Pacific Coast–Alaska to Baja

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding

Paint filter over photograph of white-faced ibis

Sanderlings (Calidris alba) feeding in mud flats at sunset, San Igancio Lagoon, Baja

Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

Casper, Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), showing off for a female

"Look honey, I can swim upside down!" Monterey Bay, Calif. ©Kathy West

Lincoln’s sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)

CA51A orca breaching (Aurora), second to another orca breach (curtain of water behind her)

Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) Elkhorn Slough Reserve

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

CA51A orca spyhopping (Aurora)

Brown booby (Sula leucogaster), Sea of Cortez, Baja

Ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola)

Ocean sunfish or common mola (Mola mola), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale lunge feeding on anchovies

Common Tern (Sterna hirundo), San Ignacio Lagoon

Brandt’s cormorant (Urile penicillatus) portrait

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

Common egret (Ardea alba), Pacific Grove, California. ©2021

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

Brown footed booby (Sula leucogaster) feeding on giant squid pieces leftover from Risso dolphin feeding

1-year old orca calf “Eclipse” (Orcinus orca) breaching

Common egret (Ardea alba)

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) preening after rain storm

Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) preening after rain storm. California. ©Kathy West 2021

American avocet (Recurvirostra americana), Jepson Prairie Reserve, California. ©Kathy West

Sailor by the wind, Velella

By-the-Wind sailor, Velella. Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

CA51A orca breaching (Aurora), second to another orca breach (curtain of water behind her)

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) preening after rain storm

Anna's hummingbird (Calypte anna) preening after rain storm, Davis, California. ©Kathy West

Brandt’s cormorant (Urile penicillatus) males displaying

Brandt's cormorant (Urile penicillatus) males displaying, Point Lobos, California. ©Kathy West

Common egret (Ardea alba), Pacific Grove, California. ©2021

Humpback whale lunge feeding on anchovies

Wright’s Lake sunset, California Sierra mountains

Wright's Lake, California Sierra mountains. ©Kathy West

Common egret (Ardea alba)

Brandt’s cormorant (Urile penicillatus) male bringing nesting material to female

Brandt's cormorant (Urile penicillatus) male bringing nesting material to female. Point Lobos, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Black oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani)

Black oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani), Monterey, California. ©Kathy West 2021

Sandhill cranes (sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), Woodbridge Ecological Reserve

Brandt’s Cormorant delivering kelp gift to mate

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breach landing

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Common egret (Ardea alba), Elkhorn slough, California. ©Kathy West

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis)

Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta)

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula), Davis, California. ©Kathy West

Lynn Canal, Alaska ©Kathy West

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

Common egret (Ardea alba)

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) harassing a double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum)

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) harassing a double-crested cormorant (Nannopterum auritum) with fish

Snowy Egret (Egretta thula)

CA51A orca breaching (Aurora), second to another orca breach (curtain of water behind her)

Yellow faced bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) loaded with pollen, with lupine (lupinus) flowers

©KathyWestStudios_BIRD-gallery_143

Common egret (Ardea alba)

Nesting ospreys (Pandion haliaetus)

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding at sunset, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Reddish egret (Egretta rufescens)

Yellow faced bumblebee (Bombus vosnesenskii) loaded with pollen, with lupine (lupinus) flowers

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding at sunset

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding at sunset, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Breaching humpback juvenile whale (Megaptera novaeangliae)

Monterey Bay coast, Pacific Grove, California. ©Kathy West

Anna’s Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) breach landing at sunset

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) breach landing at sunset, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi), Yolo Bypass Wetlands, California

California sea lions (Zalophus californianus) surfing in big swells

CA51A orca breaching (Aurora)

Honeybee and cactus flower, Davis, California. ©2007

Crowded “apartment” living in Monterey

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding at sunset

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding at sunset, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) hunting

Glacial ice, Glacier Bay, Alaska. ©Kathy West

©KathyWestStudios_BIRD-gallery_171

Cedar waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum), Davis, California. ©Kathy West

Alaskan landscape, near Haines, Alaska. ©Kathy West

Misty morning mountain scape along Lynn Canal, Alaska. ©Kathy West

Common Raven (Corvus corax), Mendocino, California. ©Kathy West

Morning on Lynn Canal, Alaska. ©Kathy West

Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon), Mendocino, California. ©Kathy West

Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

©KathyWestStudios_reptileETC_gallery_42

©KathyWestStudios_BIRD_gallery_141

©KathyWestStudios_marineMammals_146

Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

©KathyWestStudios_BIRD_gallery_142

Monterey Bay coast, Pacific Grove, California. ©Kathy West

©KathyWestStudios_marineMammals_178

Southern sea otters (Enhydra lutris), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Monterey Bay coast at sunset, Pacific Grove, California. ©Kathy West

Anna’s hummingbird (Calypte anna) Pacific Grove, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) chin slapping. Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding near beach. Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding near beach. Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Brown footed booby (Sula leucogaster) feeding on giant squid pieces leftover from Risso dolphin feeding, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

American avocets (Recurvirostra americana) winter plumage, Elkhorn Slough, California. ©Kathy West

Brown footed booby (Sula leucogaster) feeding on giant squid pieces leftover from Risso dolphin feeding, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Anna’s hummingbird, Elkhorn Slough, California. ©Kathy West

Anna's hummingbird, Elkhorn Slough, California. ©Kathy West

American avocets (Recurvirostra americana) winter plumage, Elkhorn Slough, California. ©Kathy West

Common starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) feeding on coastal rocks, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Brown footed booby (Sula leucogaster) feeding on giant squid pieces leftover from Risso dolphin feeding, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

©KathyWestStudios_marineMammals_165

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching in high winds, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Casper, Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), showing off for a female

California sea lion (Zalophus californianus) male, catching lobster, Santa Cruz harbor, California. ˚Kathy West

Pacific white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding near beach, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whales(Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding near beach, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding near beach, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding near beach, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Pacific white-sided dolphins (Lagenorhynchus obliquidens), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris), mom and pup, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Southern sea otter (Enhydra lutris), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) lunge feeding, Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

Casper, Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), showing off for a female

Casper, Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), showing off for a female, Monterey Bay, Calif. ©Kathy West

Harbor seal (Phoca vitulina) morning stretch and yawn

Casper, Risso’s dolphin (Grampus griseus), showing off for a female

Casper, Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus), showing off for a female, Monterey Bay, Calif. ©Kathy West

Northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis), Monterey Bay, California. ©Kathy West

300 year old olive tree at San Javier Mission, near Loreto, Baja California. ©Kathy West

Unidentified plant at San Javier Mission, near Loreto, Baja California. ©Kathy West