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The moon during sunset yesterday. It’s rare that I can capture so much detail on it with my camera + lens combo.

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Red-Shouldered Hawk (buteo lineatus)

Taken in Los Angeles, California

status: least concern

While it’s fun to share the maybe lesser seen/less common animals I don’t want to ignore those we probably often overlook either. Like this bird here - a Red-Shouldered Hawk. They can be found along the western coastline of California from about the middle of the state to the Pacific Ocean as well as a vast area of the eastern United States from Florida up into Maine a little and over to roughly the middle of the country.

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Great Horned Owl (bubo virginianus)

Taken in Malibu, CA

status: least concern

The first owl I’ve photographed in California! Great Horned Owls are one of the most widespread owl but are seldom seen due to being nocturnal and having great camouflage that hides them while they rest during the day. I got lucky spotting this one late at night while looking for bioluminescence. It was just a vague silhouette to my naked eye but luckily it stayed still enough for me to get a few long exposure shots before it flew off to hunt.

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The Palisades Fire

taken in Los Angeles, CA

I’ve lived here for almost 8 years now and the fires that surrounded this valley were unlike what I’d seen before. This particular fire was the largest of them - it is one of the two that burned away an entire community and scorched over 23,000 acres.

After many days of fighting the fire by American firefighters, Canadian firefighters, Mexican Firefighters and even South African firefighters the blaze has reached 87% contained. This photo is from when it barely had 14% containment. That plane is one of the huge DC 10 tankers that made many passes to drop fire retardant to protect the communities the fire threatened.

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Yellow-Chevroned Parakeets (brotogeris chiriri)

Taken in Los Angeles, CA

status: least concern

A couple more photos of this silly bird for all to enjoy.

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Yellow-Chevroned Parakeets (brotogeris chiriri)

Taken in Los Angeles, California

status: least concern

There are a few species of parrots and parakeets that can be seen flying wild in Los Angeles where they don’t quite belong. This cute little guy is one of those! Yellow-chevroned parakeets are native to South America - specifically countries south of the Amazon River basin such as Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina and Bolivia.

This odd North American population is the result of caged birds being released into the wild and the birds being able to sustain a population despite the unnatural environment for them.

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Comet C/2023 A3 Tsuchinshan-Atlas

In case you didn’t know, there’s a comet passing by earth currently that is visible shortly after sunset (even with just the naked eye)! This comet just survived its pass by the sun and is now heading out deep into the cosmos so it’ll dim a little each day as it gets further away.

This is a shot I got just last night (10/12/24) over the ocean shortly before it set!

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Short Beaked Common Dolphin (delphinus delphis)

status: protected

taken off the coast of Santa Barbara, California

Something a little different this time - a video! Showing still images of these animals is fun but sometimes I don’t feel it quite does them justice. Short beaked common dolphins are certainly one of those as they tend to fly out of the water like popcorn. This day the water was incredibly flat offering a clear view of them underwater as one launches itself airborne. Listen to that smack as it hits the water!

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Killer Whale (orcinus orca)

taken off the coast of California

status: protected

While there is only one species of Killer whale (for now though the southern residents may be identified as their own) there are several ecotypes! The most commonly seen eco type where I whale watch is the Biggs/Transient ecotype which is well known for their mammal hunts (specifically on gray whales). The ecotype pictured spy hopping here is known as an Eastern Tropical Pacific Orca! As suggested by the name they typically stay in tropical regions (also hunting mammals with incredible success) but from time to time will wander up to this area.

You’ve likely seen videos of this ecotype before without realizing it as they’re well known for being boat friendly in the same way other dolphins are (such as bottlenose). They will eagerly swim over to bow ride and wake ride. It’s a truly unique experience to see an animal of this size catching a free ride on the pressure wave put off of the boat by it propelling through the water.

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CA140C Ben

taken in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California

status: protected

I posted Emma before but this is the tall dorsal fin of her son, CA140C Ben! Female Killer whales in the Biggs population have a dorsal fin that usually is 2 - 3 feet tall but males can sport a giant 6 foot dorsal fin. Which, if you were wondering, yes they do wobble when they surface (there isn’t bone in it). In captivity male killer whales often have a collapsed dorsal fin - this is due to the lack of free swimming that allows the proper development of the musculature that supports such a tall structure (so yes, tanks too small and not at all meeting the needs of such large, wild animals).

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Ocean Sunfish (mola mola) with By the Wind Sailors (velella velella)

taken near Santa Cruz Island

status: vulnerable

A neat shot of the dorsal fin of a sunfish gliding through a thick patch of varying sized velella in what is probably the world’s slowest hunt. Ocean sunfish consume jellyfish and that includes these unique looking hydrozoans so often times if you find large numbers of them you’ll also find sunfish ‘lunge feeding’ on this wind driven buffet.

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California Brown Pelican (pelecanus occidentalis)

status: not extinct

taken in Malibu, California

A common sight along the California coastline that nearly disappeared entirely in the 1970s. A great example of a species saved by conservation efforts.

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CA 140 Emma

Transient Killer whale (orcinus orca)

taken off the coast of California

The killer whale populations here are studied by local scientists and so many are known/familiar individuals! This is just the dorsal fin of one but she is one of the most frequently seen and easily recognized matriarchs - CA 140 Emma. To identify a killer whale they use their eye patch and dorsal fin and Emma has this double notch in her dorsal resembling an m or E. If I recall she’s even in some nature documentaries (specifically ones where they hunt gray whales since she’s well known for these hunts).

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Anacapa Island

Taken in the Channel Islands National Park

Anacapa Island is probably the narrowest of the Channel Islands but also one of the most visually interesting of them. It not only has a few arches but also stand alone portions like the rock pictured here that are completely inaccessible. Many birds such as seagulls and California Brown Pelicans nest on this island thanks to its ideal location to food sources and isolation from human traffic. You can hike on this island but you have to take a boat to it and the trail is short.

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Fairy Tern (sternula nereis)

Taken in Honolulu, Hawaii

status: vulnerable

A post for the bird nerds. These birds are also known as Manu-o-kū and White Terns. They are a beautiful all white feathered sea bird with black eyes and a black beak with a blue-ish base.

This one here is a chick. It hasn’t wandered away from its nest like it might appear because these birds lay their egg on a bare branch where the chick will spend its time until it fledges.

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Short Beaked Common Dolphin (delphinus delphis)

Taken in the Pacific Ocean

Status: least concern

One member of a descent sized pod of the ever energetic Short Beaked Common Dolphins.

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Milky Way

Taken in Leo Carrillo State Beach in Malibu, California

My first attempt at stitching multiple shots together. A bit of an imperfection in one area but not bad for a first try.

Anyway, here is part of the core of the Milky Way! For a few months of the year the core is visible over California. In areas with low light pollution (like where this was taken) you can easily make it out with the naked eye!