Category Archives: Nature

Summer in Alaska

The most vibrant non-winter months in Alaska are June and July.  This is when the majority of the seasonal rebirth, growth, blossoming, and seeding of wildflowers culminates.  Among the earliest to bloom are chiming bells, the petals of which are … Continue reading

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Harvest Time

Small creatures are working hard this time of year to gather enough material to get them through the winter that’s right around the corner. Days are rapidly getting shorter and pikas and Arctic ground squirrels aren’t wasting any time collecting … Continue reading

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Feeding Time

Lots of young birds around his time of year.  Two eaglets are well cared for in this big nest in the top of an old cottonwood tree in south Anchorage.

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Berry Shortage

Usually in December there is an abundance of mountain ash berries hanging from trees all around the Anchorage area, but not this year; for some unknown reason there are practically none.  That will make slim pickings for the Bohemian Waxwings … Continue reading

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Colors of Autumn

Fall colors in Southcentral Alaska often don’t last long.  Predominantly yellow with some orange and crimson hues, the challenge is always the weather.  Mid-September is peak time for color, and is also often when storms roll through with rain and … Continue reading

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Happy Thanksgiving

Turkeys are the symbolic emblem for our formal American day of giving thanks.  This rafter of wild turkeys in California (also called a gang, posse, or flock) was made up largely of toms which were very busy strutting in an … Continue reading

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Fall Migration

For the last 4-5 weeks swans have been migrating south and stopping for food and rest at Potter Marsh in Anchorage. These large white birds—both Trumpeters and Tundras—stay only a short while before continuing their journey toward temperate wintering grounds. … Continue reading

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Lookout on Duty

If you visit rockslides in alpine country in Alaska you’re likely to see (or hear) Hoary Marmots. These large rodents favor the same kind of habitat as pikas—jumbled sections of granite boulders and scree that provide natural hiding places as … Continue reading

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Short Seasons

Summers in Alaska hardly seem to have fully developed before signs of autumn appear, like these brightly colored devil’s club leaves in the middle of July along the eastern edge of Cook Inlet. Best to enjoy as much as possible … Continue reading

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Manipulation in Nature Photos

Occasionally it’s worth revisiting the concept of what is appropriate, acceptable, and ethical in terms of capturing and post-processing digital nature photographs.  This is a subject with no single right answer, and stridently defended views are argued from widely diverging … Continue reading

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