My Coyote

I am EXTREMELY far behind in updating this blog so the next few entries are going to be WAY out of order. I apologize in advance but I am going to just jump straight to my personal highlight of the trip.

I was in Yellowstone with a group of 7 photographers and our amazing guide Wim. Everyone on the trip was hot for Bison and while numbers were down... there were plenty of healthy, well-fleshed and rather rambunctious Bison to go around. Personally... I wanted a coyote.

I love coyotes. I know a lot of people don't, they think of them as pests, thieves and nuisances... that maybe true when they are breaking into a hen house but my experiences have shown them to be quiet, mild mannered, playful survivors.

I heard Coyotes howling the first day of the trip in Lamar and counted at least 25... at a very far distance. As we were leaving a location I spotted one near the road and shouted out that we should stop.... oh the joys of being on a tour instead of by yourself... I was over-ruled with a "We'll see plenty more later in the trip". Nope. We saw 5 more later in the trip, each of them farther than the last... taunting me.

Our last morning we had two hours to photograph before we had to drive out of the interior to meet a bus in West Yellowstone. And once again... we stopped for Bison. I was half-heartedly shooting with my 500mm when I realized the scene really called for a shorter lens so as the remainder of the group continued hiking up the river bank, I headed back to the snow coach to pick up a shorter lens. I was chatting with Wim and taking my time getting my camera and lens set up when Wim jumped up and said "There, right there! Your coyote!". I lept from the snow coach and crept around the side and sure enough, walking right past the coach was a beautiful coyote. She paused and looked back at me as I rattled off shots and just as my memory card was full... she hopped off the road and headed up the hill into the thermal area. Wim helped me locate more memory cards and I bolted through the snow... ok... a slow lumber is probubly a better description of my movemements... you try running in 3 layers of thermals, heavy snow pants, a down jacket and Baffin snow boots and see how fast you can go! Luckily I was fast enough!

I was able to track her up the hill and into an area filled with mist from the thermals. She watched me briefly and dismissed me as a non-threat before settling down on a nice warm patch of ground. My only problem was I had a 300mm lens and it was hand-held! My 500mm on the tripod was sitting at the river's edge a long way away. I was certain that she would leave if I went back for it so I made the most of the moment with what I had. I was only able to signal one other person in the group so Bridgit and I had this beautiful girl all to ourselves for at least 30 minutes before the guys int eh group realized we weren't just photographing trees and maybe they should check out what were we so intently focused on... The coyote stuck around long enough for everyone to get a few shots and then she stood, stretched and trotted off down the river.

Next year... I need to learn to cross country ski and get out there alone!

Bears aren't the only critters

While they may be the main attraction, Polar Bears are not the only white critters up north.

The lovely Willow Ptarmigan, the Arctic Hare and the Arctic Fox all shed their brown coats in favor of the concealing winter white.

It can be hard to spot these little gems as they blend so perfectly with their surroundings but the minute you see a moving snow bank... you know you are onto something. Personal Favorite: The Arctic Fox

I love winter!!!!!!

It doesn't get much better than this! Just back from Churchill, Manitoba where I spent five wonderful nights sleeping on the tundra with some magnificent animals. The accommodations were rustic, a train style bunk bed with barely enough room to sit up but the view from my tiny window every morning made me smile.

Polar bears are typically loners. They roam the ice flows looking for seals to eat and rarely run into other bears. Yet, every fall the southern most population of polar bears gather near Churchill to wait for the Hudson Bay to freeze and provide them with a hunting ground.

The younger bears often rough house and tumble while the older bears sleep and conserve energy. All of the bears check the ice as it forms and prepare their systems to eat again. They dig up kelp and chew and chew. Researchers think the kelp provides iodine and perhaps beneficial bacteria which helps to restart the bears digestive systems. One thing is obvious... it gets things moving right along.

A great organization that is working with the bears is Polar Bears International. Check out their website at: http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/

A Better Day

I bundled up in my warm layers and set out from my car with my 600mm lens resting firmly over my shoulder. The snow from the day before had melted and frozen into a hard crust which my feet broke through. It was only ankle deep today but somehow the addition of breaking through a crusty surface made the hike to the blind more difficult than the knee high snow had the day before. I kept my pace slow and steady - a friends voice in my mind saying "the Sherpa shuffle". One step at a time, slowly and surely, just keep moving forward. Even though it was an hour before civil twilight would begin, there was plenty of moonlight to guide me along the path, no artificial light was needed to see the way. By the time I reached the blind I was beginning to sweat and needed to strip off a few layers to avoid getting too warm only to have the warmth drained as I sat still in the blind for the next three hours. I regreted not bringing my snow boots as my toes began to feel as if someone had filled my hiking boots with hundreds of tiny pins.

