Bald Eagle – Wandering Dawgs

Bird Weekly Challenge #17: Macros or Close Ups

October 6, 2020Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged anhinga, Bald Eagle, birdweekly, Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Photo Challenge20 Comments

For me, getting a closeup of a bird is usually a real challenge. Most of the time, the bird is too far away or it flies away if I get too close. Occasionally, I’ll luck out and come across a bird who is not interested in me and I can get the shot I want.

The Bald Eagle in the above photo was sitting in a low branch of a tree in Chilcoot Lake State Park in Haines, Alaska. As I set up my tripod and aimed the camera at him I kept my fingers crossed that he wouldn’t fly off. He ignored me and I was a happy photographer.

Most Great Blue Herons I have seen are spooked by humans and will not let me get too near them. This one was hanging around the fishing pier at Ft. Pickens National Seashore in Florida. He was much more interested in getting an easy meal than he was in me.

This Anhinga was right beside the path in Shark Valley in Everglades National Park. We watched for a while as he struggled to swallow his fish. We didn’t stay around long enough to see if he succeeded in eating it.

Cormorant, Everglades National Park, Florida

This Cormorant was next the trail and didn’t move when I stopped to take his picture.

Thank you Lisa. for this Bird Weekly challenge. Her original post is Bird Weekly Challenge #17: Macro/Close Ups.

Bird weekly Challenge #9: Birds of Prey

August 10, 2020Posted in Birds, PhotographyTagged Bald Eagle, birds of prey, birdweekly, Hawk, Osprey, Photo Challenge29 Comments

Of all the birds of prey I’ve seen in the wild, the Bald Eagle is by far my favorite. These magnificent birds mate for life and return to the same nest year after year. Alaska is a Bald Eagle lovers paradise.

Bald Eagle at Chilcoot Lake State Park, Haines, AK

Mama and baby eagles across from the Homer Post Office

There are Bald Eagles on some of the Georgia barrier islands near our home but it isn’t every day that one decides to perch on top of our neighbor’s dock house. I was able to get a photo of this Bald Eagle on a foggy December afternoon.

Sometimes I can hear the owls in the trees in our neighborhood but they are hard to see. One morning this juvenile horned owl perched on our dock for a while.

Hawks are birds of prey I’ve often seen in Georgia and Florida.

Red Shouldered Hawk, Everglades National Park, Florida

An occasional hawk will fly over our back yard in search of a tasty morsel. One day one stopped for a break on a fence post.

I often see ospreys soaring overhead as they search for food. I have managed to capture some on their nests.

Osprey on nest, Everglades National Park, Florida

Pair of Ospreys on the nature trail, Gulf Islands National Seashore at Ft. Pickens, Florida

Thanks you Lisa. for this challenge. Her original post is Bird Weekly Challenge #9 – Birds of Pre y

Bald Eagles of Alaska

August 16, 2018Posted in Alaska, Birds, Nature, Photography, RVing, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, Photo Challenge, Wandering Wednesday16 Comments

Five years ago we were wandering around Alaska in our RV. As we traveled I was always on the lookout for wildlife and we saw plenty of it.

Along with the many land and sea animals, I enjoyed seeing the birds. The Bald Eagles were my favorite and there were more Bald Eagles than I’ve ever seen anywhere else. We saw them perched in trees, soaring overhead, and even in a nest in front of the Homer Post office. The most unusual sighting was seeing one fly right beside the truck as we drove along the Homer Spit. I was so busy watching him keep up with us that I didn’t get a chance to take his picture!

He was looking at me — Bald Eagle on Ninilchik Beach

20130621Day-37Fjordland-to-Juneau-(177) — Bald Eagle in the Lynn Canal between Haines and Juneau

20130621Day-37Scale-Eagle — Bald Eagle in tree beside Eldred Rock Lighthouse in the Lynn Canal

Mama and Baby Eagles across from Homer Post Office — Mama and Baby Eagles in Homer

Eagle soaring over bluff at Russian Orthadox Church in Ninilchik

Pair of Eagles — We spotted this pair of Bald Eagles as we cruised by on a wildlife and glacier cruise from Valdez

Inspired by Ingrid’s Wandering Wednesday photo prompt – birds

Favorite Alaska and Canada Wildlife Photos

June 13, 2018Posted in Alaska, British Columbia, Road Trip, RVing, WildlifeTagged Bald Eagle, black bear, Grizzly, Humpback Whale, Live Laugh RV, moose, Orca, Photo Inspiration, Puffins, Stellar Sea Lions43 Comments

Five years ago this week we were on the road to Alaska from Georgia. Once we crossed the border into Canada, I spent every day looking for wildlife. There were many “WOW” wildlife sightings in both Canada and Alaska.

I’ve been thinking about posting some of my favorite wildlife photos from the trip and today I finally got the boost I needed to put it all together. When my friend Ingrid at Live, Laugh RV posted that the theme for her very first Wednesday photo inspiration was wildlife, I immediately started going though the thousands of photos from the trip.

If you would like to participate or see other posts inspired by Ingrid, click on over to Ingrid’s post Wandering Wednesday.

Here are just a few of my favorite wildlife photos from our Canada and Alaska adventure.

Elk in loop 63 — Elk near our campsite in Jasper National Park, Alberta

Bear in British Columbia — Soon after entering British Columbia we were in Mount Robson Park and saw this grizzly beside the road

Black Bear eating Dandelions — Bear in British Columbia

A small herd with calves — Bison herd with calves near Liard River Hotsprings in British Columbia

20130709Day-55Tek-to-Kantishna-(337) — Moose in Denali National Park, Alaska

Stellar Sea Lions on day trip to Juneau — Stellar Sea Lions on wildlife cruise from Haines to Juneau, Alaska

Whale Tail — Humpback Whale on wildlife cruise from Haines to Juneau, Alaska

Two Sea Otters Valdez — Sea Otters on Columbia Glacier cruise from Valdez, Alaska

Pod of Orcas with calf on Columbia Glacier cruise from Valdez, Alaska

Puffins on the Columbia Glacier Cruise from Valdez, Alaska

Wandering Around America one state at a time – Alaska

January 4, 2017November 28, 2017Posted in Alaska, Birds, Glaciers, Road Trip, RVing, Wandering around America, WildlifeTagged America the Beautiful, Arctic Circle, Bald Eagle, Denali, Haines, Ninilchik, Talkeetna17 Comments

State 2:

Welcome to the next post in my series highlighting states we have visited throughout the years. I hope you will enjoy coming along for the ride! I will be featuring the states alphabetically and next up is

Alaska

Alaska became the 49th state on January 3, 1959. The capital is Juneau and it is the only state capital that can only be reached by air, boat, or birth. The largest city is Anchorage.

We spent 50 glorious nights in Alaska in the summer of 2013.

I loved meeting so many wonderful Alaskans and hearing their stories. Wildlife, glaciers, boat trips, a flight seeing tour, eagles, halibut fishing, Denali National Park, taking the RV on the Alaska Ferry from Skagway to Haines, and a train ride on the Alaska Railroad are just a few of the amazing things we experienced while we were there. Our favorite place was Haines. The most exciting thing we did was take a flight-seeing tour from Talkeetna to see Mt. McKinley and land on Ruth Glacier. The farthest north we went was Coldfoot, north of the Arctic Circle.