Last weekend my mother and I revisited Huntington Beach State Park as a day trip. It was a beautiful, sunny day.

Sanderling
Huntington Beach SP
April 2017

We hiked from the beach north to the jetty and back. Along the beach we found several groups of Sanderlings, Willet, gulls and pelicans. A few fly-bys of Whimbrel and Killdeer.

Sanderling
Huntington Beach SP
April 2017

Sanderling
Huntington Beach SP
April 2017

Sanderling
Huntington Beach SP
April 2017

Least Tern
Huntington Beach SP
April 2017

After getting back to the car the temperature had climbed. The wind on the beach made the heat bearable; inland, not so much. Bird activity was moderate, making me wish we had started an hour or two early. At the beginning of the marsh boardwalk we did spot a male and female Painted Bunting, but I was unable to get any decent photos.

Great Egret
Huntington Beach SP
April 2017

Snowy Egret
Huntington Beach SP
April 2017

Overall, I was very happy with my photographs for the day. I had a large percentage of keeps. In post processing the photographs above I had to reduce highlights, but overall I exposed the photographs very well using a 1/1600 or 1/2000, f/9 or f/10 combination.