A Western Willet foraging for food along the California coast. There is also an Eastern Willet, but my photos and focus is on the Western Willet.
Willet — Tringa semipalmata
Willets belong to the shore birds more commonly called Sandpipers. I see several types of Sandpipers at the beach, but so far the only one I’ve successfully identified is the Willet.
SIZE:
Length: 13.0-16.1 in (33-41 cm) Weight: 7.0-11.6 oz (200-330 g) Wingspan: 27.6 in (70 cm)
LOCATION:
From All About Birds
DIET:
Willets forage along the shore, often alone. The tips of their beaks are sensitive and used to find food. They can forage at night as well as in the daytime. They eat crabs, insects, mollusks and worms. They feed along the mudflats, beaches and rocky shores.
A Willet getting a bite to eat along the shore.
NESTING:
Western Willets move inland from the shore for breeding along wetlands, grasslands or fresh water lakes. They nest on the ground and the male will scrape out a nest from the mud or grass. They line their nest with grasses or other soft materials. A typical clutch is four eggs. Males and females incubate their eggs, but the male takes over at night.
Although they are monogamous, they may separate after breeding season and reunite the next breeding season.
Saturday we visited the Santa Barbara Farmers Market. It runs across two perpendicular streets downtown Santa Barbara. It used to be held in a school parking lot. I found that much easier because all the stands were in a large rectangle and I walked up and down the aisles knowing where my favorites were located. Now it’s spread out over blocks and blocks.
I took my Nikon camera and 105 mm lens because it does close-ups from 1.3 feet to normal range photos like above. Also the 105 mm lens isn’t as cumbersome to carry as my telephoto lens that weighs a ton!
Here are photos of people, veggies and flowers from the Farmer’s Market:
One of the many gorgeous flower stands.
Squash blossoms. My friend who lives near Santa Barbara stuffs zucchini squash blossoms with ricotta cheese and sautés them. Delicious!
There was live music which added to the festive atmosphere.
I love cauliflower.
This is a closeup of the blue flowers that were in the flower photo above.
Interesting spelling of garbanzo beans.
One of the flower stands was all orchids.
Another was all mushrooms. I’ve never seen mushrooms like these in clumps. Have you?
The couple in the center look like they’re enjoying themselves.
A closeup of rich purple blossoms.
Lots of veggie stands feature beautiful tomatoes.
I like the name Tutti Frutti Farms.
It was fun to take people pictures, because I haven’t done that since my college days as a journalism major. I was surprised when I loaded the photos onto my laptop and saw interesting interactions.
I hope you enjoyed my day at the market. Our objective was to buy a homemade pie at a pie stand for a friend’s BBQ Sunday. We found the stand and bought a cherry crumble pie. Yum. Then with mission accomplished I wandered around with my camera.
What photos do you like best?
Do you go to farmers markets near you? What do you like best from farmers markets?
A Snowy Egret I spotted during our beach vacation near Santa Barbara, California. Photos were taken with my iPhone during a beach walk.
Scientific name: Egretta thula Genus: Ardea
I learned that herons and egrets both belong to the genus Ardea and that there is no scientific difference between the two. Egrets are white and herons are blue or other colors. That’s it.
The Snowy Egret has white plumage with a black beak and legs. They have a yellow streak on their faces behind their beaks. Their feet are bright yellow and called golden slippers. The brightly colored feet are helpful in herding small aquatic creatures while the Snowy Egret forages in shallow waters.
When they are breeding, the adults grow wispy long plumes which were in demand for ladies’ hats in the 1880s. The plumes were valued at twice the price of gold. Many Snowy Egrets lost their lives because of their valuable feathers.
SIZE and SHAPE:
Snowy Egrets are long, thin herons with a long neck, long legs and beak.
Length: 22.1-26.0 in (56-66 cm)
Weight: 13.1 oz (370 g)
Wingspan: 39.4 in (100 cm)
RANGE:
FOOD:
They eat aquatic animals including fish, crustaceans, frogs, worms and insects. They forage in mud flats, along the shore, marshes and tidal flats and eat while standing up.
NESTING:
The male will start building a nest before finding a mate. He’ll select a location at the top of a tree, shrub or vines. When the male finds a mate, the two will finish building the nest together. It’s a shallow oval of grasses, twigs, rushes and moss from 14 to 18 inches across and eight to 13 inches high.
The male and female share the job of incubating their eggs. A Snowy Egret clutch usually has three to five eggs. They also share feeding their chicks. Snowy Egrets do not mate for life, but are monogamous for each breeding season.
The photos were taken with my iphone on our first beach walk. I haven’t taken my Nikon to the beach yet, but will soon! This bird is a Willet and part of the Sandpiper family.
We finally made it to the beach! It was a long drive and we stopped along the way to visit our old home town and friends from my husband’s childhood and earlier days of married life. We hadn’t seen them in years, so it was a nice way to break up a long drive.
This is a Snowy Egret known for their golden slippers.
This beauty is a juvenile Gull. The specific type of gull will be known in a couple years when it loses its brown colors and turns white with markings and features of its species.
Another photo of a Willet. They were gathered along the shore catching a bite to eat between waves.
We walked on our favorite beach early in the morning before the sun broke through the clouds and fog. I can’t tell you how good it feels to take beach walks. Next, our son and daughter-in-law will be joining us. They met in college at UC Santa Barbara and love to visit and stay with us when we’re here. Our DIL surfs, so it will be a delight to sit at the beach with a book and watch her in the waves.
Evening Photos:
What a change from the morning to the afternoon. The sun is out. People are on the beach, but it’s not crowded at all. It never is.
