The Ups and Downs of a Wildlife Photo Weekend (Part I)

This weekend I decided to take advantage of some limited free time to pursue some wildlife photography. In the process of sorting through some options as to what to photograph I lured a friend into going out with me. The prospect of photographing native birds and sea mammals lured her like a moth to the flame.

Our first choice of subject was elusive, the harbor seal (see Part II later this week). We drove to a few spots north of the Russian River for sunrise, requiring a 3AM start. While out looking for Harbor Seals we came across a female American Kestrel hunting and a Black-chinned Hummingbird. These were the pleasant surprises of the outing…