FINAL REMINDER: Remember to enter the
Valentine's Giveaway! I will draw/announce two names sometime in early February, so you have up until the end of the day on January 31st to enter to win what I think are some fun Valentine goods.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
We've come to the last of the San Felipe photos. I'm kind of sad, because going through them has been like a mini-vacation in itself. I miss the sun!
On our last full day there, we went to town to pick up some souvenirs (vanilla!) and have lunch. On our way to the restaurant, we came across this scene. Some guys with a truck of freshly-caught fish were cleaning them and feeding the scraps to the pelicans. I didn't have the right lens on my camera, so these photos are just kind of snapshotty, but still interesting, I hope.
Here, pelicans! Enjoy some fish carcasses!
I've never really watched pelicans eating up close like this! I could've probably watched them for a few more hours, it was so interesting. They have the craziest bills/throats.
And they're so big! I mean, I knew this, but I never really compared them to seagulls. Despite their size, they seem pretty graceful at flying, even just short hops.
If I were a pelican, I'd likely be on the sidelines. Having to be quick and fight people for stuff is not my style. It would stress me out.
Better tuck in that fish tail before another bird pulls it out!
Don't get bored, okay? Just a few more. I wish I had better photos of the pretty males, with their vibrant red and yellow coloring. They tended to let the females get first dibs. Smart.
Okay, I guess those were all the photos I took on that last day. Now we're on day 8, the day we left. [:(] We got up early for our long drive ahead. The sun was just beginning to rise, and I had time to take a few photos.
And now we're back in California, passing that wind farm again. I couldn't help but take a few more photos while my dad drove.
Sunday (day 9) was spent at my parents' place before I flew home the following day. My mom and I spent some time in the back yard while I took more bird photos.
I was glad to get a shot of a hummingbird by the morning glories, even though it's not that great.
Some birds bathing in my parents' waterfall.
This young bird of prey came and landed in a tree in my parents' yard! I could only get a couple photos before it flew off. It was small enough that I think it was not very old, unless it's just a smaller variety of something.
That's it. :) I hope you enjoyed these. Please see my "mexico" label for other photos from this trip, if you missed any.
[NOTE: I seem to be having that problem again where not all my photos are loading up, so you may see confusing captions under a blank space. I'm not sure what's going on with my gallery but if you reload the page later it might be working.]
Pelicans are giant birds. I remember standing among them on the pier in Santa Barbara while visiting our cousin several years ago. (It burnt down shortly after our visit - bit of trivia.) They weren't afraid of people at all. They didn't even move aside when we walked close to them. Their fearlessness was disturbing! And just ... they are so freakishly big. Impressive.
ReplyDeleteCool pics of the pelicans!
ReplyDeleteI find it amusing that your Dad's hands aren't visible in the pic (is he driving with his knees? :p) so it looks like no one is actually driving the car.
Your parents' place has a lot of cool wildlife! They could charge admission!
I could have watched the pelicans longer, too. Of all the times I've seen pelicans, this was the most interesting. I think your photos protrayed that well.
ReplyDeleteFunny to see the beautiful morning glories. Now our yard is flowerless with much less leaves, due to the time of year and recent cold spell. The frost was nothing compared to your beautiful "frost photos", though.