Today’s photo show is from a brief paddle in back bay, a nature preserve you might have seen from the airplane as you left John Wayne/Orange County airport. Newport Bay is the second largest natural bay in California after San Francisco. It is a busy recreational bay and harbor that is home to a wide array of personal sailboats, power boats and a variety of hand powered craft (SUP, SOP kayaks, ocean kayaks, crew type rowing boats and outrigger paddle boats.)

Back bay is home to a variety of waterfowl which is the subject of today’s photo display. Our models include a great blue heron, an osprey, and a snowy egret.

All photos taken with an Olympus OM-D EM10 and a 75-300mm lens. As a micro- four-thirds camera the crop factor makes the point of view equal to twice the length of the lens on a 35mm camera. This made the effective lens length 600mm.

Here’s some not so wild life enjoying a sunny Saturday morning on the bay. On the left is the Newport Aquatic Center where the soon-to-be paddlers are receiving instructions before they launch from the beach on sit-on-top kayaks.