I did not want to break it off to look at the underside but felt it and it was smooth instead of gill like.
During a wet bike ride. Was able to stop and enjoy the real treasures of ANC.
Glad to get another one of these. Very pretty and was a beautiful day to be outside as I was biking as well.
On a magnificent off work Friday I and a friend journeyed outdoors and came across this cute little mammal known as a Muskrat. Very exciting stuff!
It needs to be said that timing and place mean everything when out and about. There was a whole bunch of these guys enjoying the frozen berries that may have been a little fermented as well. Anyway, I took advantage and was rewarded with decent shots.
Caught the cranes in the act of procreation.
Finally was able to get observation with the red throat visible. Took me long enough!
And here is the one who cautiously approached the steak 🥩 meal that brought them into the heart of midtown. They ended up grabbing this yummy meal and taking off but I missed getting those actions 🙁. Was a fantastic way to start the day.
There were 2 of them. My final picture shows the 2 heads.
My best shot yet of this species. However I think 🤔 it tried to bomb 💣 my photo as it walked through my frame 🖼️ while I tried to get ones a bit further away. Turned out for the better 🤣!
Been trying to get the dippers call 📞 for a while now and finally got a short recording of said species.
!!!
On the last day of a Big Year, but with me unaware at the time, one final life species appears. And it's a big one! Many thanks to @caiawatha for helping make this one happen. A really special observation to me.
I believe the wolverine appears at 01:58am, but then kindly reappears for better pics midday 13:15-13:30.
The camera also caught a wolverine on January 3 and January 17.
Probably my best observation yet as for being close and in the open. Exciting stuff.
So a rare find indeed and at the grocery store 🏬 parking lot. Pretty sure this is albino considering the pink legs and white beak. Though hard to see if red existed in the eyes 👀 so maybe strong leusistic (sp)?
This was an exciting interaction because these guys are common I do not engage with them very much. Most often I enjoy them in Far North for some reason.
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 bird trip December 2012
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 bird trip December 2012.
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 birding trip December 2012.
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 birding trip December 2012
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 Birding Trip December 2012
Big Bend NP birding trip March, 2015
Big Bend birding Trip, March 2015
Big Bend NP birding trip March, 2015
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 bird trip December 2012.
Homer shorebird festival May 2015
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 bird trip December 2012.
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 bird trip December 2012.
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 birding trip December 2012.
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 bird trip December, 2012
Nicaragua 🇳🇮 birding trip December, 2012. This was special as reported from lodge staff, this male measured 20ft long and estimated age of 125old at the time of this observation. It was so unique, we learned National Geographic made a 15-20mins film 🎞️ 🎥 to put in one of their episodes.
My third Seastar species.
Very thrilling and a nice find. Another lifer for me.🙂 A pretty species.
This is the prettiest specimen I’ve ever seen. The green and red were very showy.
Unsure 🫤 of species. Though in the past I’ve associated this call 📞 with Pine 🌲 Grossbeaks. But when listening to other records I think 🤔 that is wrong.
Clearly can hear 👂 the call. What I find interesting 🧐 is that this species voice registers better than any other life form I’ve tried to record.
This is actually a fairly good recording. A different species finally from my other sound recordings.
A really good recording of the sound with hardly any polluting background sounds.
Forgive the music 🎶 though you can hear 👂 clearly the calling of the frogs 🐸. Our only amphibian here in Alaska.
Finally got a sound recording with only one sound so so no interference.
The sound is constant. This individual I recorded sounded frustrated as it would not break its vocalization.
This was the most awesome patch of forget-me-nots I have ever witnessed. They were tall for a diminutive flower.
Worthy of a comment. The prettiest of the NA teals is you ask me. My first one in a long time and now have pics for said species.
North American Elm Sawfly🤷♂️🤷♂️? That seems off. Anyway, I have never seen a flying insect like this. It’s big and when flying the rear legs drag low. Not sure that helps but it is a characteristic worth mentioning.
Probably my favorite interaction for this awesome and lengthy outing. Started at 9:00 🕘AM and lasted to 4:45PM with a 45minute break for refueling. The cool 😎 thing about that it enjoyed sunning on my thumb few minutes later and on my forearm. Could not get a pick of that since it took off having warmed itself up appropriately. Sure my body heat helped as well😂.
A lifer observation for me as this is the first documented interaction for said species. Though I’ve observed them a half a dozen times.
Two yearlings and mother brown bear encountered on Skilak Loop road. They moved upward, but remained visible in the trees, traveling parallel to the roadway and away from me. I'm grateful to the bear for showing itself and its cubs to me.
Solo otter with a trout. It brought it out on the ice alive and flopping, and then ate the head. It took the rest and presumably cached it somewhere under the ice.
Part One: https://youtu.be/alMgaDzHCxs
Part Two: https://youtu.be/pGmg3PjraWI
Muskrats resting/eating on a bit of remaining ice platform.
First for me to witness budding Devil’s Club. The thorns give this an obvious diagnosis.
Random spider 🕷️ observed in my bathroom. Only the third one ☝️ seen inside my apartment in 14yrs. I believe it to be male base on the leg design for agility and the elongated abdomen.
There are 2 uniques sounds. Disregard the Raven 🐦⬛ as the focus was on the, what I interpret as an accordion like sound that is the Varied Thrush.
A first for me outside my window 🪟 for this species.
One of my top observations for 2day. We have had so much snow ❄️ that the low la da are more than saturated. So this individual popped its head up looking 👀 at me and I was on the bike trail. Just like that it dove and disappeared. The only mammal of the day so far.
Have no idea 🤷♂️ of this and am happy iNaturalist gave me a starting point. Anyway, it looks a lot like a salmon egg. This was on a dead ☠️ Spruce tree 🌲.
Interesting 🧐. I figured this to be an unusually colored Bald Eagle. Almost leucitic. Was large. I almost thought 💭 a Golden based on the spotting pattern. However, these are dark and goldens are white. Anyway, a gorgeous bird nonetheless.
A lifer for me to get a Mourning Cloak. T’was a beautiful day in the park and finally acquiring this species.
Definitely Sandhills as I heard there unique sound. This was a flyover while walking Kincaid Park. I thought the pic turned out better then when I took it to my surprise. They were using thermals and gaining elevation.
Down at Ship Creek I saw 2 drakes and one hen. This is a pretty reliable place to find Harlequins but not often.
Here was my second example of this cute little rodent.
I took this shot cuz it reminded me of delphiniums my family had while growing up. They were alway a favorite of mine because of their perennial value and knew Alaska had wild ones and this was my first encounter with them. How exciting! Took me 37 yrs to find my first wild one. They were everywhere on Pioneer.
One of the healthiest and big individuals of this species I’ve seen at West Chester. I know it as a rainbow based on the leopard spotting on the back and caught a quick glance of the blush cheek spot. It was at the outlet of the lagoon waiting for the salmon smolt to make their way out to the saltwater.