It hasn’t been around but for 20 or 30 years now. Birds are getting more plentiful and varied. If you enjoy walking around in fresh air and sunshine, it’s a nice place to visit.
The Herons have been nesting, hence all the twig shots. You will need a long lens, and a tripod. (I prefer a mono pod because it allows me to move with the birds, and yet take out wobble) As with anything I shoot, the secret is to shoot like crazy anything that moves, and go through them later. I used a 300mm 2.8 at 16000 set at ASA 100. It is on the corner of PCH and Warner in Huntington Beach, CA. If you go, remember, they are birds so be patient.
correction 16000 should be 1600
I had a very small role in creating this wetland preserve. When I was a teenager, Huntington Beach was largely rural. The wetlands were a natural saltwater marsh that had always been there.
When housing construction began to encroach on the wetlands in the late '60's, our State Assemblyman, Craig Hosmer (D) co-sponsored a bi-partisan measure to make what you see today a protected refuge for migrating birds. Being enthusiastic about ecology and saving the planet, I wrote to several legislators and Governor Ronald Reagan in support of the measure. That was in about 1968. Each letter had to be written out in hand. Not even a Xerox machine was available.
The measure passed easily, and good thing that it did, as you can see when you visit that every square foot of non-protected land has been develeped up to the edge of the preserve. I think it may attract a much wider variety of birds today due to the disappearance of much of the remaining wetlands in So Cal.
Thanks for making me feel good about this wonderful preserve. And, btw, GREAT PICTURES!!!
Anyone traveling through California via Pacific Coast Hwy should make this a mandatory stop. You can just park in a lot right off the Hwy and walk the paths that have been designed for visitors. No smoking, no trash, no wandering off the paths. You know the rules. (_;o