Look at the American flags. Love it!
Is that a gorgeous view or what? All I need is a few dolphins leaping through the surf.
I took this photo a couple days ago after my first photography class of Fall 2025.
So how did it go?
I was introduced to the five other students in the group. The class was by zoom. Then after we gave a short bio of ourselves, the professor shared our first photo assignment. We each got a turn to talk about our photo.
I was blown away by the talent in our group! Like the professor told me, everyone is internally motivated to improve. “We are all on the same learning curve, just at different points along the way.” Some are way, way ahead. It’s exciting to see their work.
The main problem I had was the time. 7 to 9 p.m. I’m not sure if it’s me getting older, recovering from surgery, or getting up early, but I fizzle out around dinner time. That day was busy with an earlier zoom call meeting from 8:30 to 11 a.m. and all my other daytime duties.
I managed to stay awake. I enjoyed seeing other photographers’ work plus learned about the semester project.
Memory and Meaning.
That’s the theme. I’m been noodling on it since Thursday. The professor gave all sorts of examples of what we can do. He said to reflect on the questions, “Why did I take this photo?” and “Why did I keep it?”
We can use photos from the public domain, photos we’ve taken before, new photos, or photos we’ve restored….those are just a few of the examples he gave. I’m thinking of taking photos with sea glass. I have tons of it from the days hanging out at the beach with my kids from when they were infants to before they left for college. My sea glass gives me memories of my favorite days at the beach with them.
We used to rent a cottage a few blocks from a cove in Laguna that was home to a bootlegger during Prohibition. The story the locals tell is that one stormy night, his ship came in to the dock by his house, and the liquor all went overboard. That cove is an amazing place to find sea glass. My daughter had a special eye for it and would spend hours wading in the waves, diving down to pick up pieces of royal blue, lavender, yellow, white, green, brown and turquoise sea glass. Some of the colors are unusual because of how old the bottles were.
I found a lilac piece of sea glass for the first time in my life, while praying during my DIL’s cancer surgery. I thought it was a good omen.
Then in my Palm Springs home, I refinished our wood block kitchen counters. I practiced on a nightstand in the garage that belonged to my husband’s grandmother. I didn’t know turpentine would self combust. I smelled smoke and was shocked to see the rags I tossed on the nightstand were on fire. Thankfully, the house did not catch on fire, although there was soot going up one wall.
I used sea glass and shells to fix the nightstand:
Although it smelled like an ashtray for a few years, I thought this was a creative fix for the smoldering hole on the nightstand.
I have sea glass displayed throughout the house and I found a banker’s box full of it. My daughter used to decorate picture frames with it. We had a grand idea of beautifying a glass table with sea glass. We never quite figured out how we would do it. Then she grew up and moved away before we got around to it.
I’m thinking about different ways I can photograph sea glass. I have tons to set outside for morning light, use water, different settings, frame beach photos. The choices are endless.
What are your thoughts for sea glass being an element in my Memory and Meaning photography project?
One of the joys of Santa Barbara and Carpinteria are the farmers markets. This is our favorite fruit stand. The pluots in the bin above the plums are called Dapple Dandy. Outside the tent filled with delicious fruit, a woman stands with slices of fruit samples calling out “Dapple Dandy, tastes like candy!” It really does. It’s my all time favorite and I’ve been eating them every day on vacation.
You can see how popular and large this fruit stand is. It has a line that goes outside the tent and once inside, lines on both sides of the fruit. The same farm is at the Santa Barbara Farmers Market on Saturdays and in Carpinteria on Thursdays.
Our favorite spot for fish tacos and chowder is called On the Alley. It’s in the Santa Barbara Harbor next to the Marina. It’s a casual place where you order inside, grab a table outside and a server brings your food.
Clam chowder with crusty warm sourdough!
The best fish taco I’ve ever had! On the Alley is owned by Brophy Bros which is a longtime favorite seafood restaurant at the Marina. Brophy’s is upstairs of On the Alley.
Sitting at a table devouring my fish taco, I had to take a photo of the shop next door.
The other day, we visited friends in Ventura. They took us in their Duffy electric boat for a harbor cruise (where we saw the sea lions). We ended up at the second location of Brophy’s.
Here’s a view from their boat.
This is called the Ventura Keys, where people dock their boats in their backyards. The boat we cruised in was like the blue topped boats across the key.
This is Ventura’s Brophy Bros with On the Alley below.
On one of our last nights we met our longtime friends, along with their friends we met a few summers ago for dinner at this local beach cafe. The seating is outside next to the beach. I love the location and having dinner outside. It’s casual with salads, burger and fish and chips.
A seagull found the perfect perch on a rooftop at the beach.
I have taken many photos and videos I want to share from sea lions to beach birds, beach and harbor views, the farmer’s market and fish tacos. I think I’ll be posting photos and videos from this vacation after we return home. In the meantime, here are a few photos and videos of wildlife.
We went to dinner by boat the other night and saw sea lions lounging on docks. There’s a little glare from the boat’s window in this pic.
I’ve never seen Mallards in the ocean before. Below is a flock of terns taking off.
Lone pelican floating in the waves.
Ducks waddling on the shore.
Sea Lions upset because we woke them up.
Pelicans in flight.
My favorite of the photos and videos on this post is the last one of pelicans flying low over the ocean.
What’s your favorite?
This reminds me of Ogden Nash and his famous Pelican limerick my dad used to read to us when we were young:
A wonderful bird is the pelican. His bill can hold more than his belican. He can hold in his beak Enough food for a week, But I’m damned if I see how the helican.
