Photo Details

Here’s why we went to Back Bay – to find California Gnatcatcher. I saw my first one here in 1981, before it was recognized as a full species, and I wanted to get a photograph. Easier said than done, as they are no less active than the other gnatcatchers, and skulky to boot.

Finally I got a quick one-shot pose – when compared to Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, it is duskier underneath and on the undertail coverts, less white in the tail, and with a less-conspicuous eyering. No wonder it took them so long to declare it a separate species! ISO 800, 1/800 sec.

Back Bay / Upper Newport Bay in Newport Beach, CA was one of the first places I ever birded in California, and it has a history of attracting great birds. The area has been heavily developed in the last 30 years, but thankfully much of the sensitive bird habitat has been preserved. There are mudflats and estuary as well as brushy upland areas, giving a great mix of birds in winter, and California breeding specialties at other times of the year.