My visit to the Pacific coast was rather short and opportunity for some wildlife shooting rare. I did manage to get some images of the marine wildlife around San Diego that I'd like to display in this article.
Pelicans belong to the largest and heaviest birds that are able to fly. They can reach a wingspan of up to 3.45 m and a body weight of 13 kg.Characteristic for the Pelican is the large throat pouch used for catching prey and draining water from the scooped up contents before swallowing.I almost didn't take any birds in flight shots on this trip. This Pelican on final approach is an exception.This common seagull too. What would a trip to the ocean be without at least one flying seagull image?A colony of harbor seals and cormorantsThese are not seals but California sea lions climbing a rock.Two females resting on the beach. Sea lions are easily distinguishable from seals because they have ears that the seals lack.This one comes freshly from a bath in the ocean and is letting himself get dried in the sun.A grown bull warning an opponent to stay out of his territory.Not heeding such a warning means provoking a fight. Being there during the mating season was a lucky coincidence for me since I could witness some of the spectacular fights between the massively sized males. They can be up to 2 meters long and reach weights up to 400 kg.The females are considerably smaller and quieter than the males. This one just returned from a hunt.Sea lions live in large colonies and are therefore very social animals.They are also excellent swimmers that can reach underwater speeds of up to 40 kilometers per hour.These images were taken at the beach in La Jolla. I was there in two consecutive days because the weather was pretty bad the first time. On the second day I got lucky because there was some nice afternoon light and a pretty good sunset.A group of females enjoying in the last sunrays of the day.
This artile concludes the series about my trip to the USA.
