Archive for the ‘Birds’ Category
Wednesday, August 4th, 2010
A Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) in flight over the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), Alaska. Click the image to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
One afternoon we hiked out around the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge just because. We must’ve wandered a little close to a Jaeger nest, as this bird suddenly appeared from nowhere and made its displeasure known.
The Parasitic Jaeger is also called the Arctic Skua or the Parasitic Skua. While not a “parasite“, the bird is well known for it’s piracy of other birds’ food. Stealing food is often called “kleptoparasitism” by folks who like to use large prodigious words to describe simple, everyday stuff; scientists, for example.
Though solitary, they’ll often ‘gang up‘ on other birds to steal food. One of the folks on our trip, Steve Weaver, was witness to such an act, when he saw and photographed 4 Jaegers harassing a Red-throated loon, finally driving it from its nest and eating the eggs the loon had been defending. Amazing stuff.
The Jaeger isn’t simply a thief though – the bird also hunts for prey, such as rodents, small birds and insects – Jaeger is the German word for ‘hunter‘.
Parasitic Jaegers look kinda like a gull, but the wings and flight are more falconesque. Pelagic birds, they spend the bulk of their time at sea, coming ashore to breed. The young will often spend the first couple of years of their lives over the seas, not returning to land until they reach breeding age.
Some of you might recall the Long-tailed Jaeger photo I posted previously from a trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) a couple of years ago. The Parasitic Jaegers are closely related, a little larger, but not so large as the Pomarine Jaeger.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, ANWR, Arctic, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, avian, Birds, Carl Donohue, Parasitic Jaeger, Stercorarius parasiticus
Posted in ANWR, Alaska, Birds, Wildlife | 1 Comment »
Sunday, July 18th, 2010
A glaucous gull sits with its chick on a nest on the coastal plain in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, ANWR, Alaska, ( Larus hyperboreus). Please click on the thumbnail to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
I posted this ahead of time; right now I’m out on a hike, but thought I’d post this image from my recent trip to the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Taken on the final evening of our trip, this Glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) and chick were a beautiful sight in gorgeous light.
The gulls are pretty common in the refuge in summertime, and can be pretty aggressive in defense of their young. This gull and its mate were busy most of the evening dive bombing a Red-throated loon that was nesting nearby; apparently too close nearby for the gulls’ peace of mind.
Hope you enjoy the photo. I’ll be back from the current trip soon enough, and wil try to post a few more images and some video from the trips. Until then,
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, ANWR, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Birds, Carl Donohue, chicks, Glaucous gull, Wildlife
Posted in ANWR, Alaska, Birds, Wildlife | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2010
A male Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator), perched on a small spruce tree in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click the image to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
Here’s a photo I took last spring of a male Pine Grosbeak. I had set up a couple of feeders around the Shack and these gorgeous birds would come in every day and have a good ole time. Other regular visitors to the buffet were Black-capped and Boreal Chickadees, Common Redpolls, Hairy and Downy Woodpeckers, Gray Jays and, of course, the effervescent Red Squirrel. Ravens came by, from time to time, but rarely dropped down to the feeder. The Pine Grosbeaks were my favorite though.
The grosbeaks are actually a finch, the largest of the boreal finches. A group of these birds together is called, wait for it, a ‘gross’ of grosbeaks. They’re such a cool bird, and very tolerant of my puttering around the cabin; they’d generally ignore my comings and goings.
I grabbed a small white spruce sapling that some snow-machiners had run over and destroyed, and used it to set up the perch. For a background I hung a fleece blanket up and positioned it for a nice clean background. It’s a little bit ‘contrived’, but hopefully it works OK. (more…)
Tags: Alaska, Birds, Carl Donohue, finches, photos, Pine Grosbeak, Pinicola enucleator, Skolai Images, Wildlife, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Alaska, Birds, Wildlife, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 4 Comments »
Thursday, February 25th, 2010
A bald eagle headshot, silhouetted against a glowing sunset, Kachemak Bay, Homer, Alaska. Click the image to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks,
I read a great blog on art yesterday, by Paul Grecian. The subject was a play on the aural equivalent of the old adage, ‘if a tree falls in a forest and no one hears it does it make a sound’. Paul takes the viewpoint that art is a human pursuit, and exists only when it has a human audience. “If there is no human to perceive it and translate the experience into an emotion, then there is no art” - I’m not so sure I subscribe to that idea, for a number of reasons.
I think art is a verb; art is something we do. The results of that process might be nice to look at, or not, or nice to listen to, but the essence of art is creating. The act of creating is where art lies, not the products of that process. And we are not at all the sole creators. An American Tree Sparrow calling the tune of the alpine country is as artful as Joshua Bell playing a Beethoven concerto. The dance of the Japanese Red Crowned Crane is glorious. A Bower bird’s building her nest? The song of the wolf pack over the frozen night air is as spell-binding as Aretha or Stevie on a good day, no? What distinguishes human art from the performances of our fellow creatures, other than our own ability (and endeavours) to relate to it?
Art is essentially play. (more…)
Tags: Alaska, Art, bald eagle, Birds, Carl Donohue, humans, nature, silhouette, Skolai Images, Wildlife
Posted in Abstracts, Alaska, Art, Birds, Musings, Photography, Sunsets | 13 Comments »
Saturday, February 20th, 2010
Great Horned Owl chick (owlet - Bubo virginianus), in Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. The chicks were just flegding, and learning to fly. This little guy had landed on the grounded, and before long flew off to a nearby white spruce tree in the boreal forest. Great Horned Owl, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Please click on the image to view a larger version of the photo.
