Bald Eagle – Wandering Dawgs

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*

Bird Weekly Challenge #27: Birds with Long Wingspans

January 7, 2021Posted in Birds, Nature, PhotographyTagged American White Pelican, Bald Eagle, birdweekly, long wingspan, Osprey, Photo Challenge, Red Tailed Hawk, Roseate Spoonbill, Whooping Crane14 Comments

The wingspan of the American White Pelican can be as much as nine feet wide. A single pelican is shown in the image above and the next image is a trio flying over the water.

These are some more of of my favorite captures of birds with long wingspans.

Thank you Lisa. for this Bird Weekly Challenge: Birds with Long Wingspans

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.