For the most part, evenings were cloudless during our stay in San Diego, but there were a few days when a wonderful light show played across the clouds. On one of those lucky days, people gathered at Fletcher Cove near where we stayed in Solana Beach to take it all in.

Tags:   sunset Fletcher Cove San Diego County palm trees silhouette Pacific Ocean water Southern California California

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A Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) wonders just how foolishly close I will approach, and whether stabbing this creature in its camera-shaped eye will help it regain some peace. Taken on the pier in Oceanside, Southern California.

Tags:   Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis Southern California San Diego County Oceanside pier Pacific Ocean

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Large boulders are strewn about the landscape near the summit of Iron Mountain. The Pacific can be seen in the distance. The scrub vegetation supports a significant diversity of bird and mammal life - there were hummingbirds everywhere on the way up.

Tags:   Iron Mountain California San Diego County Southern California Pacific Ocean

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A group of Brown Pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) on the cliffs in La Jolla, CA. The Brown Pelican is one of only two species of pelicans that feed by diving into the water, and it is the smallest of the eight species of pelican. That said, its wingspan is a relatively impressive 6-8 ft. (1.8-2.5 m). A single adult can consume up to 4 lb. (1.8 kg) of fish in a day, which accounts for the rather pungent emanations from the areas where these birds congretate.

Tags:   Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis La Jolla Pacific Ocean ice plant California

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A brace of Gray Whales (Eschrichtius robustus) make their way south from Alaska to the Sea of Cortez. At this point in their journey, they are between the Southern California/Mexico coastline and the Coronado Islands, which can be seen in the background. Gray Whales are named after John Edward Gray, who described them taxonomically in 1865. These whales have two spiracles, which give rise to a distinctive "heart-shaped" spouting pattern on calm days such as this one.

Gray Whales are benthic sediment feeders, and make their living in shallow Arctic seas consuming crustaceans. This year, life was good in the North, and they ate their fill early and headed south ahead of their typical schedule.

Tags:   Gray Whale Eschrichtius robustus Coronado Islands Mexico whale spout flukes San Diego

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