A few months back, I learned about an idea called "spark bird" that is commonplace among avid birders. My spark bird was the Lilac Breasted Roller – a magnificently colored bird that defies description. I am told it has felled many a new birder. Endemic to east and southern Africa, it is widespread and easy to spot.

For some time I imagined that one had to travel to exotic places to see such birds; stuff that will wrap your senses in awe. Then one day I started taking an online class by Frans Lanting. Many of the images he shared in the class were taken in California, which was eye-opening.

Lanting makes the point that the best images are made in places one can visit often and know intimately. He adds that making an image is a deliberate act; it requires planning, thoughtfulness, patience, and sometimes luck. The allusion being, if you do all that - and more - one day you may have the chance to make a memorable image. The insight for me was that if you starting looking close to home, in places that are familiar, you will start seeing things that could well wrap your senses in awe.

In many creative pursuits, one has to master the craft and technique before even remotely approaching what others might recognize as art. So it goes with birds and photography. The images in this gallery are results of my practice and looking. The gallery is collection of some of my favorite images of Birds of California from 2019-2020.

(The image on the cover is a picture of a Willet. Swathed in the early morning light, it was so alive and appeared angelic. I made this picture in April 2020 at Hayward Regional Shoreline by the San Francisco Bay.)

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Feb-March 2023

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2022

November 26th, 2021

April 17th, 2021

November 29th, 2020

November 26^th, 2021

April 17^th, 2021

November 29^th, 2020