10,000 Birds

APRIL 7, 2015

We were woefully under-prepared in terms of planning – which almost kept us from meeting our friends – but we were also surprised and thrilled to learn that not only were Gray Whales migrating past the lighthouse, but Elephant Seals were lounging on a nearby beach! Migrating Gray Whales. Point Reyes is a magical place.

Seals 186

Seals Elephants Whales Whaling 186

10,000 Birds

APRIL 25, 2013

Peregrine Falcons breed on the sheer cliff faces of Santa Cruz; you may meet one at eye level on the bluff trail north of Scorpion Ranch, where this photo was taken (I highly recommend this trail, by the way, if only for the views). In summer and fall, the waters around the Channel Islands can teem with Blue Whales.

California 165

California Birds Sea Lions Whales 165

10,000 Birds

APRIL 2, 2012

It was a Benguela Nino year, and pelagic seabirds were in super-abundance in the south eastern Atlantic, with the total of species by variety and number exceeding all expectations for the birders on the inaugural trip as we pitched and wallowed about in the rolling swells on our way out to the trawling grounds.

Albatross 182

Albatross Penguins Dolphins Whales 182

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 7, 2011

At sea there are also New Zealand Sea Lions and Southern Right Whales. The sanctuary has a population of Little Spotted Kiwi, as well as a range of other rare species such as Takahe , Stichbirds , New Zealand Falcons , Brown Teal and Red-crowned Parakeets.

New Zealand 157

New Zealand Penguins Sanctuary Seals 157

10,000 Birds

SEPTEMBER 12, 2014

And we did , for the Peregrine Falcon and Osprey , the Brown Pelican and Bald Eagle. Everything was going to be extinct – the condors, the whales, the Whooping Cranes , the elephants and tigers, the whole shebang, and that was even if we didn’t get nuked. A species, wiped off the earth, never to exist again.

California Condor 199

California Condor United States Guam Whales 199