I had the pleasure of taking out a lovely lady on a morning nature tour of our local hotspots. Her and her husband had just flown in the night before from Australia and she wanted to start her day in nature as her husband went off to work meetings. It was her first time to the San Francisco Bay Area so I picked her up from her hotel and took her to some of my favorite places. First stop was The Stanford Dish, We walked for about 2 miles and saw Acorn Woodpeckers, an American

It was another great year spending time with the Owls. I have led 203 owl tours since my first owl tour on April 30, 2024. All of these pictures were taken on my evening owl tours led in the past 12 months. It is always so hard to choose but these are my favorite 13 owl images for the past year: 6 Great Horned Owls (actually 9 GHO) 4 Barn Owls 2 Burrowing Owls 1 Western Screech Owl 13 Total Images The calendar pricing is: - $45 for the medium 8.25x11.5 (was $43 last year) - $

Lovely evening for a private tour with two couples - Joan and Paul and Elaine and David. Norma, the barn owl was not in her normal roosting spot so we added one more burrowing owl spot along with the usual burrowing owl and the western screech owl. And Joan wrote me a very nice review on nextdoor!

Trying to catch up on all my past owl tours! Had an enjoyable public group tour with Rebecca, Diane and Les and Ashley and Gayle. We went to 3 locations and saw Norma, the barn owl, a burrowing owl and a western screech owl and watched it take off for its evening hunt. Cool clouds! Then we watched it take off! Pretty much impossible to get an owl in-flight once it gets dark.

Enjoyed a great morning bird walk with some wonderful people and we saw many different species of birds:. We started near the entrance and spent some time watching the cliff swallows fly in and out of the roof eaves. We were trying to figure out if there were any new offspring left in the mud nests but it seemed they had all fledged by now, which makes sense since most of them fledge by end of June to the beginning of July. It was super active on the initial walk along on the

I had the pleasure of taking Catherine, Thomas, Henry and Austin on an evening bird walk. Fun group and the boys and coyotes kept it lively! We were pretty quickly greeted by these trio of coyotes howling to the moon. Red-tailed Hawk very far away, hence, not the clearest images. Western Bluebird It was a pretty clear view of the bay bridge and the city This coyote ran right by us. So close that I could not even get a good pic until it was running away from us. Violet-green s

What a delightful morning it was! Despite the warmth, I had a fantastic time on our bird walk at Bedwell Bayfront Park. I was joined by Eileen, Lynn, Stan, Deborah, Victoria, Carolee, and Delores. This marked the sixth monthly bird walk sponsored by the City of Menlo Park. Observing Nature Up Close We began our adventure near the parking area. There, we watched barn swallows darting in and out of their mud nests. It was heartwarming to see the adult birds feeding their young.

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure to lead a group of wonderful folks from the Palo Alto corporate team at the law firm Willkie, Farr & Gallagher. They wanted to have a get together outside of the office and enjoy nature and it turned out to be a great idea! Much thanks to Rachel for reaching out to me and making it happen! Rachel made it easy as she already had the place in mind: the Stanford Dish, which happens to be one of my favorite local spots, and it turned out to

When I first started bird photography, I quickly realized that having the right lens can make all the difference. Birds are fast, often far away, and sometimes shy. Capturing their beauty requires not just patience but also the right gear. When I really got into bird photography during the pandemic, I had a 70-200mm lens and I quickly found that this was just not enough reach. So I ordered the Nikkor 200-500mm lens but then I realized it was over 5 lbs so I quickly canceled m

Had a wonderful walk with Anna, Andrea, Rachel, Brittany, Reyhaneh and Andy. It was an overcast day but the shorebirds were quite active. As usual, we started by the parking area near the entrance and walked out along the water and walked back through the park. Lots of shorebirds but not a lot of birds in the park. As usual, we were greeted by the males Anna's Hummingbird in its usual spot on the right of the path near the bayfront. Black-knecked Stilt Lesser Goldfinch Americ

Capturing the magic of hummingbirds in flight is one of the most rewarding experiences for any nature lover with a camera. These tiny birds, with their iridescent feathers and lightning-fast wing beats, can be challenging subjects. But with the right approach, patience, and a few expert hummingbird photography techniques, you can create stunning images that showcase their beauty and energy. I’m excited to share what I’ve learned on this journey, so let’s dive in and make your

A Rainy Start to Our bird walk Adventure The days leading up to our City of Menlo Park Bird walk No. 4 at Bedwell Bayfront Park were filled with rain. The forecast promised a dry morning, and as we gathered, the skies looked hopeful. We formed a circle for introductions. Rick shared the park's background and its significance in our community and handed out a checklist of common bird species we might see this time of year. We briefly considered bringing rain jackets and umbrel

Fun evening with Jenn, Gordon and Ellie. We got rained on a bit but that is when the Cooper's Hawk and Coyote showed up. They were both looking to make the burrowing owl a tasty dinner. The coyote headed right for the burrowing owl but I yelled loudly for the Coyote to leave and luckily it crossed the rockbed creek approx 30 feet behind the burrowing owl! Red-shouldered Hawk Cooper's Hawk It's always exciting when this one stops by a tree on its way out of its tree hole. It w

Fun tour with Terry, Eliana and Luke. We went to see Norma the barn owl, multiple burrowing owls at a new spot and the Western Screech Owl. Lights from cars driving by ISO 25K shot with my Nikon.

Fun adventure with Eleni, her sister and their kids. We saw Norma the barn owl and a Western Screech Owl and a Juvenile Red-tailed Hawk catch its prey. Unfortunately the burrowing owls were no where to be found this evening. The Western Screech Owl flew to a nearby tree after it left its roosting spot so I was able to get this first shot hand-held in the dark.

Had a fun time with two lovely couples Justin and Summer and Simon and Caroline. As I arrived at the meeting location, Justin and his group were tail gating with hot cocoa drinks. We saw Norma, the barn owl, a burrowing owl and we watched a western screech owl come out of a tree hole and fly away to start its evening hunt.

I was featured in a recent article in the spring edition of PUNCH magazine. Wonderful article by Johanna Harlow, Editorial Director at PUNCH magazine. You can view it online here: https://www.jgdpubs.com/epubs/36Media/Punch/2026/spring/56/ I'm also including a few other pictures I took that day on the hike with Johanna at Edgewood Park in Redwood City on December 16, 2025. Male Anna's Hummer Male American Kestrel Mule Deer

This time the tide was high so we saw a bit more bird action this time. It was a nice day and a fun group! Lovely people as always. I showed up a bit early and saw this one while I was waiting for the group to show up. Snowy Egret (black beak, yellow feet) Sushi breakfast! We're off! Our first bird sighting were these Lesser Goldfinches.. This one is a female since no black cap on her head. Male Lesser Goldfinch since he has a black cap on

Saturday evening group tour with Amy, Matthew, Gail, Andrew and dad and Yip-Fong. Unfortunately I did not take any pics of these nice folks. We saw Norma, the barn owl, a burrowing owl and a western screech owl at 3 different locations. It was another fun evening! And it turns out I never edited the pics I took but here are some screenshots from that evening!

Private Sunday evening tour with Katia and her lovely family. We saw Norma, the barn owl, a burrowing owl and a western screech owl at 3 different locations. It was a lovely evening! For some reason, I did not take many owl pictures this evening but have included a screenshot of one below! Nice recommendation on nextdoor from Katia: Our family of 5 went on an owls tour with Rick in December, and had a great time observing 3 very different owls! It is such a unique and amazing