Tag Archives: Wildlife

Grizzly Bear, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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A grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) on the tundra in Chitistone Pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

I apologize for the long delays in posting here – it’s been busy this summer, with backpacking trips, and I really haven’t taken the photos I was hoping to, either. Either smoke from numerous wildfires, bad timing, or bad weather have made the summer not a great one for me, photographically, so far. Hopefully that’ll change a little as fall approaches.

This is a grizzly bear that I’ve observed in the Skolai Pass the last few years – I saw him as a younger, immature or subadult, in 2007, again last year and this year back in July. Continue reading →

Hoary Marmot Photo

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Hoary Marmot, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks

Last week I spent the week up at Skolai Pass, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska. After years of hoping to photograph a marmot in the park, and having seen many of them but never actually managing to photograph one, I found this guy, right by where we camped. I made a number of nice images of him, but this one I like the most. The pink flowers in the foreground are called Pink Plumes.

I’ll be out in the backcountry again this week, hiking from Iceberg Lake to Bremner Mines. I’ll post again when I return.

Cheers

Carl

More Snowshoe hares

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snowshoe hare (Lepus Americanus) on snow, winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a look at a Snowshoe hare (lepus americanus) just as it starts to pelage and change to its summer coat, and below, a look at another hare further along in the process. I like to try to photograph animals in the various stages of their phenology, and also to try some different kinds of compositions – the one below showing a little more of the forest this snowshoe hare lives in, and what they might do this time of year; sit in the morning sun and catch some rays after a long, cold winter. Continue reading →

Young Bull Moose, Wrangell-St. Elias

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A young bull moose wades through deep powdery snow, winter, boreal forest, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

Here’s a young bull moose, a yearling, trundling through the snow. Moose have disproportionately longer legs than other members of the deer family, and it really helps them get through deep snow.

This is a helpful advantage as they seek out food in the winter, and also in evading their main predator, the wolf pack.

But the real secret they employ is a kind of double-jointed hip or knee that allows them to lift their legs higher than most ungulates, and high-step their way to safety.  When I first saw this fellow, he stepped into a deeper drift that was right up to his belly, yet he managed to clamber his way through, regather, and then set about finding himself some browse for dinner.

The word ‘moose’ comes from a North American Indian Tribe, the Abenaki, and it translates roughly as ‘he trims or cuts off’, a reference to how the Moose browses twigs and bark from trees.

Cheers

Carl

Caribou feeding in winter snow

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A caribou cow digging under snow for food, feeding on lichens and grasses, in winter, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Winter caribou feeding in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park

Hey Folks,

Normally I wouldn’t post a photo of an animal with its head buried under the snow. But, for caribou, this is winter life. Caribou feed on lichens and grasses, and those lie buried, often deep beneath snow’s crust for the long winter months.

Caribou have a few options to eke out their winter, and a heavy snow pack in the winter can be a tough gig for them; finding food is a mission and avoiding predators, namely, the wolf, an equally difficult, if not critical, task. So they’ll typically seek high ground,

Continue reading →

Black-capped Chickadee Photo

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Black-capped Chickadee, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey folks,

Here’s a Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), year-round Alaska resident, perched on a small spruce tree. There’s not a lot of birds in the great north woods this time of year, so it’s always a treat when they stop by. I’ll try to get a photo of his close cousin, the Boreal Chickadee – so far, no luck.

Cheers

Carl

Pine Grosbeak photo, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska

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Pine Grosbeak, male, Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Pine Grosbeak Photo.

Hey Folks,

Sorry for the delay in posts, again. I came in to Anchorage for a few days, and have been sitting, faithfully, at my computer trying to make it start. It locked up during an update, apparently, and then I couldn’t get it to start. I managed to back up most of the data on it, though it took forever. I thought the HD was fried, but it appears no problems there. I’m still working on getting all the programs back up, etc, and it’s taking way too long. I’m about sick of this computer business – I’m ready to head back to the safety of the woods. I’ll take 40-50 below zero temperatures over technology problems anyday. This stuff is too much hassle.

I did manage to take a few bird photos in the park before I came back out. They’re tricky little critters to shoot, but lots of fun. This male Pine Grosbeak was pretty cool, and I managed to get a few images. They’re named a ‘pine’ Grosbeak because they do so love the pine or coniferous forests (I spose Coniferous Grosbeak doesn’t sound so cool a name). Technically, they’re not a true Grosbeak, but a large Finch. The scientific name for the bird is Pinicola enucleator, which is pretty fancy. ‘Pinicola’ translates as ‘pine dweller’. They’re one of the few birds who winter this far north .. all the smarter ones fly south to warmer climes.

Cheers

Carl

Great horned owl chick photo, Wrangell St. Elias national park, Alaska

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baby Great Horned owl chick, Wrangell St. Elias National Park, Alaska.

Hey Folks,

I was gunna call this post “You Can Call Me Al”. 🙂 🙂 🙂

I really wanted to get some owl photos this winter, and I heard them outside the cabin nearly every night. But i could never manage to spot one. I did run across a nest towards the end of winter, but it was buried in a thick grove of trees, and too high up to afford any photos, without seriously disturbing the nest.

So I pretty much figured no owls for me this year.

Until this particular evening comes along. I’d photographed trumpeter swans, loons, some flowers, and was poking around just as dark rolled in (dark as it gets in Alaska in June) and look what I find. Eventually there turned out to be 3 Great Horned Owlets, and an adult in the area. The adult was kinda skittish, and bailed, so I didn’t stay around long, and the light was toast anyway (this was shot at 1/30th of a second, f4). But I was overjoyed to even see, nevermind get to photograph, these little guys.

They’re SO cute!

Cheers

Carl