Hey Folks
Just a quick photo for the weekend. A Great Horned Owl (Bubo virginianus) chick in Wrangell – St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska. The young owls were just fledging, learning to fly, and this little guy wasn’t quite sure what to make of the weird guy with the camera, laying prone on the ground nearby.
Have a great weekend all.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, avian, babies, Birds, Carl Donohue, chicks, Great Horned Owls, owls, Skolai Images, spring, Wildlife, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Alaska, Birds, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 7 Comments »
Saturday, November 28th, 2009
Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) soaring against the mountains of Kachemak Bay State Park, sunset, Homer, Alaska. Click on the image for a larger version.
Hey Folks,
Few creatures express the wild quite like a soaring bald eagle does.
This photo is presented as a memorial to the late Jean Keene, good friend and a dear lady, from Homer, Alaska. Jean’s love for the eagles gave bird lovers, wildlife lovers and photographers from all around the world a lifetime of amazing opportunity, but more than that she showed by example how to care about the creatures with whom we share the earth.
Thank you Jean – may you Rest in Peace.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alakska, alpenglow, Bald eagles, Birds, Carl Donohue, eagle, eagles, flight, Haliaeetus leucocephalus, Homer, in flight, Kachemak, Kachemak Bay, Mountains, soaring, sunset
Posted in Alaska, Birds, Musings, Wildlife | 3 Comments »
Friday, March 20th, 2009
Hey folks,
Here’s a Black-capped Chickadee (Poecile atricapillus), year-round Alaska resident, perched on a small spruce tree. There’s not a lot of birds in the great north woods this time of year, so it’s always a treat when they stop by. I’ll try to get a photo of his close cousin, the Boreal Chickadee – so far, no luck.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, Birds, Black-capped Chickadee, Carl Donohue, photos, Wildlife, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park, Wrangell St. Elias
Posted in Alaska, Birds, Wildlife, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | No Comments »
Friday, February 13th, 2009
Pine Grosbeak Photo.
Hey Folks,
I was listening to this tune the other day, and this little intro just HAD to go with this image. So, here it is.
Sorry for the delay in posts, again. I came in to Anchorage for a few days, and have been sitting, faithfully, at my computer trying to make it start. It locked up during an update, apparently, and then I couldn’t get it to start. I managed to back up most of the data on it, though it took forever. I thought the HD was fried, but it appears no problems there. I’m still working on getting all the programs back up, etc, and it’s taking way too long. I’m about sick of this computer business – I’m ready to head back to the safety of the woods. I’ll take 40-50 below zero temperatures over technology problems anyday. This stuff is too much hassle.
I did manage to take a few bird photos in the park before I came back out. They’re tricky little critters to shoot, but lots of fun. This male Pine Grosbeak was pretty cool, and I managed to get a few images. They’re named a ‘pine’ Grosbeak because they do so love the pine or coniferous forests (I spose Coniferous Grosbeak doesn’t sound so cool a name). Technically, they’re not a true Grosbeak, but a large Finch. The scientific name for the bird is Pinicola enucleator, which is pretty fancy. ‘Pinicola’ translates as ‘pine dweller’. They’re one of the few birds who winter this far north .. all the smarter ones fly south to warmer climes.
For folks such as my father, you have to click the “play” button located directly under the photo to hear the track that goes with this photo. For folks a little more hip than my dad, you get a prize if you know who the author of the track is; composer, track title, and album, please. No googling allowed.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Birds, Carl Donohue, images, photos, Pine Grosbeak, Wildlife, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park
Posted in Alaska, Birds, Wildlife, Winter, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 8 Comments »
Monday, December 15th, 2008
Hey Folks,
Owls rock!
Here’s a Northern Hawk Owl (Surnia ulula) taking flight from its perch on the top of a white spruce tree. These owls seem to be much more tolerant of my presence than their larger cousins, the Great Horned Owl. They’re also much more active during the daytime. Northern Hawk Owls tend to live in the boreal forests of the north, but do move south in leaner years when food is scarce. This year it looks like a bumper year for owls up here, so I doubt many of them will head south. Hopefully, that means I’ll get some photos. 
Cheers
Carl
Tags: Alaska, Birds, Carl Donohue, Northern Hawk Owl, owls, photos, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park
Posted in Alaska, Birds, Wildlife, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 4 Comments »
Monday, December 8th, 2008
Hey Folks,
Here’s a 3-toed woodpecker (three-toed woodpecker - Picoides dorsalis) from Wrangell – St. Elias National Park.
Welcome back, albeit briefly. I’m going to spend the next couple of months recharging a bit, and breaking from the net and blogging and writing and reading and blah, blah, blah. A little quiet time will do me good, I think. Hopefully during that time I’ll pick up some new images and also try to come up with some ideas to write about that will make the blog a little more interesting. We’ll see how that goes.
I’ll try to make a post or 2 along the way. In the meantime, you folks be careful out there.
Cheers
Carl
Tags: 3-toed woodpecker, Birds, Carl Donohue, photos, three-toed woodpecker, woodpeckers, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park
Posted in Alaska, Birds, Wrangell - St. Elias National Park | 7 Comments »
