JULY 18th - FRIGATEBIRD - ANCHOR BAY, MI

Kathi and I were enjoying a quiet Sunday evening when she got a text from Martin Blagdurn - "FRIGATEBIRD - ON ANCHOR BAY NOW". A quick phone call to Martin to confirm the bird was still in view, and we were on our way towards the north shore of the bay. It was a frantic ten minutes while we called back and forth to Martin to find out where the bird was headed. As we drove east, Kathi spotted the bird gliding overhead. There was Martin right beside it, as we arrived at BobbyMacs bayside grill. We spent about twenty minutes following it back and forth over an area of only a few hundred yards. In that entire time I don't recall seeing it flap once! It soared effortlessly in the onshore breeze, staying just above the tree tops - and likely looking for a place to roost. By the time we saw the bird it was around 9 pm so photography was difficult. However I did manage to get a few diagnostic shots. This was a Michigan first for all of us, and many thanks to Martin for the prompt notification!

JULY 4th - fireworks on the beach

To celebrate the holidays, Kathi, Carina,her girlfriend Sam and I went to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina. One of the highlights of the trip was sitting on the beach watching the incredible display of fireworks. It was hard to know where to look! The displays went on for hours and stretched for miles down the beach in both directions. It took a while to get the exposure correct but after playing in manual for a while I got the hang of it.



Sometimes experimentation brings some great results. In this case I was having trouble with auto focus so I moved to manual. While I was trying to get the right focal range I cranked this out of focus shot by mistake.

ALB ERTA - AMAZING AVOCETS

Today we encountered a small pond with baby AVOCETS! The parents put on an amazing display flying about us and doing the broken wing act just like KILLDEER. They were incredibly aggressive in defense of their babies. We could only see one little one but no doubt there were a number in the grass nearby. Just one more thing that makes that this trip a true spectacle!






The Arctic bound shorebirds have now departed for their breeding sites. However, the combination of prairies and boreal makes seeing no fewer than FOURTEEN breeding shorebirds a good possibility.

ALBERTA - govenlock hilites

Just a catch up post on the first groups day in Govenlock in southwest Saskatchewan. I was surprised we had not run into GREAT HORNED OWL on this trip, and on our final full day we lucked upon two adults and these two babies. They were sitting within fifty feet of the main highway near Consul.



One of the critters I really wanted to see down here was SWIFT FOX. We asked several locals in Consul at the hotel where we might find one. They suggested down near the Govenlock intersection. Incredibly as we arrived at that intersection there was a SWIFT FOX crossing the road with a RICHARDSONS GROUND SQUIRREL in its mouth!!!! We followed the fox for about five minutes as it attracted the attention of hundreds of ground squirrels screaming from their burrows!.

ALBERTA - more great mammals

One of the main targets of our mountain extension was to see bears. We managed to get great views of 6 BLACK BEARS including a mother with two cubs. But everyone wanted to see a GRIZZLY BEAR. On our second last afternoon we came across a beautiful blond GRIZZLY working a hillside across a creek. We had good binocular views and spectacular scope views for at least twenty minutes. Here is a digiscoped picture of the GRIZZLY.



Compare the colour of this bear to the dark GRIZZLY that Paul and I had seen about a week earlier on the same stretch of Banff National Park.


The good luck with mammals continued as we started our second boreal and prairie adventure. We added RED FOX and heard TIMBER WOLVES at close range near Cold Lake. In addition we have encountered dozens of COYOTES over the last several weeks. This one was one of the most co-operative I have ever seen as most turn tail as soon as the car stops. This one stood his ground and I got some fine images.

MOUNTAINS EXTENSION

Kathi joined me for the mountain extension in Jasper and Banff National Parks for four days with my group. One of the highlights of the trip was taking the gondola car up to Whistlers to search for the elusive WHITE TAILED PTARMIGAN. It was a bitter morning and we had layers and layers of clothing but still were bitterly cold. All that changed though when a male WHITE TAILED PTARMIGAN turned up putting on a tremendous show calling away from the top of a rock and strutting his stuff. It was an amazing experience.

This picture Kathi took gives you an idea of how incredibly close we got to the bird. In fact the male seemed curious about me, walking towards me on several occasions to within a few feet.



So here is what the image looks like from my end of the lens! It was one of those times when the cold just didnt seem to matter and the bird was all that we could see or feel... wonderful memories!

ALBERTA trip 1 wrap up

Just one last post from my first prairies and boreal trip and this one is a shot from the Cypress Hills I couldnt resist. We had a great morning with some of the local specialties and this male WESTERN TANAGER was a real hit!