Thursday, May 18, 2006
Nojoqui Falls

Sometimes I like to play with Photoshop a bit!

It has been really hazy this year, not very conducive to scenery and architecture photos of Santa Barbara. (although I have been thinking about some cool evening photos through the fog).

But the wet weather has it\'s benefits. Nojoqui Falls, just up 101 from Santa Barbara, is only a trickle in the summer and on dry years. This is a photo I took a few years ago, but all the greyness in Santa Barbara has been making me think about the need for a trip somewhere north of here. Not that I really need much of an excuse to go exploring with my camera! :-D

Oh, by the way, there is some debate as to how you pronounce "Nojoqui". Some people insist it is na-ho-KEY or no-ho-KEY, but most locals pronounce it nah-WHO-wee and that is how I learned to say it.

Monday, January 24, 2005
Cattle Egret

I found this guy poking around the stream along the path to Nojoqui Falls near Santa Barbara. I knew he was an Egret, but I was not sure what kind.

Once I identified it, I found out some interesting facts about this bird. Although it is now distributed over the entire world as recently as 1910 there were no records of it in America. Apparently, in the early 1900s this bird migrated across the Atlantic ocean from Africa then spread quickly across South and North America.

USGS Patuxent Bird ID InfoCenter

South American Birds Site, with some interesting information.