Her Own Wings Photography

06/30/2026

Colors of California - A sampling of native and endemic wildflowers photographed this past spring. For full sized images with captions detailing more about each plant, see previous post with link!

06/30/2026

Newly released a post on a native & endemic flower project I have been working on all spring. Check it out! Would love to hear your thoughts.

Biodiversity on Display Spring 2026

03/16/2026

Latest entry in Wingspan is up! As we get baked in California by an unexpected heatwave before Spring has even officially started, I’ve been thinking back to the cool rainy days of winter.

WINGSPAN: A NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK

02/12/2026

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) - Always such a treat when they show up.

https://www.herownwings.me/adventures/short-eared-owl

01/20/2026

New entry in Wingspan! Come explore Crane Creek Regional Park with me.

WINGSPAN: A NATURALIST’S NOTEBOOK November 23rd, 2025 | Start time - 1400 | Total Time - 1 hour 30 minutes | Total Distance - 1 mile | Weather - High clouds and overcast, cool and damp. Clouds giving way to blue sky as we finished up. | Short hike

12/15/2025

Yellow-billed Oxpecker (Buphagus africanus) - Back to photos! During the portion of my trip to South Africa we came across a spectacular heard of African Buffalo. Riding along with these massive mammals, was a whole group of Yellow-billed Oxpecker. These fascinating birds rely almost exclusively on their mammal hosts for their diet of ectoparasites, blood and other body fluids. Interestingly, their top preference of host seems to be the African Buffalo, with Rhinos coming in second. Their range is extensive, but fragmented. In Kruger National Park in particular, they were completely absent for a time due to destruction of game, as well as a practice called “dipping” where toxic chemicals were utilized on livestock to control ticks. However, there was a natural recolonization from Zimbabwe once these practices were limited and/or stopped entirely. They add such a pop of color in an otherwise beige winter bush.

I hope you enjoy 🪶

Captured with Sony 300mm + 2x TC while on safari with Wildest Kruger Safaris

12/15/2025

2026 Birdlife Calendars available now!

Enjoy a new bird every month in 2026! Each photo includes both the common and scientific names for each species. Durable and beautiful, the calendar is printed on thick, high quality card stock. The paper is acid free and archival, with a lovely lightly textured matte finish.

12/13/2025

Finally, my online shop is live! 2026 Birdlife Calendar and a few prints available now. Keep checking back for new inventory. 🥳

https://www.herownwings.me/shop

12/12/2025

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) - It’s interesting raptor season! In the Bay Area fall/winter is a great time to see all sorts of overwintering raptors. I was particularly excited to see these fields filled with Short-eared Owls.

Short-eared Owls, named for their (unsurprisingly) short ear tufts, are one of the world’s most widely distributed owls and can travel incredibly long distances. They prefer grassland habitat where they hunt small mammals. Due to this habitat preference, they are also ground nesters, hiding their eggs among the thick grasses.

The light was getting tricky at the point I took this shot as it was overcast day and the sun had just gone down. Thus, I was shooting at very high ISOs to maintain a higher shutter speed. Then I processed this image in to denoise.

I hope you enjoy 🪶

Captured with 300mm lens
1/1250 sec at f2.8, ISO 8000

12/07/2025

Halloween fun with creative portraiture

Captured with 24-70mm lens