Retirement in Washington State
Greg in San Diego
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3y ago
Just to let my regular readers know, Marlene and I have retired! We have moved to Washington State to be closer to Marlene's family. We'll surely miss the beach and the desert of San Diego County. And all our friends we made there in Escondido and elsewhere. Our view! Our long term goal for the next few years is RV living. Arizona in the winter and Washington in the summer. But we'll see what life brings instead of what we plan. Right now RVs are unavailable or extra-expensive. People are buying them for their summer vacations, since other types of flights and vacations are on hol ..read more
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What has Greg been doing lately?
Greg in San Diego
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4y ago
I haven't posted anything new for several months. Some of you have asked me about it. Well, in July I was working on art for a post I was writing on the at-sea identification of California's dark-rumped storm-petrels. Then I watched a YouTube video on writing the perfect blog post in an hour. That led down a rabbit hole (I didn't realize until just now this idiom was in reference to Alice In Wonderland... oh, oh, distracted again) to writing blog posts for niche websites and earning income. Wait! I could write blog post and earn income? I've been writing blogs for over a dozen years and not ..read more
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Site Guide: Orosco Ridge Trailhead and Pamo Valley, Ramona
Greg in San Diego
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4y ago
North of Ramona is Pamo Valley. It is a lovely pastoral valley in the inland of San Diego's North County. The grassland is surrounded by steep chaparral-covered hills. Santa Ysabel Creek is dry for much of the year. The riparian trees include mature live oak, sycamore, cottonwoods. Cattle graze in the open range of a ranch that dates back to the 1860s. Wild Turkeys rest in the shade under the oak trees. In previous years local birders would slowly drive the 5-mile dead end dirt road to look for unusual winter birds. These include Mountain Bluebirds and Lewis's Woodpeckers nearly every year. G ..read more
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Site Guide: Stonebridge Trail, Solana Beach
Greg in San Diego
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4y ago
Upstream 2 miles from the ocean at the mouth of the San Elijo Lagoon in Solano Beach is the Stonebridge Trail. It is one of several short trails in the area that can be good for birds in the river bottom. In winter and spring there may be water to block full access to some of the trails, but it is fairly dry during most of the year. There are two species in spring that are hard to find in San Diego County that may be found here: Solitary Sandpiper which migrates through from mid April to early May, and American Bittern which may winter or breed. The wetlands and small ponds with mudflats can ..read more
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A private pelagic trip
Greg in San Diego
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4y ago
I organized and led over 160 pelagic trips from Oregon in 20 years starting in 1994. Recently, I heard from a former regular passenger, Kit, that she was visiting her son in San Diego. Kit's son has a boat and she wanted me to plot out a course and help with bird ID. And she invited Marlene to come with me. Sounds like fun! So it was I found myself aboard the vessel Reel Science on July 21. Marlene (left) and Kit (right) on the flying bridge.We got a fairly late start, with some family and friends arriving later than others. By 9:00 am, though, we were underway and looking at birds on the ba ..read more
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What are the best camera settings for pelagic bird photography?
Greg in San Diego
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5y ago
On my Canon EOS 7D with Canon EF 100-400mm 4.5-5.6 IS lens, these are the camera settings I start with at the beginning of the pelagic birding trip: Manual mode, shutter speed of 1/1250, an aperture of f/7.1, exposure compensation of plus one full stop, Continuous focus mode called AI servo, Auto ISO, Evaluative metering, and autofocus mode to 1 point AF. Of course, all my bird and wildlife photography uses RAW format and Automatic White Balance. Over the years I've struggled to find the best camera settings for pelagic bird photography. I've finally settled on what works best for me for phot ..read more
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A family of White-tailed Kites at San Elijo Lagoon
Greg in San Diego
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5y ago
While visiting Stonebridge Trail upstream from San Elijo Lagoon, I came across a tree with 5 juvenile kites! I photographed two that were out in the open a bit more. It was an overcast morning so I increased the exposure compensation 1 full step, even though I was using spot metering. Juvenile White-tailed Kite. San Elijo Lagoon, California. June 14, 2019. Greg Gillson ..read more
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California Quail at San Elijo Lagoon
Greg in San Diego
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5y ago
Here's a recent photo. Well, it's a month old now, I guess. What can I say, I've been busy. California Quail. San Elijo Lagoon, California. June 14, 2009. Greg Gillson ..read more
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Fieldcraft: Stalking Birds: 25 tips: How to get close to birds without scaring them away
Greg in San Diego
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5y ago
In my previous post I discussed whether it was really necessary to get closer to a bird. In some cases, to protect the welfare of the bird, it may be best not to approach closer. Likewise, if other people are desiring to see the bird, it would be rude to scare it off so that others couldn't enjoy it. And you don't want to harass birds, or give the impression that you are to onlookers. You can learn to approach birds more closely without frightening them. Then again, you can remain still and have the birds come to you! Both these outcomes start with the same premise: Don't look threatening. A ..read more
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Black-footed Albatross off San Diego
Greg in San Diego
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5y ago
After 9 hours our pelagic trip was nearly over, and we were heading back toward port. We were still about 15 miles offshore, though, when the call of "Albatross!" went up. And there it was: far behind the boat but closing on our stern. We were still trailing some popcorn and had a flock of gulls behind the boat. The albatross must have thought we had something good to eat. Well, albatrosses like popcorn just fine, though they'd probably rather have their favorite food--squid! Albatrosses are fairly rare off San Diego. Trips in April, May, and June frequently will record one. They are sometim ..read more
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