Photographer Mark Rightmire shares his favorite wildlife images shot at Irvine Regional Park, which turns 125 this year and offers nearly 500 acres of open space.
Some of the animals that are most easily spotted in the park are squirrels, rabbits and lizards. Though, with a little persistence, patience and some luck, coyotes, deer and bobcats can be seen either early or later in the day throughout the park’s more natural areas.
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A wide variety of birds would keep any photographer or birdwatcher busy in all parts of the park. Those include: hummingbirds, bluebirds, herons, egrets, acorn woodpeckers and many others.
A bald eagle sits atop a sycamore tree along Santiago Creek at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in 2011. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An acorn woodpecker moves an acorn from one hole to another on a dead tree full of acorns at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in April 2018. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A dragonfly rests on a bush adjacent to the lake in the warm afternoon summer sun at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Native to East Asia, a colorful male Mandarin duck cruises through the water in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in November 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Cedar waxwings keep their eyes on something of interest as they sit on branches just after sunrise at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in January 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Mallard ducklings following their mother as they make their way around the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in April 2018. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A western bluebird perches on a small sycamore branch on a summer’s morning at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An egret holds a fish along with a sycamore leaf in its bill after catching it in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in January 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A gopher pokes its head out of a hole above blades of grass one morning in January at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A coyote walks through Irvine Regional Park in Orange following a winter storm in January 2021. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Highlighted by the early morning sun on a fall day, an orb-weaver spider crawls on its web at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Red-crowned parrots perch in the cavity of a sycamore tree on a spring morning at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in the spring of 2019. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
As a pond turtle suns itself on a rock, mallard ducklings make their way around the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in April 2018. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A barn owl sits high in an oak tree at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in January 2021. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Reflections are rippled in the water as a turtle rests on a rocks in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in January. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Bernadette, a porcupine, holds her food during a morning meal while being held at the OC Zoo at Irvine Regional Park in Orange, in January 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A great blue heron holds a fish in its bill after catching it in the pond at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in January 2020. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Deer make their way along a trail at Irvine Regional Park in Orange early on a cool November morning. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A squirrel checks out a trash can for any leftover food scraps at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in March 2019. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
An Anna’s hummingbird flies up to blooming flowers at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in the spring of 2019. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A western bluebird perches on a small sycamore branch on a summer’s morning at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A Western fence lizard rests on the trunk of an oak tree in the morning sun at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A red-shouldered hawk sits on an oak tree branch in the shade at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in January. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A red-shouldered hawk takes flight from a sycamore branch at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in January. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Four young red-tailed hawks sit in a nest near the top of a tree at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in May 2011. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A mountain lion rests in its enclosure at the OC Zoo at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
Minion, a screech owl, checks out the visitors at the OC Zoo at Irvine Regional Park in Orange. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A deer makes its way along a trail at Irvine Regional Park in Orange early on a cool November morning. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
A bald eagle takes flight from the top of a pine tree along Santiago Creek at Irvine Regional Park in Orange in 2011. (Photo by Mark Rightmire, Orange County Register/SCNG)
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