Diving Birds

Brandt's Cormorant

A pair of Brandt's Cormorants affectionately play along the cliffs ringing La Jolla cove, San Diego, CA, January 2019.

Brandt's Cormorant

A Brandt's Cormorant sits on her nest along La Jolla Cove, California, January 2019.

I've Got my Eye on You

California Brown Pelicans along La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California.

Eye to Eye

A California Brown Pelican confronts a Brandt's Cormorant looking to join them on a cliff above La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California, January 2019.

Eye to Eye

A California Brown Pelican confronts a Brandt's Cormorant looking to join them on a cliff above La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California, January 2019.

Cliffside

The surf pounds along the rocky seacliffs that ring La Jolla Cove, San Diego, California.

Seacliffs

The cliffs run with bird guana from the large gathering of seabirds on the La Jolla Cove seacliffs.

Inca Terns

This beautiful bird gets its name from the ancient Inca Empire in South America because that is their habitat. They're also known for their stunning white mustaches.

Double-crested Cormorant

On a limb overlooking the Ogeechee River, Richmond Hill, Georgia, April 2021

Belted Kingfisher

I found this little guy on a rail along a pier off a pond in Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, DE.

Female Belted Kingfisher

Perched on a pillar above the Carroll Creek spillway in Frederick, Maryland.

Female Belted Kingfisher

Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge, Delaware

Double-crested Cormorant

The hooked and pointed beak of a Double-crested Cormorant doesn't have much of a problem grabbing a fish. These birds are fishing along the Susquehanna River, MD during the annual spring shad migration, April 2022

Double-crested Cormorant

Amazing how these birds can grab the fish, swing it up and swallow it in seconds. These birds are fishing along the Susquehanna River, MD during the annual spring shad migration, April 2022.

Common Murres

Pairs of breeding common murres enjoy the sun on their rocky porch. Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska. The bird is a large auk that lives in the low-Arctic and boreal waters of the North Atlantic and North Pacific. It spends most of its time at sea, only coming to land to breed on rocky cliff shores or islands.

Common Murres

A common murre nest high up on a cliff overlooking Resurrection Bay, Alaska. Murres nest in dense colonies on sheer cliff ledges like this one. They stand or sit side by side and often touch each other. This dense nesting habit protects them and their chicks from gulls, ravens, eagles, and other predators. Murres use no nesting material. Here you can see a murre sitting on her egg in the small cave. Kenai Fjords National Park, Alaska

Common Muirs

Breeding Common Murres gather in a sea cliff cave along the Kenai Peninsula, Alaska