Nature in Today's World

I recently returned from a trip to Churchill MB to photograph polar bears with Ken Anderson Photography and Harry Collins Photography. It was an exceptional outing and in the time we were there, we saw more than 30 polar bears and generally had 5-12 sightings of polar bears each day. The experience was made even more enjoyable thanks to the other participants on this outing, who all shared a common respect for the animals we were photographing as well as for each other. The following photographs are some of the highlights for me.

Earlier this month, I had the opportunity to take a flight over Kluane National Parkin a small plane. The ice field is part of the largest non-polar ice field in the world, and more than 80% of the park is covered with ice that is in many places, thousands of feet deep. The park contains 17 of the 20 highest mountain peaks in Canada, the highest and largest of which is Mount Logan. Mount Logan is described as the largest “massif” in the world and at a ground speed of about 170 miles per hour, it took 45 minutes to circle the mountain. The flight took off from Haines Junction. We passed over the Kluane Range and then headed west to the St. Elias mountains. The scenery was certainly the most spectacular I have ever seen and pictures fall short of defining the awesome views that I witnessed.

When we visit family in Portland, we generally stop at the Ridgefield NWR on our return. We have been there in each season of the year, and always enjoy the variety of birdlife and of other fauna. Stopping in August with a limited time availability, we did not expect much. Nonetheless, we did count 34 bird species well as deer and nutria (coypu). Here are a few photos from our visit.

There is an osprey nest about 7 miles from our home. For years, I have been able to visit the nest and watch osprey behaviour in the area. This includes fishing in a nearby pond, nest repair at the beginning of the season, nest repair on an ongoing basis, mating, incubating the eggs, guarding the osprey chicks (the main predators of concern seem to be eagles, vultures and ravens), feeding (the parents normally deliver “half fish to the nest” the rest being consumed before delivery) and now watching the young osprey in flight. All three chicks have now fledged in the last ten days. They are still dependent on the parents to feed and protect. These pictures have all been taken over the last few months.

Awaiting delivery of the next meal.

Leaving the nest.

In June, I managed to visit the nest on two occasions. On the first visit, the young owls were still at the nest. On the second visit, the owls had fledged. They were relatively mobile but depended on their parents for feeding and protection. It was interesting to note that whenever a raven passed by or called out, the young owlets became quiet and stopped moving about.

In late May we traveled to Alberta and Saskatchewan returning in early June. Although we encountered a lot of rain and cold weather, we enjoyed the lack of crowds and the late spring wildlife. We made stops in Revelstoke, Banff, Cypress Hills (AB), Grasslands National Park, Brooks and Logan Lake.

A few more photos from our time in Panama……….. (I am not completely sure of my identifications so please feel free to correct me!)

In March, we traveled to Panama, with Eagle Eye Tours for our third “birding excursion” to Central America. As was the case with our previous tours with Eagle Eye, we had a very busy itinerary, we had excellent guides and we saw in the range of 300 species of birds. The weather was very warm, and the humidity was high, so we had to adjust to the change in climate. Unlike Costa Rica, there was no high terrain to allow us to “cool off”. All in all, it was an excellent trip! The following photographs were taken on the trip. I am not sure if I have identified all of the species shown, correctly.

Rufous-tailed jacamar

Last February, we decided to visit Victoria in February to enjoy this beautiful city and area in the off-season; hoping to enjoy early flowers and blossoms. The only problem was that it was cold and very snowy! So we tried again this year. Although it was on the cool side, we did not have snow and we had very little rain. The area did not disappoint, and the plum/ cherry blossoms were out along with many early flowers. We had nice views of the Olympic Mountains and even managed a side trip to Port Renfrew. We were also fortunate to see many different species of birds.

A few photos from a recent outing to Boundary Bay.

In the Pacific Northwest, January is a good time to spot short-eared owls and northern harriers. In the last two weeks, I have managed to see both species (in different locations) on four or five occasions. The following is a sampling of photographs I have taken.