Raven pair get acquainted during a snowstorm.
Ravens have been lurking around mankind ever since humans began making footprints. They are quick to learn and take advantage of any food sources we provide. And, ravens are smart, perhaps the smartest bird on the planet. They have the largest range of vocalizations of any living creature except of course, for us humans. Continue reading
Twenty years ago, coyotes were one of my favorite photo subjects. This extremely adaptable species was both deadly hunter and scavenger. Nothing it seemed, was too large or too insignificant, too old or too new, to be left off the coyotes menu. Whether it was big game or game birds, domestic sheep or farm-yard chickens, coyotes made few friends. I guess I was one of just a few. The sheer variety of behavior they would engaged in, made each and every encounter a new and exciting adventure.
Coyote feeds on an elk in Wyoming. Tracks and blood in the snow told the story. Coyotes had harassed a cow and her big calf through the night. By morning at least thirteen coyotes had assembled and were finally able to bring down the large calf. Twelve hours later there was only a large trampled area of blood and hair remaining. Continue reading
ON THE TRAIL OF THE LYNX
I’d been on their track for a mile or two. It had taken nearly two hours to get this far moving slowly through the forest on snowshoes. The thick and stunted boreal forest was mostly black spruce. Small stands of tall aspen and veins of thick and lofty white spruce stood where the nutrient poor soil drained enough to prevent permafrost. The understory consisted of numerous species of willow along with Labrador tea and blueberry. Tracks and trails of snowshoe hares were everywhere. The snowshoe hare population undergoes huge swings in numbers during their ten-year cycle. Likewise, other prey species such as spruce grouse were on the upswing driven by years of low predator numbers. The hare population had peaked. And with the increasing snowshoe and grouse population, lynx, coyotes, red fox, northern goshawks and great horned owls, and even the smaller northern hawk owl populations were once again on the rebound. Continue reading
Dall ram checks out photographer.
Walk softly and carry a big lens. All species of North American mountain sheep, the bighorns, Rocky Mountain bighorn and desert bighorn and the thinhorns, stone sheep and dall sheep are naturally skittish. Specific protocols are required when photographing wild sheep at close range. Ever on the lookout for predators, wild sheep are tuned into sounds of rocks tumbling down the mountainsides or moving across noisy scree slopes. Sudden movements or too much noise are likely to send mountain sheep stampeding towards the nearest cliffs. A telephoto lens is a must. The perspective a telephoto gives will separate your subject from the background. Continue reading
Dall ram peeks over a windswept ridge.
Pursuing wild rams in the far north is an addiction of mine. Those who are afflicted with this particular disease willingly subject themselves to cold and wind, sweat and pain. Other symptoms include an insatiable desire to witness dramatic wildlife amid glorious wilderness settings. Continue reading
Northern flying squirrel inside its nest in an old flicker nesting cavity. Continue reading
Northern flying squirrel and boreal owl at the entrance to the same old northern flicker nesting cavity. The flying squirrel taken with a Nikon D3s digital camera and boreal owl shot with a Nikon F3 on Fujichrome film were taken more than ten years apart. The images illustrate the importance of the northern flickers, a keystone species. The flickers nest building activity increases forest biodiversity. Photographs were taken near my home in Slana, Alaska.
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
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