Even when taking a break from eating, thoughts of fresh dandelions never appears to be far from this bear’s mind!
Latest Entries »
A female (closer and in focus) and male silvery blue butterfly have an intimate moment as they try to pretend to be aspen leaves! Eggs are laid singly and from this point on their adopted parents and bodyguards are ants! The eggs hatch and the larvae feed on the young tree leaves. The ants protect the larvae from predators and parasitic wasps and as compensation for this protection the larvae feed the ants a sugary concoction known as honeydew. The honeydew isn’t given up easily by the larvae. It’s only when the ant climbs onto the back of the larvae and uses its antenna to stroke the larvae’s hairs that the honeydew is secreted! Overwintering occurs in a chrysalis where they transform into a butterfly and emerge in the spring to repeat the whole process.
Spring seems to take a long time in the mountains, but when it does arrive it’s always spectacular. This spring I timed it just right to be in this meadow when the forget me not flowers were in full bloom. It was well worth the year-long wait!
Seemingly oblivious to our presence, a great blue heron stalks prey next to a marsh. It slowly moved in for the strike but came up empty on this attempt.
Spanish moss catch the last of the evening rays on this massive Live Oak tree at Paynes Prairie, Gainesville, Florida.
Hard to beat eating the best locally caught, grilled Mahi Mahi steak I have ever tasted, while sipping on a gin and tonic and watching brown pelicans and Atlantic bottlenose dolphins fishing in the inlet next to our table at the Dolphin View restaurant near New Smyrna, Florida.
On a recent trip down to Florida to attend a wonderful wedding and visit with some great friends, I was treated to being taken around to some local spots for some wildlife photography. This photo was taken near Gainesville about an hour before sunset. A few alligators were resting along the banks until this one slid into the calm water as fish ripple at the surface. With the sky reflecting off the water and the hyacinth appearing to float above the clouds the photo has a surreal look to me.
There are few sounds in nature that signify wilderness and pristine waters than that of the song of a loon. They are one of my favourite signs of spring in the mountains and it’s always a thrill to see them! I lucked out with this one as it actually approached me when I noticed it along the river’s edge.
The loon swam closer and closer before it stopped a short distance away. I’m not sure if it saw its reflection in my lens or if he was displaying for some other reason, but whatever the cause he proceeded to give me a wonderful territorial display by stretching out his neck and legs and lifting his wings. After getting a few photos of this interesting behaviour I packed up my gear and left him be as he resumed his fishing nearby.
I had hiked in to a spot beside a river to look for wildlife but nothing was around at the time. Instead of leaving, I decided to lay down and have a nap in a spot that if something did show up I would be a in a good spot to get photos. I quickly drifted off for a light sleep for about an hour. When I woke up I scanned the area before I sat up, but again I didn’t see anything. Figuring I should move on I sat up and almost immediately this grebe popped up in the water about 20 feet away. I waited until it dove back under the water before I moved back into position and waited. My wait wasn’t very long. It surfaced right in front of me and stayed there just long enough for me to get a few photos.
Three green winged teal stack themselves like the three mountain peaks as they fly along the Rocky Mountain migratory route to their summer retreat.
A willow ptarmigan kicks up snow as it bursts into flight to rejoin the rest of the nearby flock.
One of the other hardy species I came across on a daily basis in Denali where the willow ptarmigan. With their almost all white feathers apart from the red upper eyelashes and their black tails, they are sometimes hard to find. Fittingly, this one made its way through some willow bushes to browse on the freeze-dried leaves. These birds are quiet adaptable. When storms blow in or when predators are around they will fly into the snow and bury themselves beneath it to either wait out the storm or avoid being seen.
Willow bushes zig-zag through the valley floor before reaching the mountains that seem to erupt from the ground in Denali National Park.
Owen Slater Photography 