental feathers on its back (shown in images below).
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Great Egret Hunting X8261
A Great Egret searching for prey during the breeding season in December.
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Great Egret HS0712
A Great Egret surveying the territory from a branch.
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Great Egret and Great Blue Heron X8403
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Great Egret Breeding Plumage X8151
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Great Egret Breeding Plumage X8458
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Great Egrets displaying their Breeding Plumage in December. Note the lighter leg color.
Great Egret Flight HS4772
A Great Egret in flight over the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.
Achieving an accurate exposure revealing wing detail on this white bird over a dark background while acquiring and tracking a fast moving target rapidly crossing in front of you is challenging.
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Great Egret Flight X4592
A Great Egret in flight over the Main Canal, with a very attractive wing position.
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Great Egret Flight X4593
This is my favorite Great Egret flight shot. I love the wing position and detail.
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Great Egret Flight X4594
Four of the most exceptional Great Egret Flight scenes I’ve had the pleasure of seeing.... or shooting.
More images of Great Egrets are in the Egrets and Herons Wildlife Study on the Egrets page.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections
Egrets & Herons Terns and Skimmers Grackles and Grebes
Assorted Scenic & Potpourri
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Dancing Snowy Egret X0693
A Snowy Egret dancing in the shallow waters at the edge of the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica wetlands. This is one of their common hunting techniques. They stir up the bottom and catch any disturbed prey.
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Snowy Egret HS4620
A Snowy Egret searching the waters of the Main Canal for prey.
Achieving an exposure which yields feather detail of the white bird against the dark background of the water is challenging. It is easy to lose feather detail if you overexpose by as little as 1/3 stop, and underexposure yields poor color saturation.
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Snowy Egret Hunting X4478
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Snowy Egret Hunting X4472
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A Snowy Egret wades in the Bolsa Chica canal, watching for fish that are swimming by.
Snowy Egret Hunting X0751
A Snowy Egret, resplendent in its breeding plumes at the edge of the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica. Snowy Egrets were hunted to near-extinction in the late 1800s and early 1900s for mating plumes, which were used as decorations for women’s hats. Their feathers were more prized than those of Great Egrets. Protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (1918), populations have recovered.
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Snowy Egret Hunting X0755c
A detail crop of the head and neck of a Snow Egret during a slow strike.
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Snowy Egret Hunting X0761
The water of the Main Canal reacts in a spectacular fashion in this high speed image of the end of a strike.
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Snowy Egret Hunting X0770
A Snowy Egret takes a close look at the waters of the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.
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Snowy Egret Hunting X0774
A Snowy Egret snatches a marine invertebrate out of the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.
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Snowy Egret Hunting X0812
A Snowy Egret shakes water off its prey in front of a group of Dowitchers at Bolsa Chica wetlands.
More images of Snowy Egrets are in the Egrets and Herons Wildlife Study: Snowy Egrets page.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections
Egrets & Herons Terns and Skimmers Grackles and Grebes
Assorted Scenic & Potpourri
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Snowy Egret Landing HS4774
A Snowy Egret in a ‘full-parachute’ landing on the Main Canal.
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Snowy Egret Flight HS4593
A Snowy Egret in flight over the Main Canal.
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Snowy Egret Flight HS4713
An exquisite Snowy Egret flight shot, taken over the dark waters of the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica wetlands.
Snowy Egrets in flight can be extremely challenging for several reasons. Snowy Egrets fly much faster than Great Egrets and most other large birds, and their all-white bodies do not have much contrast for the camera to focus on. You have to know the proper exposure and set it manually, or calculate the EV offset for the meter very rapidly, while locking focus and tracking on a shadow or dark spot on the bird. If you try to acquire a focus lock on the white part of the bird, or try to track and your focusing reticle slips to a white area, you will lose focus and the shot will be useless. If you overexpose 1/3 stop, you lose feather detail. You should shoot at a time which yields an interesting wing position. If you mess any of this up, the shot is useless. It is very easy to make a mistake. Trust me.
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Snowy Egret 3390
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Snowy Egret 3379
Two Snowy Egret portraits at the edge of the Main Canal.
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Snowy Egret Sunset HS5120 M
A Snowy Egret patrols along the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica in the warm light of a Pacific sunset, with its crest and breeding plumes stirred by an onshore breeze.
The light was particularly beautiful on this warm May evening.
In the image at right, a Snowy Egret struts alongside the Main Canal, walking over earlier tracks in the sediment.
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Snowy Egret Tracks HS5130
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Snowy Egret Sunset Flight HS6188
A Snowy Egret floats across Ballona Creek in absolutely magnificent light at sunset.
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Snowy Egret Sunset HS5141
A Snowy Egret surveys its territory in the magnificent light at sunset, beside the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.
