[SBB] Coots and eagles at Calero

[Mark Bohrer <[[email protected]]>]

This morning I returned to south Santa Clara County near Calero Reservoir 
to photograph the distant eagle's nest atop a PG&E tower. I parked the car, 
walked as close as the barbed wire allowed and waited. And waited. And 
waited some more! Eagles don't schedule their activities around my whims, 
so I shrugged and drove further down McKean Road to Calero Reservoir. 
Unlike Mountain View's Shoreline Lake where waterbirds dive for shellfish 
and other morsels close to shore the coots and ducks insisted on keeping 
their distance. Whenever I moved, so did they. Finally mating urges won out 
over caution as a horny male coot chased a female around near enough for a 
photograph:
http://tinyurl.com/6npa7

The best 'catch of the day' happened as I stealthily (for a human) made my 
way towards the coots. A small flock of white-crowned sparrows ignored me 
until I got within 20 feet or so. All of them spooked except one. I froze 
and slowly set the tripod down, and he let me capture his portrait before 
he flew off to join his friends:
http://tinyurl.com/52yuy

But a bufflehead couple and a pied-billed grebe were too paranoid for 
closeups, and I caught only glimpses of a little killdeer who filled the 
air with his plaintive "kill-DEER, kill-DEER, kill-DEER!" And red-winged 
blackbird males trilled for mates somewhere out of sight.

So I gave up and drove back to the power tower. I got some more golden 
eagle takeoff shots but still had a cloudy gray background even though the 
light was better:
http://tinyurl.com/5anp8


Mark Bohrer
Mountain and Desert Photography
www.mountain-and-desert.com
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