Pink-footed Shearwater - Channel Islands Nat. Park

A Pink-footed Shearwater, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

On our way back to the marina in Ventura, CA, from our Anacapa Island (Below) Wildlife Cruise in the Channel Islands National park, we encountered another pod of dolphins, and among them were the usual flocks of shearwaters (mostly Sooty) and Western Gulls. In fact I assumed that all the shearwaters were of the Sooty species, but upon looking at my photos, one shearwater that was floating on the sea's surface near our boat looked a bit diffrent than the rest. It had a paler bill and lighter throat. So researching photos and information about the seven differen shearwaters that can be found in different locations of the Pacific, only the Pink-footed Shearwater (Above) has a bill of this color that could be found off the coast of California. The only other species that has a pinkish bill is the Flesh-footed Shearwater from New Zealand, but it is dark overall.

A view of Anacapa Island of the Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

A Pink-footed Shearwater, Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

The Pink-footed Shearwater (Above) became #312 on my birding Life List. Thank you to the pod of dolphins (Below)  that attracted this bird to our boat. These shearwaters are common visitors from its nesting grounds off the South American coast of Chile.

A dolphin mugging for the camera in the Channel Islands Nat. Park, CA; 6/19/2011.

Sunset of the Day

The evening sunlight cast a red glow on the craters of Mauna Kea, the highest peak in Hawaii. What makes this photo interesting is that we drove up a long road to reach this point. The road began beneath the clouds of a gray day. Then as we ascended, we rose above the clouds to give this rather unearthly view; 7/1/2008.