Untamed Land

Untamed Land
Untamed Land

Sunday, May 22, 2016

Day of the Ram, etc.

Did I already post this photo? Forgive me if my mind is not so sharp as it once was. This is a pair of Pintails that Bart photographed at Potter Marsh.
Bart and I both photographed these Gadwalls at Potter. This is Bart's photo..
A Greater Scaup.
A pair of G. S.
Twin Peaks in the Chugach Mountains.
Falls above Windy Corner in the Chugach Mtns.
Bart climbed well above the Seward Highway overlooking Windy Corner. This is too much physical exertion for my poor old body to endure.
He climbed up the steep slopes to visit the Dall Sheep that frequent those heights.
This ram showed more curiosity than fear. Dall Sheep do not get hunted in this area so close to the highway.
Bart even managed to get above the sheep.
I guess this ram did'nt like that so it climbed higher.
I envy Bart for getting so close to wild Dall Sheep.

Saturday, May 14, 2016

Some Recent Sightings

About a week ago I went to Westchester Lagoon and the Coastal Trail. Almost immediately I found a nesting pair of Red-necked Grebes. They were only about 15 feet, (5 meters) from shore. I did not want to disturb them so I sat down well back from the shore..
I made the assumption that the sleeping grebe on the nest was the female although I have no idea whether it was the male or female. The male?, gently nudged the sleeping grebe.
She looked up....
Then she stood up. This is the first time that I have seen a grebe on its feet. I could not see far enough into the nest to  see any eggs.
In a flash the female was gone and the male took her place.
The male proudly took his place on the nest. As I carefully got up to leave I noticed another photographer on  the other side of a bush. He was right next to the nest but apparently did not disturb the grebes.
Further along the shore I sat down again trying to photograph Arctic Terns in flight. This is very difficult for me to do because I am too slow on the trigger. I cannot seem to be able to find the fast moving birds in my viewfinder.
The terns seem to be fearless of people.
Case in point, this tern landed about 12 feet from me.
As I sat there photographing terns a Lesser Yellowlegs landed very close to me.
This bird was also fearless.
It came very close to me. All of these photos were shot with my old Fujifilm camera. It is so much more versatile than my expensive DSLR.
 I have many more photos to post at a future time.