I'm amazed at the diversity of what can be seen and experienced in a morning walk in the center of the urban environment of Orange County--skimmer, rabbit, flowers, coyote, bullfrog, butterfly, wasp, great blue heron, hummingbird, swallow...wow!
The
Irvine Ranch Water District’s San Joaquin Marsh & Wildlife Sanctuary (SJWS)
is a true hidden gem, located year the University of Irvine’s campus. The marsh
encompasses over 300 acres of coastal freshwater wetlands, and includes nearly
12 miles of trails. The wetlands
naturally clean urban runoff from San Diego Creek and help to protect the
environmentally sensitive Upper Newport Bay.
As
those who follow my photography will recall, I’ve visited the SJWS before, and
like many of the places I go to photograph, I’m continually amazed at its
natural beauty and the fact that I will see something new every time I’m
there. I thoroughly enjoyed the peace
and quiet on the trails this morning, hardly seeing anyone else out there. You don’t have to be a photographer to
appreciate the SJWS…this is a terrific place just to walk around and get lost
in your own thoughts. Of course, if you
have a camera, bring it, you never know what you might come across!
This
is a skimmer which just finished dragging it’s beak along the water…
Just
can’t resist photography a cute rabbit!
In
addition to the wildlife that is abundant, there are many beautiful varieties
of flowers and native plants.
This
guy was exciting to see. He looks quite
healthy…after sizing me up, he went about his business looking for smaller game
(whewww!)
I
heard the deep croaking of this frog well before I was able to find him. Tucked deep in a thick growth, I felt lucky
to spot him.
Graceful
and beautiful…fluttering and unpredictable…eventually this butterfly settled
down and posed for me.
Yikes!!
This
was a somewhat anticlimactic photograph of a Great blue heron with his big
catch! I stood there and watched him hunt
for nearly 30 minute…
I
never tire of photographing hummingbirds…they are so beautiful, and in
combination with flowers make for gorgeous compositions.
Swallows
are the most difficult birds for me to photograph. They are small, and their flight “pattern” is
completely erratic! This was a lucky
catch.
