Tag Archives: wildlife

RAMS IN RUT

1 Reply

All summer and fall dall rams have shunned the groups of ewes and lambs.  The rams prefer the high country where they hang out in small bachelor bands.  With the approach of winter their association begins to fray as they begin to sort out a pecking order.  The rams stand in tight groups, displaying their massive curls trying to intimidate. They kick, growl, shove, and finally engage in dramatic displays of head butting.   For the most part dominance has been been sorted out when they join the herds of ewes and lambs already on the winter range.14-09-59Dall rams Continue reading →

MUSHROOMS AND RED SQUIRRELS

Leave a reply

_DSC9189

Red squirrels work overtime in late summer/early fall gathering mushrooms.  I spent several days this week photographing them.  Though red squirrels can be a nuisance around our wilderness home I try to tolerate them. Our current red squirrel seems to be satisfied living a life in the wild so as long as he minds his own business he is on the payroll.  I discourage bad squirrel behavior such as chewing on the house and if they persist, they get that one way ride up to my mean old neighbor ladies place.  And she handles red squirrels just like most of my neighbors do. Continue reading →

LAST DANCE OF THE SOCKEYE

Leave a reply

11120

Taking a peek into a tributary of the Copper River in Alaska’s interior reveals a rarely witnessed but prehistoric cycle of life.  Traveling nearly three hundred miles up the Copper River through a soup of glacial silt, sockeye salmon have reached their gravel spawning beds.

11116

Since leaving the ocean and entering fresh water, sockeye salmon undergo dramatic changes.  Their silver skin turns to crimson red and their head becomes green. The male sockeye develops a wickedly hooked jawed, an aggressive attitude, and a one track mind to reproduce. Continue reading →

STELLER’S SEA LIONS

Leave a reply

61-15-1

Adult, male Steller’s sea lion on the prowl in Prince William Sound.  Pink salmon, the most numerous of Alaska’s five species of salmon are schooling by the thousands just offshore.  The pink salmon returning to their freshwater spawning streams are dogged by a gauntlet of predators including, harbor seals, bald eagles, killer whales and sea otters as well as Steller’s sea lions. Continue reading →

HUNTING LIKE A HAWK

Leave a reply

DSC_2027A northern hawk owl perched atop a dead, black spruce overlooking its preferred hunting grounds, an Alaskan muskeg wetland.

The northern hawk owl is named after its hawk-like hunting behavior.  Like hawks, the hawk owl hunts by day using its keen eyesight to spot small birds and mammals.  The red-backed vole is by far the most important prey species. But the hawk owl is an opportunist and other species of voles and several species of shrews are also caught. During those years when snowshoe hares are plentiful, hawk owls will add these much larger prey species to their list, as will many species of birds from the tiny, common red-poll to birds up to the size of ptarmigan. Continue reading →

OWLS BY DAY, OWLS BY NIGHT

1 Reply

BY DAY

DSC_1262Adult male northern hawk owl is active during the day.

For a few weeks I have been photographing a pair of northern hawk owls that have nested in a stand of tall white spruce.  Hawk owl populations are cyclic and for the past three years they have been rare in my part Alaskan interior.  Over the past twenty years, I have been trying to capture their little known life history.  In those twenty years I have found only six or seven active nests.  Continue reading →

BACKYARD SAFARI CONTINUED

2 Replies

aurora borealis-15-1

Aurora borealis dancing over our little homestead

.All week I have been on  safari, backyard safari that is, trying to sniff out a few photographs. I continue working with the pine grosbeaks and red squirrels but they have proven tough subjects.  Yes even squirrels can be very challenging especially when you try for something new.  Last night a fantastic aurora show kept me busy for a few hours after midnight.  The unexpected beauty made up for those frustrating red squirrels.

aurora borealis-15-5

For the past couple weeks a boreal owl has been singing after dark.  I had developed this situation by placing a couple of ladders within camera range of his singing posts.  He sings his territorial song while sitting at the entrance of a couple of old northern flicker nesting cavities.  On top of the ladders, I mounted ball heads so I could climb and place my telephoto lens and flash bracket quickly and quietly.  As I photographed the aurora borealis the boreal owl was singing from both of the flicker cavities.  During lulls in the aurora activity, I approached the cavities to see what was going on.  At one cavity there was no owl at the hole and I could hear the male singing from the other cavity.  Just for fun I scratched the tree trunk and to my surprise the head of a boreal owl emerged.  There were two boreal owls!  The male had attracted a mate.  That was exciting news.  Perhaps they would choose one of the cavities for their nest.

665-15-1

Male boreal owl stares out from the northern flicker cavity.

aurora-borealis-15-1

BACK YARD SAFARI

1 Reply

  661-15-1

 Boreal chickadee

Ever feel like going on a safari but just can’t get away? Well, take a safari in your own back yard. Here you’re the expert. You know the terrain and what to expect.  And believe it or not everyone can benefit from this little exercise. In fact, even with the smallest back yard, some amazing and beautiful images can be made. I regularly take a backyard safari.

640-15-3

Pine grosbeak

My Big Backyard
I bet my back yard is bigger and wilder than yours! Our ten acres of northern boreal forest borders Wrangell/St. Elias National Park, Alaska, our largest National Park. My back yard stretches south for a couple hundred miles through the wilderness of Alaska.  We have had grizzlies, wolves, red fox, lynx, great gray owls, nesting hawk owls, bald eagles, golden eagles, willow ptarmigan, great horned owls, sharp-tailed grouse, boreal owls, marten, caribou, Alaskan moose and much more on out little ten acre homestead. But still it is usually a difficult challenge to photograph the local wildlife .  Nothing comes easy.

32-15-10

Red squirrel

Developing Photo Potential
Getting the most out of your backyard safari is the same as any photo trip. In fact your own backyard offers the best opportunity to learn to develop photographic potential. And, there is no better place to gain valuable experience in finding solutions to photographic problems we all encounter in the field.

Look for a unique perspective.

Create feeding stations for birds and squirrels.

Take the time to let wildlife become used to your presence.

Build a blind if you have shy wildlife species.

32-15-18

Red squirrel jumping

640-15-6

Pine grosbeak