This summer, I was lucky enough to be able to go to Alaska to photograph coastal brown bears, also known as grizzly bears.  It was the trip of a lifetime. I had a permit to spend time tenting at a primitive camp, immersed on all sides by bears.  I could open the window on my tent to look out and see bears clamming on the flats at low tide, and spent much of the day watching a sow with her cubs foraging through the greens surrounding the camp.  Perhaps the highlight of the trip was being able to travel to the falls, where approximately 20 bears were fishing for salmon that were migrating up the river.  At the falls, I was seated on a small gravel pad surrounded on all sides by bears just doing their thing – fishing, napping, fighting, wandering around – sometimes only a few feet away!  More photos and details on this part of my trip to come!

Another part of my adventure was spent on the water – I had very much wanted to see some of the marine mammals and birds from that corner of the world.  I’m excited to have added the remainder of the North American puffins to my list – the Horned Puffin and the Tufted Puffin. Although not quite as striking and clown-like as our Atlantic puffin, these birds retain a hint of colorful breeding dress mixed with a much more formal head wear. 

An unexpected highlight of the trip was watching sea otters – I have a special place in my heart for any member of the Mustelidae family but this largest North American weasel (and the smallest marine mammal!) was particularly fascinating and enjoyable to watch.  I had parked myself to watch a single otter feed on crabs, and after a little while, he fell asleep – just occasionally moving his tail to steer himself where he wanted to be relative to the strong ocean tide.  Just as I was starting to consider leaving, a second otter swam up and the fest was on – they spent time grooming and nuzzling one another, only to eventually lock arms (to better control their movement with the tide) and fall asleep….until a third otter appeared!  At this point, all bets were off, and an otter rumble was underway with play wrestling, biting, fighting, rolling, and frolicking.  I used up an entire SD card photographing the antics of these 3 fascinating creatures, and thoroughly enjoyed the hours of time I spent observing their daily activities.

Every day of my trip had something else amazing and different, some big finds, other small – Dall Sheep, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Arctic Squirrel, Wilson’s Warbler, Northern Hawk Owl, Red-necked Grebe, Carrion Crow, Tundra Swan with cygnets, Arctic tern, Bald Eagles galore – the list goes on and on.  My field guide at hand, I found myself photographing a new species and spending time later looking it up.  The only problem was - -there wasn’t a “night” to hunker down and study, I was there in almost 24 hour daylight, and spent just as much time photographing at midnight and 3 am as I did at noon!  There was so much to see and do, I could barely bring myself to stop exploring long enough to rest.  While photographing a group of Rufous Hummingbirds, I met some local photographers who helped me locate some of the coolest finds of the trip – including a beautiful mountain pass where I camped (and got a flat tire….) with marmots, and spots to round out my loon collection with close up looks at Pacific Loons and Red-throated loons.  The only unfortunate part of my trip was that the last 6 days involved solid rain, cold temperatures, and wind – so many of my photos are rich in memories but devoid of the beautiful colors that come with sunlight.

I have thousands of images that I haven’t even begun to look at or process – so my winter will be equally rich with exploring the locations and species I visited this summer - but now I will have the luxury of time to explore my resources to learn even more about these critters.  And stay tuned, for I will share some of these adventures and species with you as our seasons turn dark and the 24 hours of daylight in Alaska turns to the long sleep and cold which many of these special species endure. Take time to stop and smell the flowers, while we can!