10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 25, 2013

For whatever reason, however, yesterday on my way to work my mind wasn’t with our upcoming spring, but with September’s in California. I saw a wagtail there once, which was exceptionally cool for California (I’m told). The seas were glass still, and far out we could see whales, dozens of the things.

Whales 157

Whales Whaling Sharks Bats 157

10,000 Birds

JULY 7, 2015

Sullivan, in collaboration with Todd McGrath and Tom Johnson, arrived at my door the day before I was leaving for southern California. Birds of California , the new volume in the ABA series, arrived the day I returned. Tail, fin, blow, and back for whales; fin, back, leaping whole body, and tail splashes for dolphins and porpoises.

Dolphins 162

Dolphins Whales Whaling Porpoises 162

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2013

A large number of people I talk to believe the island to be next to the city of Santa Cruz, California. The scenery is stunning…expansive, rolling grasslands, towering vertical cliffs, cozy canyons filled with oaks, quiet coves where sea lions and cormorants mingle over the kelp forests. This is not true.

California 170

California Birds Sea Lions Whales 170

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 5, 2016

But what I have long wanted to do is get out on a boat in California, the fabled land of albatrosses, murrelets, and auklets. California: if you can make it here well, that’s actually not that impressive because if you can’t make it as a birder in California you must really suck.

Whales 113

Whales Whaling Albatross Dolphins 113