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Sunset Ballona Creek HS6170
Just another Pacific Sunset, taken at Ballona Creek. Sigh...
This image is available in the Assorted Scenic & Potpourri Gallery.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections
Egrets & Herons Terns and Skimmers Grackles and Grebes
Assorted Scenic & Potpourri
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Herons
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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile X0742c
A juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron nearing adult molting stage, posing on the rocks at the edge of the main canal.
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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile HS0379
A younger juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron. Note the rounder head shape and the eye color.
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Black-Crowned Night Heron Juvenile HS0386
This is about as close as I have ever gotten to a juvenile Black-Crowned Night Heron.
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Black-Crowned Night Heron HS0856
An adult Black-Crowned Night Heron.
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Black-Crowned Night Heron HS0852
I love the look of long-beaked birds head-on.
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Black-Crowned Night Heron X1569
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Black-Crowned Night Heron X1572
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A Black-Crowned Night Heron perched near reeds, posing for both back and front views.
Black-Crowned Night Heron X8409
A Black-Crowned Night Heron perched atop a dead tree in what photographers call a “Bird on a Stick” scene.
More images of Black-Crowned Night Herons are in the Egrets and Herons Wildlife Study on the Herons page.
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Great Blue Heron Perched X0795
A Great Blue Heron “Bird on a Stick” scene.
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Great Blue Heron Roosting X8357
A Great Blue Heron surveys his domain from his roost.
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Great Blue Heron Roosting X0789
The Great Blue Herons nest in the Eucalyptus at the top of the hill beyond the Causeway.
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Great Blue Heron Hunting 0525
A Great Blue Heron hunting in the reeds. Great Blues typically fly if you get close... for this series I was hiding in the reeds with a long lens, waiting for him to walk by.
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Great Blue Heron Hunting 0550
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Great Blue Heron Hunting 0578
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The difference in the character of the light was caused by the sun being covered by a thick cloud.
Great Blue Heron Portrait HS1922
This tight portrait is rare in two respects. First, that I was able to approach a GBH at Bolsa Chica Refuge closely enough to try it, and second because of the angle, shooting from about five feet above the bird. The friend I was shooting with was used to quiet approach, and I think we came up on him so softly he may not have noticed we were there until I took the shot.
More images of Great Blue Herons are in the Egrets and Herons Wildlife Study on the Blue Herons page.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections
Egrets & Herons Terns and Skimmers Grackles and Grebes
Assorted Scenic & Potpourri
Grebes
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Eared Grebe Non-Breeding 3610
An Eared Grebe in non-breeding plumage in January.
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Eared Grebe Breeding X0132
An Eared Grebe in breeding plumage in April.
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Eared Grebe Breeding X0155
An Eared Grebe in breeding plumage in April on the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.
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Eared Grebe 0329
An Eared Grebe in non-breeding plumage in November on the Main Canal at Bolsa Chica.
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Eared Grebe Feeding 0332
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Eared Grebe Feeding 0333
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An Eared Grebe in non-breeding plumage feeds on a marine invertebrate at Bolsa Chica in November.
Eared Grebe Family 0363
A proud mother and father show their juvenile Eared Grebe the sights at Bolsa Chica.
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Pied-Bill Grebe Non-Breeding X5142
A Pied-Bill Grebe (or Pied-Billed Grebe) in non-breeding plumage in September.
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Pied-Bill Grebe Breeding X0168
A Pied-Bill Grebe (or Pied-Billed Grebe) in breeding plumage in April.
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Pied-Bill Grebe Breeding X1084 M
A Pied-Bill Grebe (or Pied-Billed Grebe) fluffing up his breeding plumage in April.
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Western Grebe Display X4543c
A Western Grebe dances atop the water in a display. He may have been enamored of the long black “bill” of the camera.
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Western Grebe X4544
The Western Grebe is the largest North American Grebe.
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Western Grebe X4540
It is quite easy to confuse it with the similar Clark’s Grebe.
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Western Grebe X4548
The Western Grebe differs from the Clark’s Grebe in just two respects: it has a straight bill and the black part of the head continues under the eyes. On the Clark’s Grebe, the white part goes above the eye. It has an upturned bill.
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Images in this section are in a number of different Galleries on the Photoshelter website. The Banner below leads to the Wildlife Collections page where a Gallery can be selected.
Images can be found in the following Collections (Direct Links)
Birds Collections
Egrets & Herons Terns and Skimmers Grackles and Grebes
Assorted Scenic & Potpourri
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Terns of Bolsa Chica page
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Shorebirds page
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Ducks and Pelicans page
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Click the Display Composite above to visit the Raptors, Cormorants and Other Birds page
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For more Egrets and Herons, you may want to visit the Egrets and Herons Wildlife Study section
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