Early Bird Gets the Shot

Photographs by JIM KENNEY Although his early morning trips to the Malibu Lagoon have everything to do with birds, Jim Kenney makes it clear that he’s not an official birder. ‘I’ve photographed 80 or 90 species and I know all of these birds thoroughly,’ he says. ‘But I’m not in the same league as a birder, nor do I want to be. I’m primarily a photographer.’ During the past few years, Kenney, a longtime Palisadian, has trailed birds with much the same zeal he had previously devoted to documenting flora in the Santa Monica Mountains. ‘Instead of 30 years photographing wildflowers, it’s only been three years with birds,’ explains Kenney, who is renowned as an expert on local plants. Kenney, a retired dentist, turned his outdoor attentions to the Malibu Lagoon when physical problems made it difficult to continue hiking in the Santa Monica Mountains. ‘When I first started, I knew nothing about birds, I mean zero,’ says Kenney. ‘Now I’ve become obsessed. I go three or four times a week in the early morning.’ Kenney speaks with both authority and enthusiasm about the diverse array of winged creatures he spots at Malibu Lagoon. Teeming with resident shorebirds, the lagoon also attracts more than 200 species that stop during their annual migrations. The snowy egret, a small, delicate all-white heron adorned with showy plumes during breeding season, has come into Kenney’s viewfinder just twice in three years. In one photograph, Kenney captures the bird in full mating dance animation. Kenney is especially pleased with a close-up shot of a sora, lyrically composed to include the bird’s reflection in the water. Though common, the sora, a small marshbird with a yellow bill, is secretive and often hides in the reeds, making it hard to photograph. The brown pelican, always a spectacle for its ability to plunge from the air into water to catch food, has the added attraction of sporting a bright yellow head during breeding season. Double-crested cormorants, known for spreading their wings to dry them, are a common sight, as are four varieties of terns: royal, elegant, Caspian and least. ‘Although winter is the best time to see birds that are here as part of migration, the four terns are here summer and fall,’ Kenney notes. The lagoon, located off Pacific Coast Highway at Cross Creek Road, is where Malibu Creek meets the sea. It empties into the Pacific Ocean at world-famous Malibu Surfrider Beach, a destination for approximately 1.5 million visitors each year. Kenney marvels at how birds continue to thrive at the lagoon despite continued pollution issues and the impact of humans. ‘There used to be 90 percent more estuaries in California,’ he says. Malibu Lagoon has undergone many changes in recent history. Used as a dump site in the 1950s and ’60s, it later was filled in and housed two baseball fields. It was in 1983 that the California Department of Parks and Recreation initiated a restoration of the former wetlands that involved excavation of three channels to reintroduce tidal flow and seeding with salt marsh plants. ‘A lot of photography is happenstance and luck, but you have to be prepared,’ says Kenney, who arrives at the lagoon with his digital camera as early as 7:30 a.m. to take advantage of the early morning light. ‘Rarely do I see birders with a camera,’ he says, noting how there’s a certain element of trust associated with their methods. ‘What surprises me is that more of them are not photographers,’ he adds. ‘It would confirm whatever they saw.’ Reporting by Staff Writer Nancy Ganiard Smith. To contact, e-mail: smithpalipost@gmail.com