Mathias Kuhlmann

Thanks to my lovely fiancé, for one putting up with going out before sunrise to look for a duck, and two, for spotting our first Fulvous Whistling-Ducks right as I was opening the car door to give up! So cool to see these rare birds to California.

Thank you!

A medium sized sandpiper with a proportionally long bill stands in a creek by brown reeds/grasses, blending in exceptionally well.

Saw my first Wilson's Snipe yesterday evening! Such remarkable detail to their feathers and extraordinary camouflage. 🪶

eBird Checklist - 17 Jan 2026 - Pt. Piedras Blancas--elephant seal colony - 14 species Submitted by Mathias Kuhlmann.

Genuinely one of my favorite wildlife moments I've ever witnessed at one of my favorite locations on the California coast. ebird.org/checklist/S2...

An elephant seal pup stares down a western gull with milk along its lower jaw. The western gull has sand stuck to its bill from opportunistically drinking milk from the nursing mother.

An elephant seal pup moves closer to the western gull taking advantage of its lactating mother.

A young elephant seal opens its mouth, chasing a western gull away.

Northern Elephant Seal pup annoyed with a Western Gull taking advantage of its nursing mother. 🪶

Bit of a distant look at a Grasshopper Sparrow, a handsome bird with orange coloration on face and upper breast and lacking the streaked breast many other typical sparrows at this location have (song and savannah sparrows)

My 400th native or vagrant species I've photographed! Grasshopper Sparrow at Quail Hill.

love uncertain bird IDs, especially the pelagic variety lol.

Signed up for a spring pelagic woohoo!

A loon in the water with Apple AI identifying it as a bottlenose dolphin.

AI moment lmao

Relocated an old cheap camera my dad got me before a solo trip to Peru back in 2016. Excitedly, found an Andean Condor photo on it!

It’s really difficult & disorienting but the feds hit LA extremely hard today. There were kidnappings all over & reported cluster raids in Chinatown, East LA, Ktown. This list shows to 1130 AM but they haven’t stopped all day

Just because the media attention stopped doesn’t mean the abductions have

An American Kestrel perched on a high bare tree branch holding a mouse with its bill.

American Kestrel with its catch of the day. 🪶

Greater Pewee! Easiest uncommon visitor to SoCal I've ever had. The first bird I saw at the park it's been frequenting, seconds after exiting my car!

Greater Pewee! :)

Up to 10,000 people gathered for a vigil after ICE killed Renee Nicole Good in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026 - short video from the vigil site. Story is developing.

A rock wren perched on a rock. Brown above with white and black dots and lighter underneath. https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/648182826

Rock Wren! 🪶

My elation when I identified a thayer’s gull for the first time. Nothing like it 😁

A rail steps out of wetland grasses during a king tide event. The bird is cinnamon colored underneath, grayish brown above with black streaking and a long orange bill.

A ridgway's rail shaking off while taking dips into the water to bathe. The bird is cinnamon colored underneath, grayish brown above with black streaking and a long orange bill.

At long last saw my first Ridgway's Rail yesterday :) 🪶

A reddish egret stands in shallow water with a tiny fish in its bill.

Reddish Egret and an unfortunate fish that didn't quite make it to 2026 🪶

Black-crowned night heron 🌝

Yes! I was actually going to search for grasshopper sparrows in Irvine today but trails were closed for the rain, so decided to do bolsa chica + seal beach to get my first MacGillivray's. A fun, likely last tally for the year

Congrats! Almost identical story for me with the MacGillivray's Warbler today 😅

Hope the Grace’s sticks around after the rain!

A black lab mix sits on the grass, mouth open in a small city park with Christmas tree and people in background.

Our puppy :)

A male American kestrel perched atop a dead branch with a gray sky behind it.

American Kestrel at the wetlands 🪶

Single sanderling stands on the sand, gray clouds with a rainbow behind it.

Group of sanderlings scurrying across the sand in front of a rainbow and cloudy gray storm clouds moving away from the beach.

Sanderlings after the rainstorm yesterday 🪶

Wrentit hangs from a tiny branch as its feeds on the seed pods.

Wrentit out of the dense brush! 🪶

Western Gull figuring how to swallow an orange sea star standing in the rocky inter-tidal zone.

Back in the mid-2010's I would search the local tide pools for sea stars with no luck, going years without seeing any. Last couple of years I stumble across them on most visits to the tide pools.

Yesterday I got to see one as part of the food chain for the first time at my local spot! 🪶

Really great photo Peter!! Hope it sticks around until I can find the time to get up to bolsa chica.

Skipped lunch to go successfully see an Olive-backed pipit! Woohoo

Dog peers over back of couch cushion after a noisy delivery truck interrupted a nap.

Haven’t been able to photograph birds recently due to this cutie occupying my free time as of late. 😅