On the beach between Topanga State Beach and the Malibu Pier - chicks on the beach - The Gang of Seven, if you will - Friday, March 9, about 3:30 in the afternoon. The heavy traffic roaring by on Pacific Coast Highway above them doesn't seem to bother these guys at all.

Actually, a good friend points out these are not immature birds - they are winter-plumage birds - Sanderlings (a species of sandpiper).  "Sanderling is the familiar 'clockwork toy' bird seen chasing waves on sandy beaches." - Sibley Guide to Birds

If you use any of these photos for commercial purposes I assume you'll discuss that with me.

These were shot with a Nikon D70 - using lens (1) AF-S Nikkor 18-70 mm 1:35-4.5G ED, or (2) AF Nikkor 70-300mm telephoto, or after 5 June 2006, (3) AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor, 55-200 mm f/4-5.6G ED. They were modified for web posting using Adobe Photoshop 7.0

The original large-format raw files are available upon request.

Last updated Saturday, March 10, 2007, 10:30 pm Pacific Time

All text and photos, unless otherwise noted, Copyright © 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 - Alan M. Pavlik