Countdown 365 ~ T-143

Total Miles: 4.1 Miles ~ Wildlife: Bald Eagles ~ White Fronted Geese

Sunday, May 23rd took a short Photo Trek to the beaches of Cook Inlet at the mouth of the Anchor River. For next several months, this will be a prime area to get some great shots of the American Bald Eagle. It is also an ideal location due in part that there is no type of structural development that will distract from the shot.

Countdown 365 ~ T-135

Total Miles: 2 Miles ~ Wildlife: Three Moose ~ Bald Eagles ~ Sandhill Cranes

Although, Saturday, May 15, 2010 was not a dedicated Photo Trek day, I have learned to carry my camera with me wherever I venture. On this particular day, my schedule was simple, I was to sit in the parking lot of the Anchor River Inn from 0600 to 1930. Needless to say, Anchor Point was very quiet until 0800 when the Anchor River Inn opened for the day, but I was their first customer. This date, I was to sit in the parking lot or inside the Inn and drink coffee, waiting patiently to weigh in King Salmon at our 16th Annual Calcutta King Salmon Tournament.

As I was sitting there, awaiting an early fish to weigh in, I saw a Cow Moose walk out to the edge of the road, her ears laid back as if she were angry. A couple of minutes later, a calf appeared down the road from her about 100 yards. The cow, just stood there and watched it move across the road to a small rise and flat area in front. A few minutes passed and a second calf appeared from the spot that the first calf appeared. Waiting for a minute of so, it joined it's sibling across the road. It was only then, that the Cow Moose crossed the road to join them, however her ears were still laid back. She was a very angry mother.

I can only assume, that she was trying to "ween" her twins, so they could continue their life on their own and she give birth to a new calf. Joining them, whenever she could get close enough, she would try to strike them with her hoof and bump shoulders with them, all the time her ears remained laid back.

"A Gentle Strike To Remind Her Off Spring It was Time To Go Out In The Cruel World"

"Perhaps, A Nudge In The Butt Will Work A Little Better"

"Siblings Conferring On What They Should Do"

Perhaps, Those Of Us That Have Siblings, We Should Always Remember. That Giving One Of Our Siblings A Hug Or Even A Kiss Is Not All That Bad. You May Never Have The Opportunity Come Again.

Assurance That Everything Will be O.K. "Sibling Kiss"

While sitting, I was also entertained by a variety of American Bald Eagles and a flock of Sandhill Cranes winging their way north.

"Immature Bald Eagle"

"Sandhill Cranes"

Countdown: 365 ~ T-123

Total Miles: 7.2 ~ Wildlife: Waterfowl *White Fronted Geese ~ Bald Eagles

Returned to the marsh land at the mouth of the Anchor River today. The small flock (3) of White Fronted Geese that is on my previous posting had increased in numbers today. Located in the same area, the total number was eleven today. Unfortunately, I was not able to get as close as I was on our first encounter.

"Flushing I" "Flushing II" "Safe Altitude"

Being such a beautiful day, could not resist taking the time to play a little "ball" with my two assistants. They do enjoy their time at the beach.

"Dutch"

After a vigorous game of ball, they took a little swim in the Anchor River.

"Dutch and "Ruger"

Countdown: 365 ~ T-121

APRIL COMMENTS Total Miles: 589.4 ~ Wildlife: 17Moose ~ 4 Dall sheep ~ Bald Eagles ~ Migratory Waterfowl

Next year, I will need to mark my calendar, April appears to be the slowest month of the year for the subjects that I am interested in photographing. Perhaps, next April I will also put in a little more effort to explore new areas. However, I have really enjoyed learning to photograph the American Bald Eagle.

May 2010 Total Miles: 5.2 Wildlife: Waterfowl ~ American Bald Eagles

The migratory waterfowl are just now starting to appear in our area in greater numbers. We should see these numbers increase over the next two weeks. It is also the time of the season that the King Salmon will start moving into area streams. The number of American Bald Eagles will show in greater numbers to nest and feed. Within this same time frame, we should start seeing our Cow Moose giving birth to our new crop of calves. This morning, I took a short drive to the marshlands and ponds at the mouth of the Anchor River. Although we have had small flocks of Mallard Ducks in this area for the past two weeks, today was the first encounter with Geese. This particular specie is the White Fronted Goose. They are most often confused with the Lesser Canadian Goose. The easiest feature to differentiate them is their bill and feet,which are yellow or orange in color. The Canadian Goose species will have black bills and feet. Although, I only had three subjects to work with, they cooperated fully and gave me several fly overs and landings.

"White Fronted Geese With Steaming Mt. Redoubt In the Background"

"Eye Level Fly Over"

"Muddy Launch Site"

"Water Landing"

"Below The Beach Berm Flyover I"

"Below The Beach Berm Flyover II"

"Returning To Original Holding Site"

"Stacked Three High"

Countdown 365 ~ T-93

March 2010

Total Miles: 534.8 Miles

Wildlife: Moose: 14 ~ Dall Sheep: 4 ~ Bald Eagles

The month was a slow month for dedicated photo treks, due primarily to several winter storms. During the month, I completed only two trips. However, with the appearance of spring, the activity will once again commence. APRIL 2010

Total Miles: 44.6 ~ Wildlife: 5 Moose ~ Eagles

With the feel of spring in the air today, I took a short photo trek to the community of Homer to visit the Homer Spit. My primary objective today was to get additional shots of the American Bald Eagle. With the commencement of spring, the majority of the Eagle population has now departed the Homer Spit for their summer nesting and feeding areas. At our home, we are starting to see the Eagle population increase. With the return of the salmon, we will see our Eagle population increase rapidly. In the coming weeks, we will witness the flights of migratory waterfowl passing through the area en route to their nesting areas. This young moose has now adopted us and the yard has become its sanctuary from the cruel world outside. The calf’s mother has evicted the calf from the nest in preparation for re-birth and another generation. At this stage in their life, they really do not know what to expect and seem to latch onto any security they can find. The calf is doing a great job in pruning our trees and bushes, some we do not wish to be pruned.

"Spring Gardening"

Homer Spit ~ April 3, 2010 This series of shots were taken of the same Bald Eagle demonstrating their ability in "Eagle Aerodynamics".

"Clearance for Take-Off"

"Full Power, Climbing To Altitude"

"Picking Up A Little Lift"

"Altitude Attained, Leveled Off"

"Eric"

Found this guy in a out of the way spot, for lack of a better name I called him Eric. With the sunny weather, he decided it was time for a bath and picked a nice puddle of snow melt off to accomplish the task. He was proud of his find, during my hour with him, several other birds came in close to observe what was going on. Evidently, Eric gave them the "Eagle Eye"because they moved on to find their own spot. He was still bathing when I left. As you can see from the facial shot, he could have chose a little cleaner bath water. All of these shots were taken without any type of zoom or enlargement lens. In most of the shots I took, I had to step back to get the shot. At all times, I was taking these shots two to six feet from Eric.

"Not Clean ~ But Refreshed"

"Toes Look Clean"

"Just A Little Dribble Off My Beak"

"Smells O.K. To Drink"

Oh Yea, That Is Good"

"Wish I Had A Straw"

"Down The Hatch"

"That Really Hit The Spot"

As They All, Any Time You Can Get Out And Enjoy The Wonders Of Nature, It Is A Good Day.