First let me say that this post was already in the works before today, which is why I got quite the laugh this morning when fellow blogger and wildlife photographer, Lyle Krahn awarded me the dubious distinction of the ‘Forgot to Leave’ award! Check out Lyle’s site for the full story as well as his great wildlife photos and stories!
Whenever I come across a carcass I have visions of wolves or cougars, or the even more elusive wolverine catching the scent and coming in to feed. The thought of witnessing these rarely observed animals in the wild doing things that I or few others have ever seen before keeps me out in the wilderness for hours on end. So with that optimism in mind, I hunkered down and waited. As you can probably imagine, sitting around in -15 degree Celsius temperatures is no fun. You can’t move around to keep warm since that will scare off any wildlife and the cold has a way of quickly removing any resolve that might have initially been there. But that day I was determined to give it a few hours so I waited some more. Within about an hour some magpies showed up and distracted me from the cold. In between feeding on the kill, they flew off to cash their food. Before flying back down to get more pieces of meat they perched in nearby trees and called out. This was great for me since it gave me enough time to turn the camera back on, compose the image and get my finger out of my glove to fire off the shutter. In their typical dramatic aerial flare, they swooped down to the carcass and fanned out their beautiful wings and tail feathers. I was treated to these displays for hours but eventually my resolve was broken. The tipping point was the hot packs I had placed in my boots and gloves could no longer keep my toes and fingers warm. Getting a few images like this made the surrender a little easier but as I hiked back to my car I wondered what I would have seen if I had waited a bit longer.
Happy New Year! Thanks for stopping by and for those returning, thanks for your support in 2012! It was my best year to date with visits from over 110 different countries! I had several amazing wildlife experiences resulting in a few of the photos you see here. It will be hard to top 2012, but I’m looking forward to seeing what develops in 2013 and sharing my photos and stories with you here.
Last weekend I came across a peculiar scene with this bald eagle literally swimming across an icy cold river using its wings as oars. Up in the sky the distinctive call of ravens could be heard as they circled. The eagle managed to make its way to shore, climbed up a bank and rested in the snow. After several minutes it attempted to fly off but was unable to get any lift. It did this a few more times but still couldn’t get off the ground. Thinking that it had fractured one of its wings, I put my gear down and hiked into the forest to try to keep out of its sight while I approached it. I got to within about 30 feet before I ran out of any tree cover. By then the eagle had spotted me and I made a dash for it (don’t worry, I’m a trained professional and I have handled many birds of prey!). It quickly beat its wings and ran through the snow as fast as it could. Just as I was getting close enough to grab it, it managed to get out onto an ice-flow that would not support my weight. It seemed to know this because it turned and watched me as I came to a halt. Thinking that it might come back onto more stable land, I headed back into the forest to wait. About thirty minutes later, I moved into a better vantage point but it must have caught sight of me. With its powerful legs it sprang up into the air and managed to get just enough lift to take off. Thankfully, it cleared the river, flew several hundred feet and managed to perch in a nearby tree!
Owen Slater Photography 