GREAT BLUE HERON
SIZE = 46 to 52" wingspan 80"
BILL= Long, heavy, pointed, yellow multi-color
HEAD = White faced, black crown
BODY = Striped fore neck, blue-gray body, yellowish legs
NOTES = Breeding resident and winter visitor
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WOOD STORK
SIZE = 35 to 45" wingspan 65"
BILL= Very large and heavy,gray-brown ,decurved
HEAD = Bare gray head and upper neck
BODY = White body, juv. has black wing tips
NOTES = Very rare winter visitor
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Dedication

Birding has been my passion for more years than I care to admit. Birdwatching has led me into bird photography. Now when I 'hunt' birds, I get to 'shot' them and they fly away unscathed. The camera now has an image to share with others. Both the bird and I win. Life can't get better than this.

When I stop and remember the journey that brought me here, all those many friends that encouraged and guided me, I am humbled. Were it not for their teaching me the skills of birding, my life would be less full and happy. To so many, to all of you ... I owe so much.

Lots of birders maintain lots of lists ... life lists ... yearly lists ... daily lists ... by country ... by state ... these lists go on and on ... and on. At one time I was such a list keeper, and I had them all. I spent all my birding time checking ID's, making notes, marking checklists, looking in the guide ... in short I spent too much time doing 'things' instead of LOOKING at the bird. Isn't that really what our pastime is about? Looking at birds and not books and lists. Over the last ten years or so I've given up on 'birdwatching'. Instead I 'watch' birds through a camera lens instead of binoculars. I get to 'carry' these birds home with me, wrapped in a couple of megabits, often with motion and sound, photographed at speeds my eye can't follow, in details that never be seen throught a pair or 8X42's. In fact my camera lens beats the best spotting scope around. Often I use telephoto lenses that provide 500X magnification. A bird that I barely see with my binoculars is brought up close. So now, instead of a pen and paper list, I have a full color, detailed photo. A photo to share with friends, or with someone like you.

OK, I'm not a 'birder' in the pure sense ... I'm a bird photographer. When I get home I can scan the 15 photos that I took during the 10 seconds that the bird was in sight and after studying the photos can decide: that he really was a California Gnatcatcher, instead of the Black-headed Gnatcatcher. And out of those 15 photos there are probably 2 or 3 worth saving to share with friend and fellow birders.

I live in southern Baja, Mexico in a small village that still has dirt streets, cows and horses that wander about. A scant mile from beach, and the Sea of Cortez. It has been my habit to bird almost every morning for about 2 or 3 hours. I share my photos with an email list of about 180 friends. I'm now 82 years young (2013) and have just developed a mobility problem so getting out in the field each morning is getting harder and harder. In addition to birding near my home each year I plan a two or three week birding trip to another country. Belize, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Guatamala and Africa are some of the countries I've visited in the last ten years. My hope is that I can continue birding/photographing until the day I can no long rise out of bed.

There are currently five other books written by John Spencer, available in the Kindle Bookstore.
BAJA BIRD GUIDE volume 1 - SMALL LAND BIRDS OF BAJA MEXICO HERE
BAJA BIRD GUIDE volume 2 - LARGE LAND BIRDS OF BAJA MEXICO HERE
BAJA BIRDS 101 - PHOTOS OF OVER 120 BAJA BIRDS HERE
The above books have color photos and therefore require a Kindle Fire or HD fire.

The remaining two books do not have photos and are available for all Kindles.
LETTERS FROM A SAILOR volume 1 - CRUSING MEXICAN WATERS HERE
LETTERS FROM A SAILOR volume 2 - SAILING THE SOUTH SEAS HERE
In addition to these books I also have a Blog site devoted to photos of birds and animals. HERE