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Monday, October 20, 2014

What's rarer?

A green flash, or a picture of Snowy Plovers in flight?

Perhaps that's not a fair comparison.  I'm starting to feel like you can see a green flash if you want to, as long as the conditions are right, and you're willing to watch.  Here's one from 20 October 2014 (below).  Eric and I were near the ocean at sunset and thought there was potential for a flash so we lingered until the sun went down.  [You can click on the images for slightly larger versions.]


A minute later (at 6:27 p.m.): 



Most of the time I see Snowy Plovers walking, running, or resting on the sand.  On Saturday I was on the tidal flats in Bodega Harbor during a flood tide.  The wind was calm, so the conditions were excellent for hearing shorebird calls.  Snowy Plovers have a very quiet, subtle call, but I heard this small flock coming from a distance, and I knew I had a rare opportunity to photograph them in flight.  I can do better, but it's a start!




P.S.  I first wrote about green flashes last December you can read that post here.