Now that I was installed in my blind, the camera set up, the flaps open and the prairie spread out before me I had nothing to do but wait. The cold began to seep into me and I added my layers back on. My wicking shirt did it's job and kept me nice and dry. My thermal held in my body heat and my amazing Nomar Polar Fleece from Homer, Alaska did the rest. I wrapped my down jacket around my lap like a blanket and was almost comfortable... except my feet. With nothing in the viewfinder I had nothing to do but focus on how uncomfortable I was GOING to be when my feet got REALLY cold.

As twilight began I became aware of a heavy, deep buzzing noise, growing in intesity... I heard wing flaps and suddenly from every direction chickens began to gather and strut their stuff. I was set up on iso 1600 again at f/5.6, as wide as I could get with the 1.4 teleconvertor attached. It wasn't wide enough. I watched helpless to capture as the chickens began to inflate their bright orange neck patches. My 8 second exposure was just too slow. Seconds dragged by into minutes. I fired a few test shots to see just how much speed I needed to capture just a sliver of the scene that was unfolding in front of my eyes. FINALLY I was able to get my shutter speed up to 1/80th s and drop my iso to 1000. My camera rattled frame after frame of images as the light steadily increased, I focused on increasing the shutter speed and decreasing the iso until finally I hit a respectable combination. Of course at that precise moment the entire lek exploded into the air and flew away. My heart lurched and I felt crushed. What had spooked them? I'd seen no movement from the blind opposite me and I hadn't moved at all. A northern harrier hawk glided over the snow crust in the distance... perhaps that was the cause... luckily for me they all came back and I breathed a silent sigh of relief. The light got better and better and more and more chickens arrived, playing their games of "made you flinch".

With the grey overcast sky I never got quite enough light to capture the amazingly fast wing flaps of these birds but I came away with many beautiful portraits of these colorful birds. Now that I am completely hooked on these comical birds I know where to come next year and I know I'll need at least four days just in case the weather decides not to coorporate. The there will be the lesser prairie chickens, the Attwater... not to mention the grouse.... every discovery opens the door to ten more things to be discovered. For now I am satisfied and ready to move on to some warm weather shooting. Next week: Arizona's Hummingbirds.

Frozen Chicken

I arrived in Minnesota with hopes of photographing the Greater Prairie Chicken lek and immediately knew I would be needing all the layers I brought with me. 30 degrees Fahrenheit isn't too bad when you are dressed for it but in jeans and a t-shirt I was under dressed. I picked up the rental car and headed out to the Blue Stem Prairie to explore the blind site. I wanted to be certain I could find the site in the dark the next morning. The grasses around the lek site were golden and I visualized the images I wanted to capture.

The temperature seemed to drop as I headed back to the car. By the time I reached my hotel room the snow had begun to fall in earnest. I listened to the reports of road closures and accidents before heading to sleep.

I headed out at 4am, very skeptical that I would come away with any photographs - they would definitely be very different than those I visualized the day before. The snow was knee deep as I hiked the path I had explored the afternoon before. I made it to the blind, kicked off the snow and settled in to wait for the sun to rise. When it finally did the chickens began to arrive on the lek site.

They tried their best to proudly display and boom but even they were cowed by the driving snow. I kicked the iso up to 1600 and did my best to focus through the snow. By 7:00 the chickens gave up and so did I. I managed a few images and it was incredibly fun to see these impressive birds. I'm hoping for better luck tomorrow.

Eagles of Homer, Alaska

Located on Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska is the southern-most town on the Alaska Highway system. Despite the recent uproar about feeding, Homer is still the premier location for viewing Bald Eagles up close and personal. Jean Keene aka the Eagle Lady, feeds the eagles from December to April in an effort to help them make it through the hard winter months. Though she is in her 80's, she is out there every day, rain, snow or shine.

I had no idea what to expect when I flew in from Anchorage. It was a clear day and the mountains were covered in snow. I made it to my hotel on the famous Homer Spit and watched the setting sun as it lite up the mountains and made them glow. Long-tailed ducks, Glaucous gulls, Common goldeneye, sea otters and of course, eagles, could be seen right out the window of the Lands End Resort.

This morning was a different story. A thick cloud cover rolled in overnight and the entire spit was covered in a layer of white snow. It was beautiful... beautiful and COLD. Bundled in my trusty thermals I headed out to the beach to photograph the eagles for the first time. In the low light shutter speeds were too slow to keep up with the birds as they soared and swooped so I pushed my ISO up to 1600 and found my shutter speed. It was amazing to see these enormous and majestic birds flying and perching.

Once the feeding was over the birds dispersed though a few remained on the beach, happy to digest while they watched us crawl ever so slowly closer to their position. One eagle in particular was extremely accommodating and posed for wide angle shots, close head shots and mid-range full body photos. He seemed to know exactly when I had enough of one pose and he would switch to another. I don't think a professional model could have done a better job. Once he was board (or perhaps when he realized his performance wasn't going to get him any more fish) he retired to a perch high on a rooftop to preen and nap.

I can't wait to discover what tomorrow will bring!