Tuesday, January 22, 2013

Jetty Park 1/20/13

We went to Jetty Park early Sunday morning to see if the Razorbill reported Saturday afternoon was still around. I felt hopeful as we pulled up and saw a small crowd of people checking out some action in the channel. It turned out to be a submarine navigating its way out of the port, which was pretty cool to see, but not quite as cool as a Razorbill would have been...


Gulls never seem to let any birds (or people) eat in peace. If a bird is brave enough to return to the beach with its catch, they can be sure a hot pursuit is imminent. As we walked out on the jetty, we saw this Ring-billed Gull getting a taste of its own medicine as it was relentlessly tagged teamed  by a Great Black-backed Gull and immature Herring Gull (I think).


The Ring-billed Gull didn't seem intimidated and held on to its meal.  I lost sight of them after a few minutes, so I missed the final outcome.


I saw this Bonaparte's Gull floating close to the rocks along the jetty. These handsome birds look similar to the Laughing Gulls that heavily populate the area year round.


This Royal Tern didn't seem to the Sanderling that was foraging underneath him.


There is always a large group of Skimmers at Jetty Park. The flock can usually be seen resting on the beach. A few of the Skimmers decided it was feeding time, and put on quite a show as they skimmed back and forth along the beach.






28 comments:

  1. awesome flight shots! really neat to see the skimmers doing their thing! very cool!

    love the brown pelican shot, too.

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  2. They are all stunning in-flight captures!

    Oh and the sub is definitely a cool hunk of metal.

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  3. Excellent stuff Tammy, love the Skimmer show :-)

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  4. Espectaculares imágenes amiga Tammy. Tus fotografías son una maravilla. Saludos desde Extremadura.

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  5. Yeah, the skimmers are amazing. Good sharp eyes to id the gulls and lovely photography.

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  6. Preciosas todas las fotos amiga Tammy.. y los momentos que plasman.
    Un saludo!!

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  7. Hi Tammy, My what a day you had at Jetty Park photographing everything from battling sea gulls- to the amazing sight of a submarine going out to sea.

    I adore the shot you captured of the Tern and Sanderling- and the Skimmers skimming the ocean for a meal.

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  8. Beautiful seascapes and the birds, cheers Tammy.

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  9. Parabéns pelo blog, as fotos são 5 estrelas!!!!

    Cumprimentos

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  10. Wow, I would love to see the skimmers in action like that. Those beaks are crazy and kind of terrifying!

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  11. Hi Tammy
    This Skimmer was a nice one, I have never seen it before.
    Aboute the steel bird we have a few but it´s not so common above water surface.
    Greetings / Kenny

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  12. I think most people would think that sub was way cooler than the razorbill (non-birders anyway). All of the bird shots are great. I need to learn my gulls. I've never seen the great black backed.

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  13. Fantastic flight shots. We love that area as you know. We see submarines in the area from time to time, too....

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  14. Hola Tammy buenas imagenes las del Picotijeras son magnificas.Un abrazo

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  15. Holy moly, dont worry about the birds, you got a frekkin submarine off shore... AWESOME !!!!

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  16. Superb series of photographs, Tammy! I especially love the in-flight gulls and skimmer images. My husband would have gone crazy seeing the submarine, while I would have jumped for joy at seeing the Razorbill.

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  17. Wonderful series! I'm with you, would have taken a Razorbill over a sub any day! Really nice skimmer shots.

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  18. Really cool sub. But the razorbill would of been great . Love the gulls in flight.

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  19. Hello Tammy!
    I was going to comment on several pictures, but they are all so gorgeous it would take too much time! LOL!
    I especially love the Skimmers your photos are stunning but we also don't see this bird in France!
    Quite amazing!
    Keep well!

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  20. Great shots! The in flight ones are amazing. It looks like a few of the Navy men were watching you as well.

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  21. All the images are striking, the pink ibis, and the flying (verticals of the two ring and Herring. The skimmers are gorgeous.

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  22. These are such exotic birds to me. You really have excellent motion shots of them all. I am learning my sea birds through your blog:) Gulls are a rarity here in the desert but they do show up. They're easy to ID as they are the only ones....but on a beach.....ohhhhh forget about it:) Bonapartes I could ID....but the rest....forget about it:)

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  23. Hi Tammy

    Wonderful images of the Skimmers - I'd love to see those birds for real.

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  24. Awesome shot! Love those Skimmers on the beach. Good Work like always.

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  25. The way the skimmers' bills hinge always amazes me. I love the closeups. I haven't seen them that intimately in action.

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I greatly appreciate your comments!