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Author Archives: ctaylor

Snowy Owls

There has been an irruption of Snowy Owls this winter. There have already been over 200 different sightings of Snowy Owls across the northern Lower 48 states. Snowy Owls rarely venture south of the Canadian border but every 6-7 years they come farther south. Some speculate it is due to food shortages in it’s normal Arctic range.

Snowy Owl – Recent Observations

While visiting friends in Portland recently, a Snowy Owl was discovered in a field in a small Mennonite retirement community. I rushed down there that afternoon to photograph the extremely cooperative bird. It was quite amusing watching the sheep in the field walk up to the Owl trying to figure out what the heck he was doing there. There were a couple of stand-off situations with the curious sheep but the Snowy Owl did not look amused at all.

Snowy Owl

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Posted by ctaylor on December 19, 2011 in Photography Adventures

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Tags: albany, arctic, oregon, portland, snowy owl

A Booby in Orange County!

December 17

Word spread quickly that a MASKED BOOBY was found on the Dana Point breakwater in Orange County. In true rarity chasing fashion, I loaded my gear in the car and we were on our way. Normally it would be a 1 hour drive but an accident on the 405 made it more like a 2 hour drive. Rain and a waning sun in the horizon didn’t keep my hopes high for a decent photo. That combined with the fact the bird was being observed on a jetty 200 yards from shore…

Upon arriving, we bumped into Steve and Becky Turley and Jim Pike who were looking for the bird in their scopes. Being a photographer, I never carry a scope. If I can’t get decent photos with a 500mm lens then I’d rather not have any at all! I researched a few boat rental places before I left so I headed over to Embarcadero Marina to see if I could rent a small skiff at the rate of $50/hr. I figured that was well worth the investment to get close enough to the bird. Much to my chagrin, the boat rentals were closed due to a red flag advisory for small craft. I begged them but their insurance policy wouldn’t allow it.

So…being in a boat marina, I figured I’d ask the locals if they’d take me out to the bird for $50. I was in luck. I found Georgie and John Moore from Fallbrook that had a small dingy attached to their yacht. They were more than happy to take us close to the bird and refused any payment! It’s truly rewarding when you encounter such gracious people like that in this world.

Oh, and yes. I did get some amazing photos of the Booby.

Masked Booby

There are only 15 or so previous records of Masked Boobies in California. This sub-adult bird was a bit far from his normal breeding range in the central and western Pacific, around Australia, as well as off Mexico and on Clipperton Island.

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Posted by ctaylor on December 17, 2011 in Photography Adventures

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Tags: baja, dana point, galapagos, masked booby, mexico, orange county

G2 Gallery – Emerging IV Reception

November 21

Emerging IV Artists: Sheri Mandel, Christopher Taylor and Neil Losin with Gallery Director, Jolene Hanson

Sheri Mandel, Christopher Taylor, Neil Losin, Jolene Hanson

Thanks to everyone for coming out to G2 Gallery for my gallery reception last night! It was an incredible night and I truly appreciate the support. My guest list exceeded 50 people, with many City officials including Bill Rosendahl and celebs like Amy Madigan in presence. It was an awesome night, hope everyone enjoyed the food, wine, music and photography. The exhibit was also featured in The Argonaut newspaper!

If you missed the opening reception, my photography will be on display through December 31^st, 2011.

The G2 Gallery supports art and the environment by showcasing the world’s most celebrated nature and wildlife photographers and donating the proceeds to environmental charities. They are located at: 1503 Abbot Kinney Blvd. in Venice, CA 90291 and can be contacted at 310-452-2842.

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Posted by ctaylor on November 21, 2011 in Photography Adventures

American Golden-Plover @ Ballona Creek

October 23

It has now been confirmed that there is a first ever record for American Golden-Plover at Ballona Creek. Dan Cooper reported on October 20th that he thought he heard an American Golden-Plover call in a Black-bellied Plover flock but was never able to locate the bird. On October 21st, Darren Dowell reported a Pacific Golden-Plover in the same area.

American Golden-Plover

I was not able to get out there to locate and document the bird until Saturday morning, but it is indeed an American Golden-Plover. To give you a little background on the species:

The American Golden-Plover has one of the longest known migratory routes of over 25,000 miles from the Patagonia of Southern Argentina all the way to the Arctic North Slope of Alaska. Of this, 2,400 miles is over open ocean where it cannot stop to feed or drink.

A comparison of dates and migratory patterns leads to the conclusion that Eskimo Curlews and American Golden Plovers were the most likely shore birds to have attracted the attention of Christopher Columbus to nearby America in early October 1492, after 65 days at sea out of sight of land.

Large numbers were shot in the late 19th century and the population has never fully recovered and is listed as threatened to endangered.

American Golden-Plover

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Posted by ctaylor on October 23, 2011 in Photography Adventures

Vaux’s Swifts (Video)

October 02

This is one of those things that most people will never see in their lifetime. Over 6,000 Vaux’s Swifts pouring into a chimney to roost. Every fall as the Vaux’s Swifts are migrating from their breeding grounds in Southern Alaska they will seek refuge in dark, protected areas (such as caves or chimneys) to roost in each night along their journey to their wintering grounds in the Yucatan. There just so happens to be a particular chimney on an abandoned building in Downtown Los Angeles that is still left standing that the Vaux’s Swifts understandably favor.

I decided to take video footage of the amazing event from a nearby parking garage. When we arrived there was already a small gathering of people on the rooftop waiting to see the amazing spectacle. As it grew closer and closer to dusk more and more Vaux’s Swifts began circling above. Ravens aware of the situation, perched at the edge of the chimney picking off the few that dared get too close to them. You could hear the gasps from the crowd when it happened.

By sunset there were well over 5,000 Swifts circling in a giant vortex above us. As it grew darker, the Swifts began circling and slowly filing into the chimney one by one. Had I been alone on the rooftop, you would have heard the almost deafening roar of the Swifts in the background. Unfortunately all you can hear is the loud chatter of the other people which is why I chose to dub over the audio with a peaceful celtic melody.

Hope you enjoy watching the video:

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Posted by ctaylor on October 2, 2011 in Photography Adventures

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Author Archives: ctaylor

Snowy Owls

A Booby in Orange County!

G2 Gallery – Emerging IV Reception

American Golden-Plover @ Ballona Creek

Vaux’s Swifts (Video)

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