Edward Abbey once said that we need wilderness "because we are wild animals." Although living in an urban paradigm can displace that sense of natural entitlement, in the Bay Area it's almost impossible to entirely lose a connection to our habitat.

We're affixed to an area of land that constitutes a major, global estuary -- replete with the types of wilderness and wildlife that bred poetry and art and photographic images from the likes of Ansel Adams and John Muir.

Photographer Mike Baird of Morro Bay, might just instill a similar natural reverence with his images of California birds. From a stunning close-up of a Great Egret in flight, to the aerial pose of an Osprey, these photos are visual candy -- and a beautiful representation of some of the seabirds with whom we share our Bay Area space.

• Photo Gallery: California Seabirds
• More about Mike Baird - Photographer

^{Pictured: Long-billed Curlew
Photo © Mike Baird - BairdPhotos.com}