Cape Cod reflections

  

I was at a family wedding on Cape Cod recently (Congratulations, Katie & Aiden!), so here are a few quick shots from Massachusetts.

Above, Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa).

Next, sandbars and sky: 

 

 

And a sunrise, too:

 

 

 

Seascape at sunset

  

Didn't have a chance to take photos this week, so here's one from January 2025 — seascape at sunset along the Sonoma Coast.

Silver seas

  

Ocean reflections at sunset on 20 December 2022.

Happy Winter Solstice!

Coastal palette -- Part 2

Okay, so I received several guesses about last night's mystery photo (re-posted below)...thank you!  I knew this would be tricky, and I wouldn't have known the answer either.

 

 

If you've been following the NHBH blog for a while, you'll know that I'm fascinated by light and color in the environment.  And you might recall my photos of strands of silk in spider webs as well as close-ups of foam bubbles along the shore.  This is very similar!

 

Here's a zoomed out version of the original view:

 

 

 

These are foam bubbles left behind on a sandy beach after a wave has receded.  Sunlight is interacting with the film on the bubbles to create small colored reflections.  The bottom half of the image has sharper focus (and the colors are more subtle), but notice how the top half of the image is out of focus and in that case the colors become broadened into circles.

 

Here's another example (below) where I've purposely blurred the image to make the colored reflections in the foam become more visible:

 

 

Once I've downloaded the image I can zoom in on interesting sections of the photo, like this:

 

 

I don't know why there are so many different colors...or why the colors appear as perfect circles (but see this article on "Understanding bokeh").  It's intriguing to see what colors and patterns appear as the foam and light interact.  (You might recall that I've noticed a seasonal pattern where it appears that the foam is the most colorful during the spring upwelling season.)

 

 

 

So there you go — the colorful mystery dots are a blurry view of sea foam and sunlight.  Who knew?

 

Burnished by the sun

 

 

Sunset reflections on the Pacific, 9 February 2022

Surrounded by light

  

Sanderlings (Calidris alba) feeding on the beach in reflected light from the bluffs at Point Reyes.  

The blue and gold light surrounding the Sanderlings was quite something.  I couldn't decide which photo I liked best, so here's a series:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pink moon?

 

 

We heard this full moon is sometimes called the "Pink Moon"— not necessarily because the moon is pink, but because Moss Pink (Phlox subulata) flowers at this time.  However, we thought the name was appropriate when viewing this beautiful pink lighting surrounding the moon on our way to do field work around sunrise this morning (27 April 2021).

Spring winds

  

Spring winds off Bodega Head, 7 April 2021

Raven series

  

Wow, was it windy in Bodega Bay today!  Northwest winds at something like 20-30 knots with gusts to 35 knots (~25-35 mph with gusts to ~40 mph).  I stepped out to take a quick photo to document the conditions and came across this Common Raven (Corvus corvax) with its feathers being ruffled by the wind. 

The raven flew to a more sheltered location and seemed to express a little weariness, as people often do, too, in these blustery conditions:

 

 

And then a second raven approached.  The first raven bowed its head, a position usually taken for allopreening (when one raven preens the other during pair bonding):

 

 

The preening continued for several minutes, with work on feathers around the head, neck, and bill:

 

 

 

I can't resist including two more.  Lots of interesting reflections highlighting their beautiful feathers:

 

 

A not-so-long tail

  

Birders have been reporting two Long-tailed Ducks (Clangula hyemalis) in Bodega Harbor near Porto Bodega, so I swung by there this afternoon (13 January 2021) after a stop at the post office.  They weren't too hard to find, but they were a little distant, so this is the best photo I have.  Long-tailed Ducks are rare winter visitors to this area.  (Males have very long tails when in breeding plumage.)

My eyes were also drawn to some intriguing patterns on the surface of the water close to shore.  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

 

 

Ringing in the new year

 

 

We had some nice views of a small group of Ring-necked Ducks (Aythya collaris) in Petaluma this afternoon (1 January 2021).  The reflections of the shoreline vegetation in the water surrounding the ducks were amazing.

 

 

 

 

 

The long and short of it

  

 
American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhyncos) in Bodega Harbor, 13 October 2020

 

Dalí droplets

While walking through the woods this afternoon, this series of droplets caught me eye.  From a distance, I couldn't quite tell what was going on.  It looked a bit surreal — How could the droplets at the lower edge be rising up?

 

Then I realized that the entire lower portion of the scene was a reflection of a narrow icy ledge that was now elevated above the surface of the stream.  So the lower droplets are reflections of the upper droplets.  If you're interested, here's a broader view (below).  The surface of the stream was quiet enough that the reflection was just about perfect!

 

 

Loon, water, and light

 

It was another gray day in Bodega Bay, but on the way back from the post office I stopped to watch this Red-throated Loon (Gavia stellata).  (This is the loon's non-breeding plumage; it has a red throat during the breeding season.)

 

With the calm water and the crab boats headed out, there were gentle waves creating intriguing reflections.  It reminded me of skipping stones — how many skips, or how many reflections can you see in one picture?  Here are a few examples:

 

 

 

The loon spent some time drifting and looking around, and some time resting with its bill tucked under its back feathers.

 

Maybe I was drawn to the loon because this is how I feel today — a bit tired and ready for the weekend.  :) 

 

Beach stones, water, and light

 

Eric captured this nice photo of beach stones under a shallow current of moving water near the mouth of Hatches Harbor in Provincetown, MA, yesterday (2 October 2019).  

Turning colors

 

Morning reflections on a lake in Alstead, New Hampshire, 30 September 2019.  

Turning leaves and Common Loon (Gavia immer):

 

One of my favorite times of year in New England!

 

Microwaves?

 

Tiny, incoming wave approaching the beach during the late afternoon on 11 August 2019.  [You can click on the image for a larger version.]

Far horizon

 

18 March 2019

 

Past reflections

 

I've been sorting through some older photos.  This is Bodega Harbor on 2 February 2016.

 

Pinks and purples in the low zone

 

Not sure exactly why, but I couldn't resist this view — moving water and reflected light with the pinks of the hydrocoral and the purples of the urchins.

Photographed in the low intertidal zone in northern Sonoma County on 24 February 2017.