Northern Lights and Cranes

Since I never seem to go  anywhere or pull a camera out of the closet these days, these photos are Bart's. The photo above was taken at Fire Lake, very close to Bart's home in Eagle River.

The Aurora Borealis has been very active this Winter.  I have not gone to see them even once. Shame on me. I think Bart got these photos at about 2:00 AM.

Green is the dominant color of the Northern Lights, but other colors sometimes show themselves. People on the North Slope of Alaska claim that they make faint popping or crackling noises. I have not heard them.

A few months ago Bart photographed Sandhill Cranes in Palmer as they gathered for their Southbound migration.

He managed to get much better flight shots than I have gotten.

See what I mean?

I never even bothered to photograph cranes this year. Hopefully I'll be able to drum up more enthusiasm when they return next year.

They are truly majestic birds and relatively easy to approach in this part of Alaska.

Whenever I see cranes they tend to be sedentary and I lack the patience to wait for action shots. Therefore I have few action photos of cranes.

What a great shot that Bart got.

Earlier Bart went to an area called Shroeder Lake, Mosquito paradise.

The approach to the lake is more interesting than the lake itself.

Tangle Lakes

Earlier this Fall Bart and his son Tom went Moose hunting around Tangle Lakes off the Denali Highway. It is a beautiful spot but a terrible place for Moose hunting.

It is perfect Moose habitat but it is easily accessible by road. That means that hunters have already picked the place clean, (mostly).

It does have lots of swans, both Tundra and Trumpeter Swans. I cannot tell which species these are.

Besides swans, there are many ducks.

And loons. This is a Common loon.

This is a Common Loon but Red-throated Loons also occur on the smaller bodies of water.

This is a great place to go berry picking. Most years there is an abundance of Blueberries as well as other kinds of berries.

Some kind of fungi?

The cozy tent.

Tom looks out over the expansive countryside hoping to spot a legal bull.

They brought along a canoe to help them get around.

The canoe let them get closer to the lake's inhabitants. A pair of adult swans and their brood.

Tom hold up an Arctic Grayling. Good eating, if you like fish. I do not.

I do not remember whether Bart and Tom got a Moose but I know they had a nice adventure either way.