Birds – Page 7 – Wandering Dawgs

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 220 – One Subject Three Ways

October 15, 2022Posted in Birds, PhotographyTagged Lens-Artists, one subject three ways, Photo Challenge12 Comments

For this challenge Patti asks us to show one subject three ways.

Every time I drive to and from my neighborhood I pass a tree I call the bird tree because I often see birds perched on its dead branches. I’ve chosen three images of the tree. All were taken on the same day.

The image above is a recent photo of the tree will Roseate Spoonbills and a Great Egret. The image below was taken with a zoom lens for a closer look. The third image is cropped to show only the Roseate Spoonbill.

Cropped to show only the Roseate Spoonbill

Many thanks to Patti’s Lens-Artists Challenge #220 – One Subject Three Ways

2022 Alaska and the Inside Passage – Part 6 – Wildlife Cruise and Crab Feast in Sitka

October 12, 2022October 14, 2022Posted in Alaska, Birds, WildlifeTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, Bald Eagle, humpback whales, Sea Otter, Sitka, Viking Cruise, Viking Ocean Cruise, Viking Orion13 Comments

August 28, 2022 – Our ship docked in Sitka just a short walk from where we boarded a boat for our wildlife cruise. Once again it was raining off and on all day.

Our captain took us through a narrow passage where we had a close up view of tree covered islands. Our guide was a naturalist who pointed out interesting things to see like the orange starfish in the next photo.

When the rain began I went back inside the warm, dry cabin. This humpback whale came up right outside my window.

The captain slowed down for a closer look at these sea otters. Some were just floating around and others were diving and playing. They are so cute and fun to watch.

As we traveled to Fin Island Lodge for lunch we spotted this American Bald Eagle hanging out in a tree close to the water.

We ate our fill of Alaskan crab, salmon, and prime rib with all the trimmings. Lunch was followed by a campfire on the beach where we roasted our own marshmallows to make S’Mores with locally make chocolate bars.

We boarded the boat for a ride back to the cruise ship dock where the rain was coming down in buckets.

The historic town of Sitka is located a few miles from the cruise ship dock. There is a shuttle which runs back and forth to the town. Sadly, there wasn’t enough time to visit the town. I did manage a few minutes of shopping at some of the shops at the dock.

Next up – Our last Alaskan port and more Alaska Wildlife

Wandering in the Last Frontier

September 7, 2022Posted in Alaska, Birds, Glaciers, Travel, WildlifeTagged Alaska and the Inside Passage, Bald Eagle, Black Bears, Coastal Brown Bears, Sea Otter, Viking Cruise, Viking Orion16 Comments

We fell in love with Alaska nine years ago when we traveled from Georgia to Alaska and back towing our fifth wheel trailer. We’ve been wanting to return to the Last Frontier ever since.

Our wish finally came true at the end of August this year. This time we flew to Anchorage, took a tour bus to Seward and boarded the Viking Orion for a 10 day cruise ending in Vancouver. We returned to a few places we had visited by RV and saw some amazing new places. The scenery was stunning and there were many wildlife sightings.

These are just a few highlights of our journey.

*Turnagain Arm between Seward and Anchorage*

*Brown Bear at Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the Seward* *Highway* *in Portage, Alaska*

*Humpback Whales bubble net feeding – Icy Strait Point, Alaska*

*Sea Otter Cub on Mama’s stomach – Sitka, Alaska*

*Inside Passage somewhere between Ketchikan, Alaska and Vancouver, British Columbia*

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 211 – What’s your Photographic Groove

August 11, 2022Posted in Birds, Photography, WildlifeTagged Bison, black bear, Egret, Elk, Grizzly Bear, heron, Lens-Artists, moose, Pelican, Photo Challenge, Photographic Groove, Roseatte Spoonbill22 Comments

In this challenge host Anne asks us “What is your Photographic Groove? What type of photography do you truly enjoy? “

I enjoy the challenge of photographing birds and wildlife in their natural habitat. The header image is of a bugling Elk in Cataloochee Valley in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park in North Carolina. One fall we traveled there in hope of seeing the magnificent elk herd that lives there. We weren’t disappointed. I posted about our experience at Cataloochee Valley Elk in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park.

The following gallery contains some of my favorite wildlife images from our travels around the United States and Canada.

This next gallery contains some of my favorite bird images.

Many thanks to Anne for this Lens-Artists Challenge #211 – What’s your Photographic Groove?

Lens Artists Photo Challenge # 210 – Picking Favorites

August 3, 2022Posted in Birds, Flowers, Nature, PhotographyTagged coneflowers, garden, Lens-Artists, Orcas, Photo Challenge, Picking Favorites, ruby throated hummingbird24 Comments

In this challenge guest host Sarah asks us to pick three favorite photos and describe why they are favorites. I had a difficult time coming up with just three images but here they are.

My first image is one one I took earlier this summer while I was sitting in my back yard. I was hoping to capture birds at the feeder or butterflies on the flowers. The birds and butterflies didn’t cooperate so instead I took a few shots of the coneflowers using my telephoto lens. I’m happy with the effect and like the purplecone flower in the background.

I couldn’t pick three favorites without including a bird image. This next image is my favorite hummingbird image. I captured him from above as I was sitting on my deck above the flowers.

My final image is of two Orcas I captured on a wildlife cruise from Valdez, Alaska. Valdez was near the end of our nearly two months of traveling by RV through Alaska. We saw plenty of humpback whales on two other wildlife cruises but we had not yet seen any Orcas. This wildlife cruise would be our last chance to see them before we headed south for home. I was thrilled when a pod surfaced close to our boat and I was finally able to capture a few shots. This one is one of my favorite photos from the trip.