The last half of September brings Alaskan bull moose out of hiding. Bulls feed little or not at all for a couple weeks in latter September and early October. They have just one thing on their minds, cows.
Alaskan bull moose grunts as it travels in search of cows. Continue reading
Large male grizzly raids Deirdre Higgins kitchen in Slana, Alaska. To read the story how I got this photograph click on link below.
http://www.michaelquinton.com/picturestories/DeirdresGrizzly.aspx
Adult male is a night hunter and his prey consisting of small birds and mammals, such as this red-backed vole, are located by sight and sound.
Since nesting began, the male has been impossible to locate in the dark, damp forest near Slana, Alaska. But each evening he arrives at the nest site to deliver prey to the owlets. As the Alaskan days grow shorter, the male becomes active as twilight engulfs the stand of tall white spruce and poplar. He is the sole provider for the five owlets snuggled inside a hollow stub. The female abandoned her owlets when they were three weeks of age. They no longer needed brooding so apparently her role is complete. Continue reading
Kids find fun in the simple things. Seaweed catches the curiosity of a three year old while a group of big Stellar’s sea lions snooze at low tide. Kids offer the photographer a great opportunity to hone their craft. Photographing kids require all the skill and attention to detail as any other subject. Pay attention to back ground, foreground and be sure to avoid distracting elements that can ruin a good photo. Be ready for those wonderful moments when kids are just being kids.
The mosquito is the worlds most dangerous insect. Luckily, none of Alaska’s three dozen species or so is known to transmit disease. Though not deadly in the far north, they are none the less very troublesome. Here are a few other facts about Alaska’s mosquitoes. Only females bite. Some species prey on cold-blooded wood frogs. Some species live around 8 weeks as adults. The snow mosquito over winter as adults and may live a year. Populations can move 25-50 miles. Larva and pupae live in water. Continue reading
Female boreal owl peeks from her nesting snag to see who is there.
For over a month I have been monitoring the female in the nesting cavity. A couple of times a week I would walk into the dark spruce woods and scratch the bottom of the dead poplar snag making a sound like a red squirrel climbing. Instantly her round head pops out and she stares down at me. Continue reading
For more than two months this male northern flicker and his mate maintain a territory centered around their nesting cavity in an Alaskan black spruce forest. Flickers are the most common woodpecker in Alaska’s interior. Continue reading
Ole Bates checks fish wheel at Slana after Copper River rises from heavy rains.
We got our turn on the fish wheel this week. The fish wheel floats along the shore of the Copper River just downstream from the confluence of the Slana River. The salmon have spent several years feeding at sea and now they are returning to spawning streams in the Slana River drainage. Most of the salmon are sockeye or as they are locally called, Copper River Reds. Continue reading
The Sea Life Center in Seward, Alaska is one of our granddaughter’s favorite places. She loved the Steller’s sea lions, the harbor seals and the sea ducks. Watching a king crab eat a fish, and getting to feel the anemone tentacles and watching it feed were exciting too.
But what fascinated her the most was that “scary thing” scraping the scum from the sea lion tank.
Stellar’s sea lion.
Grizzly boar.
What happens in a close encounter with a grizzly bear is dependent on a lot of factors. What you do is important but the most important factor might boil down to which of the local bears you have just run into. Not all grizzly bears are the same. In fact they are all individuals, with different habits and temperaments. Sub-adults, lacking experience and confidence, often travel with a sibling for extra security and status. Females with cubs don’t like close surprises. Sows with cubs attack people more often than other classes of bears. These defensive attacks can be very serious but rarely end in death. Continue reading