Trips

Everyday Sunshine: Oh the places we’ll go

June 8, 2012 by Walter 10 Comments

Looking for birds means we go where the birds are. Every once in a while, when it gets quiet, I look around and marvel at the places birds have dragged me out into. Here are a few. (in the comments, please share links to any photos you’ve taken of the wonderful places birds have led you)

Light blooms at dusk near Mono Lake. Common Nighthawks and Violet-green Swallows abound.


A kelp mound looms during the search for Sanderlings in Point Reyes.


Abbotts Lagoon welcomes the night and so do Burrowing Owls.


Searching for Golden Gate Great Horned Owls.


Varied Thrush habitat on Mount Tamalpais.


Red-tailed Hawks often hunt through dusk in San Francisco.


Peregrine Falcons frequent the sheer rock faces of Tennessee Valley. I imagine them beaming through this shortcut too.


The Foster City Shell Bar is the place for shorebirds and views of the San Mateo Bridge.


Carrizo Plain harbors shrikes, meadowlarks, eagles, falcons, etc… oh, and flowers. Many, many, many flowers.


Owling anyone?


Klamath is bird cray cray in the winter. It is calmer in the summer but no less beautiful.


And of course, the reason we get ourselves together and get out there is the birds. So nice that they prefer such sublime surroundings. Till nest next time…

Written by Walter
Walter Kitundu is an artist and designer, instrument builder and bird photographer. As an artist he has created hand built record players powered by the wind and rain, fire and earthquakes, birds, light, and the force of ocean waves. Walter has performed and been in residence at art centers and science museums internationally. He has performed with the renowned Kronos Quartet, bassist Meshell Ndegeocello, the electronic music duo Matmos, and the legendary Marshall Allen - in venues from Carnegie Hall to a high school library in Egilstaadir, Iceland. In 2008 Walter became a MacArthur Fellow. Walter loves photographing birds and is an ongoing volunteer with the Golden Gate Raptor Observatory. He was hooked when a Red-tailed Hawk landed at his side, ate a caterpillar, then refused to leave. He is a Senior Design Developer for the Studio Gallery at the Exploratorium in San Francisco where he designs and builds environments for learning. You can see more of his work on his blog, Bird Light Wind.