March 2021

La Jolla Seabird

Double-Crested Cormorant Nuptial Crests and Breeding Plumage

Each winter the breeding adults of the Double-Crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) display a beautiful form of mating plumage, namely a pair of nuptial crests above each eye for which the species if named. These large tufts of feathers are striking in that they cannot be missed. The nuptial crests can be…

Phil CollaMarch 12, 2021

La Jolla Pelicans of La Jolla Seabird

California Brown Pelicans in La Jolla, New Portrait and Flight Images

Each winter I photograph the California race of Brown Pelican in La Jolla (Pelecanus occidentalis californicus). From about mid December through early February, if I look out the window and the skies to the east are clear and there is no fog over La Jolla, I have a chance to hustle…

Phil CollaMarch 11, 2021

Beautiful Views of San Diego La Jolla San Diego

35 Beautiful San Diego City Skyline and Coastal Views

I love photographing San Diego's city skyline and the region's coastal scenes, particularly those that feature panoramas of downtown San Diego and its waterfront as well as long compressed coastal views that layer sea cliffs, beaches, and coastal mountains. I've been photographing San Diego and La Jolla in earnest for…

Phil CollaMarch 10, 2021

Birds San Diego

Western Grebes and Clark’s Grebes Rushing on Lake Hodges

Western Grebes (Aechmophorus occidentalis) and Clark's Grebes (Aechmophorus clarkii) exhibit some of the most elaborate and impressive courtship behavior found in the animal world, including various vocalizations, swimming movements, the exchange of nesting material ("weed ceremony") and, most notably, the "rushing ceremony". When grebes rush, they rise entirely out of…

Phil CollaMarch 9, 2021

La Jolla Sea Lion

New California Sea Lion Portraits in La Jolla

I photograph California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) often, and this winter has been no exception. We have had ideal weather for photographing the local colony of sea lions and I've tried to take advantage of it, making more portraits of them in the golden morning sun. I repeat this every year…

Phil CollaMarch 8, 2021