Hey Folks,

I think of all the birds in the world, the loon has to be the most beautiful. I think the saying should be ‘beautiful as a loon’, not ‘crazy as a loon’. I’ve spent a bit of time watching loons lately, and have yet to seen them do anything crazy. But oh my, their beauty is immeasurable.

Absolutely amazing.

This pair are, according to my bird guide, ‘Arctic loons’, or Gavia arctica, as the Latin name would have it. I thought they were Pacific loons, or Gavia pacifica, but some other photos clearly show the front of the neck to be green more than purple. – so I’m gunna call them Arctic loons.

Of course, the same guidebook says the crown and nape are ‘pale gray’ – I saw a blend of creamy tones none of which could be described as ‘gray’, by even the most bland scientific measurement. So much for guidebooks and trying to be objective.

So here’s a ‘thank you’ to my new friends, the Arctic loons, the most beautiful birds in the world.

Cheers

Carl

hey Folks,

Here’s the best of the duck opportunities I had. A Barrow’s goldeneye. A male and a female were hanging out at this small pond, and I spent a number of hours there trying to get some images. ducks spend a lot of time floating around on ponds with their head tucked under the wings sleeping. ‘Dabbler’s they’re called – well these ducks did more sleeping than dabbling.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

It’s been a fun week so far .. the birds are back in the north country, and that means lots of time wondering how I can sneak my way close enough for a photo of one of them.

Ever try to sneak up on a bird?

It’s a tough gig. They have ‘eyes like eagles’ funnily enough, and always know exactly where you are – and how close they let you approach seems to correlate precisely with how well they fit in the frame of your camera – as they get more than half the viewfinder, they fly away – regardless if you’re shooting an enormous bald eagle or a sneaky little robin.

But it’s fun, and it’s so great to have them back in the north.

The woods literally come alive every morning with the various songs and calls of the migratory birds, all getting their groove on and nesting and breeding before summer. I hadn’t realized how much I dig their many sounds until they returned.

Here’s an osprey photo. I was set up in my blind trying to get some duck photos – with no luck. This osprey appeared and I tried to get some images of him/her. It was ridiculously hard, as I was sitting on the ground, kneeling in fact, with my tripod about 1 foot off the ground.

I had the 500mm and a teleconverter mounted on it, and this osprey appears, flying around looking for something to eat. So I’m literally flopping about on the ground, on my back shooting up at this osprey, swinging my camera and lens around like a militiaman and his gattling gun.

I didn’t get much in the way of sharp images, but it was pretty cool – especially what happened about 10 seconds later.

I was sitting on my blind waiting on some ducks to approach (they never did – ducks are among the sneakiest of all birds) and this osprey started flying overhead.

All of a sudden out of the woods comes this Goshawk on the attack .. it was all over pretty quickly. The osprey, far larger, had it’s butt kicked all too soon, and took off from where it came. The Goshawk disappeared back into the woods once the osprey was gone. They must have a nest I there somewhere, but I never saw it.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s a male Northern Shoveller, photographed from my tent blind on the north side of Wrangell St. Elias national park, Alaska. I had little luck with these birds, but a ton of fun. And lots of sitting, hidden in my little blind, waiting for them to come close.

Cheers

Carl

Hey Folks,

Here’s one of the young trumpeter swans I shot the other day on the ice in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park. There were 2 adults and 2 youngsters in tow, last years young, I imagine. As the waters open up the adults will nest and hopefully raise some more cygnets this year. This yearling was trying to get a drink of water from the meltwater of top of the ice.

Cheers

Carl