Birding Story of the Week

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Hello everyone, and sorry it has been a little while. I am back, and you should be seeing lots of posts from here on out! 

This week's story takes us to Laguna Beach, California. Laguna Beach is not necessarily considered a great birding spot. It's great for picnics, a quick swim, and tidepools, but it doesn't really attract a lot of birders. 

I found myself there celebrating my wife's 29th birthday. She loves sleeping in, so I took the opportunity to head out right at sunrise and take the short 2 minute walk to the beach from our hotel. 

When I arrived to the beach the light was a beautiful soft golden color. I grabbed my camera off of my chest and began taking photos of the nearby Willet.

The Willet is a beautiful shorebird species that has sensitive nerve endings on the end of its beak. It uses its long beak to probe the sand for invertebrates. 

As I walked down the sandy beach I saw a Black Oystercatcher fly by with a mussel in its mouth. Despite their name, Black Oystercatcher's do not eat oysters, but rather, they eat mussels and mollusks off of the rocky shoreline. This is a bird that I really wanted a photo of, and although I captured it on camera for YouTube, I didn't have time to get a picture. Luckily as I walked around the edge of the beach, there it was, standing on the dark black rocks. 

As I walked along the beach I saw many more exciting species including Whimbrel's, Swinhoe's White-eye, and Allen's Hummingbirds. Nothing could prepare me for the Common Bottlenose Dolphins that began to breach just off the beach! I stood in awe as they broke out of the water.

Moral of the story, is to always remember that although an area is not birding spot that people travel far and wide for, it is still a "birding spot." Birds are everywhere, and you can make the most out of any situation. 

If you like this post, please consider becoming a paid member (this starts as low as $2.99/mo). These memberships will allow me to fund even bigger excursions and help bring you more amazing adventures moving forward!

If you'd like to see the full adventure on film, check out my video here.

Question of the Week --

How do you get your shots so stable in your videos freehand?

I got this question quite a bit this past week and to be honest it's a combination of practice, gear, and some skill as well.

Practice holding your camera against your face with your arms folded inwards towards your sides. This is the best position to provide stability while taking videos without a tripod. The key for stable footage is to make it as stable as you can in the field. You can also lean against something like a tree, or lay down on your stomach on the ground. 

Gear also plays a huge role. The Nikon z6iii has much better in-camera stabilization than the Nikon P900 that I was previously using. Don't get too hung up on gear though, as that is only 1 of the 3 steps to providing the best stability for your footage. 

Lastly, use stabilization editing software before you post. I use Da Vinci Resolve. It's a free software that allows you to play with different stabilization sliders that can allow you to tinker to get the best stable results. 

Sneak Peak into the Future --

• I will be releasing videos next week on my adventures at Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve, and San Jacinto Wildlife Refuge
• I will also be releasing a new feeder review from Reli that I'm excited about. 
• On Bright-Eyed Birding Learn I will be releasing the Breaking Birding News Update

If you have any suggestions on how to make these blogs even better, please feel free to leave me a comment below!

Thank you so much for joining me this week, I hope to see you all next time, on Bright-Eyed Birding.