Sea Creatures~

On By cindy knokeIn Birds, Conservation, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life

(click/tap to enlarge)

Have ocean eyes,

good for seeing,

in the murky depths.

Catching critters,

as they swim away.

Except for Squirrely,

who doesn’t even let his feet get wet.

Cheers to you from La Jolla’s sea creatures.

Critters in order are: Brandt’s Cormorant, Black Oystercatcher, Heerman’s Gull and California Ground Squirrel.

214 thoughts on “Sea Creatures~”

    2. Endless Weekend

      Do you know what determines their eye color? Definitely gorgeous! I did not know the sported different color eyes!

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  2. All very impressive. Is the first bird featured (with blue eyes and a blue patch under its beak) related to the cormorant – the body shape and general colouring (save for the two blue elements) is quite similar?

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  7. Another awe-remark: Those eyes! Never seen such intense blue eyes, and the most wonderful lightblue throat. I guess it’s good those birds don’t have mirrors. They would not stop admiring themselves.

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    1. Smiling…. Thank you very much Peter. If you put a mirror in front of a bird, they usually start fighting with it! Thank God. We don’t need any more narcissists in this world 🕊️

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  13. Oooh! That top bird looks like a Brandt’s Cormorant! We’ll have to call him Frank for Ol’ Blue Eyes. 💙 The Black Oystercatcher is so handsome, too! I wonder what gull that is? Red-billed gulls usually have red legs, too, don’t they? Love these photos! Even your squirrel friend is a cutie!

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  15. Wow, the Brandt’s Cormorant has amazing blue eyes.
    Thanks for all the gorgeous shots of our fabulous birds, Cindy.
    Of course, the squirrel is in a league of its own!

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          1. Lol!
            Hey, we have some white ones up here. One of our parks is famous for them
            A small but unique outpost. ❦❦❦❦

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    1. Thank you Ashley. Hopefully no one will accidently import a squirrel to Oz. The rabbits have caused enough problems. Wonderful/wise that Australia is very careful about this 🕊️

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  29. Being on your blog is entering the magical world of your photos to enjoy those wonderful birds. Your photos highlight its beauty. You have a wonderful talent for taking photos Cyndi.

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  32. Delightful pictures Cindy, they make a whole new vision of many creatures we never get close to. It gives an appreciation to ‘touch’ them on here. Thank you kindly 🤗🥰🤣❤️🙏

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  34. You show me what I’d more commonly ignore. I’ve more kinship with a squirrel than a bird – they’re more like me. I’m a shallow guy. A squirrel will sit on my lap; a bird never has; the lap for a win. Pretty colors though. Life can be intense. Beautiful.

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  39. These shiny birds took me back to my school days, the title of the story was A Witty Answer. In this story the cook roasted a crane for his master, who had invited his friend to dinner.
    When he served dinner, his master noticed the bird had only one leg. The cook was asked , ‘where is the other leg of the crane?’
    The cook without batting an eyelash, replied : ‘Cranes have only one leg Sir.’
    The master was furious he decided to take his cook to the field where there were a lot of cranes, when they arrived the birds were standing on one leg which is their sleeping position. The master went near them and said shoo, shoo, the frightened birds put the other leg down and flew away.
    Asked the master, ‘do you still think cranes have only one leg?’
    The answer he gave was, ‘I think the shop owner forgot to say shoo, shoo, when he caught the bird which is why one you bought did not put its leg down.’
    The master was impressed by his reply and forgave him. Though he knew what the truth was.

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    1. OMG! This is such perfection. You noticed the oystercatcher resting on one leg! You just made me so happy. The story is wonderful. I always wonder about birds resting/sleeping on one leg. How do they do it? It seems like they are doing yoga to me, something you have to practice to perfect. But I think birds sleep on one leg because they know they will fly away very soon. I admire this about them. They are permanent, but not present. Love to you my friend. Thank you for this. Stay safe and well 🕊️

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    1. OMG! I did not see this. Thank you so much for sharing! How freaking wonderful is this. It is like birds, flying off course, landing, in front of a amateur photographer, and saying, “Make something of yourself!” They actually do this alot. This made me happy. Thank you.

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  43. Gorgeous photos as always, Cindy. I showed my spouse your photos, as he’s interested in photography, and he was wondering what kind of camera and lens you use for your amazing photos.

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    1. This is so nice. Thank you both. I use a Sony HX400V for critter photos. The camera has been discontiuned by Sony. It is touchy. I bought the last new one I could find in Japan. The entire camera is in Japanese. I love this camera and it is not expensive 🕊️

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  44. I wonder what they see, compared to humans, and how their eyes work together. Their eyes are so small yet they can hunt in the water. Fascinating.

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  64. I am so delighted to see the incredible detail you are able to capture in your photography of these wonderful birds and squirrel. It’s an additional layer of wonder to enjoy! ☮️❤️🙂

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  65. As a wise person once said, “Wherever you look, there shall be a squirrel.”

    Thanks for sharing your photos, Cindy! The blue eyes of the cormorant are mesmerizing!

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  69. Those blue eyes are divine! Linda xox
    PS – I love that you use a tilde (~) in your text; I’m a super fan, but rarely see others use it. I’ve always love that it has the shape of a wave and the sense of the wind in it.

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    1. Yes. You are the first to comment. Surprising. Thank you! First of all, I love the tilde because it messes with grammar and punctuation, secondly I love that it has varied meaning; logic, negation, sort of or approximately. Third, like you, I love the way it looks~ Lovely to meet you Linda 🐦‍⬛

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  74. I didn’t know about any of these creatures. And those squirrels look a bit different than ours. These birds’ eyes are so gorgeous!

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  79. Lovely birdies! I saw an Eastern BlueBird on its way somewhere in March. This morning I saw a ‘Flying Checkerboard’ – a Red-headed Wood pecker with white and black checkered wings!!

    And I may have three of the four of my birdie houses with small nesting birds 🙂

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  83. S’il est un blog que j’adore au-delâ de tous, c’est celui-ci.
    Il condense tout ce que l’inspiration artistique sait exprimer.
    À l’image juste, répond une autre prise de vue, en un captivant ballet d’oiseaux marins effleurant les flots

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  86. We were just in the area in March. We were in San Diego for a few days and took a drive to see the Sea Lions. They’re so awesome. You might know, I lived at a lake for a long time. We had Pelicans in the summer come to fish and eat (they actually nested at a different lake). But the Cormorants where like their groupies. Where ever the Peli’s were, the Cormarants came with. They’re cool looking hey?

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  88. Pingback: Please Enjoy This Beautiful Post From Cindy Knoke! Sea Creatures~ – charles french words reading and writing

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