Category: Eagle

African Lion, Bald Eagle, Cows, Coyote, Eagle, elephant, Elk, Favorite Images, Guanaco, Landscape, Lion, Point Reyes National Seashore, Red Fox, San Francisco, Serengeti National Park, Torres del Paine National Park, Tule Elk

Favorite Blog Photos of 2019

Here are some of my favorite photos that I blogged about in 2019.

This is a photo of a bull tule elk feeding at sunset.A bull tule elk feeds at sunset inside the elk enclosure at Point Reyes National Seashore.

At Point Reyes National Seashore 400-500 elk are kept locked up behind an 8-foot tall woven-wire fence to keep them away from the ranchers who live on and control 28,000 acres of park land and raise 6,000 dairy cows, beef cattle and sheep.  NPS bought their ranches decades ago, but never removed them.  The 28,000 acres are managed as the ranchers want, not as lands in a national park are supposed to be managed.  I know of no other national park where wildlife is locked up like in a zoo for the visitors to see.

This is a night photo of the San Francisco skyline with Angel Island in the foreground and Alcatraz in the midground.A night view of Angel Island, Alcatraz and San Francisco.

Photo of some mountain peaks and fog at dawn in Torres del Paine National ParkMountains and fog at dawn in Torres del Paine National Park

This is a photo of a mother guanaco and her young before sunrise in Torres del Paine National Park.A mother guanaco and her chulengo appear before sunrise in Torres del Paine National Park.

Red Fox Vixen with Snowshoe HareA red fox mom returns to her den with an arctic hare to feed her kits in Yellowstone National Park.

This is a photo of three lionesses who are on the hunt. One is wearing a research collar.Three lionesses are on the hunt in Serengeti National Park.

This is a photo of a mature bald eagle perched on a limb.A bald eagle perches on a limb in Alaska.

This is a photo of a male elephant walking away from a wetland in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.A male elephant walks near a wetland in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania.

Photo of female lion surveying her domain in Serengeti National Park.An African lioness surveys her domain in Serengeti National Park.

A coyote stops and looks at the camera in Point Reyes Seashore just before the sun sets.A coyote stops just before sunset as it travels across a ranch pasture in Point Reyes National Seashore.

The National Park Service purchased the ranches several decades ago, but it has never made the ranchers leave.

A bald eagle lands too close to another and gets bitten in the neck.One bald eagle bites another at Homer, Alaska.

Photo of a coyote on a ranch pasture in Point Reyes National Seashore.A coyote walks across a ranch pasture full of non-native European grasses in Point Reyes Seashore.

The National Park Service prioritizes private ranching over wildlife in Point Reyes National Seashore.  This is the worst example of privatizing a national park that I am aware of.  It involves 28,000 acres of national park land.  If anyone knows of a worse example, please let me know.

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Bald Eagle, Alaska

Bald Eagle, Alaska

Bald Eagle; Kachemak Bay, Alaska

I’m leaving a web host that I’ve been with for 10 years and creating a new site elsewhere for displaying my photos.  It’s slow work because the size and resolution for all the photos is different from the old site.  It’s been good in one way though.  After ten years, I have come to the realization that some of the images don’t deserve to be on the new site.  Others do, but need to be processed not just from a master file, but from scratch because I don’t think I did a very good job processing them previously.

I’ve made the first go-round for Birds and Mammals (I’ve barely begun the Landscapes Portfolio) and I’m now digging a little deeper in my photo catalogs.  Here’s a bald eagle photo that I didn’t put up in the first round, but I think I will.  (Good day to post a bald eagle image.)  If you’d like to take a look at what bald eagle images I have up so far you can click here.

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Happy Birthday America!

Photo of a bald eagle as it prepares to land.
Gear Down!

Happy 236th Birthday and counting. I remember the 200th celebration pretty well.  I wonder what America and this earth will be like in 2076?

A good argument can be made that July 2 should be the day we celebrate because that’s the day the Continental Congress actually voted to declared its independence from Great Britain.  We celebrate it today because this is the day the Congress approved the wording of the document which would be known as the Declaration of Independence.  Don’t assume it was signed that day.  Who signed when is in controversy.

If you’re interested in a summary of events surrounding the Declaration of Independence click here.

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Bald Eagle Anniversary

Photo of a bald eagle flying into the sun.
Sweet Success!

Each year on or about this day I post a photo of a bald eagle to recognize and celebrate the fact that five years ago today the Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the bald eagle in the lower 48 States had recovered enough to be removed from the list of threatened and endangered species.  We almost lost it due to DDT and other persistent pesticides.   Thanks to Rachel Carson, the Endangered Species Act and other factors, the story of the bald eagle in the lower 48 was a story of success.  The same can be said for other species like the osprey, which was also hurt by DDT.  Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way.

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Bald Eagle Banks Left

Photo of a bald eagle turning left.
Bald Eagle; Kachemak Bay, Alaska

Shortly after I retired in 2007 my friend Bob Gay invited me to join him and some friends in photographing bald eagles at Homer, Alaska.   I took Bob up on his offer and I’m sure glad I did.  The photography was astounding.  I returned in 2008 and 2009.  In 2009 I also took several boat trips across the bay from Homer to photograph bald eagles there.  Thanks to the abundance of eagles there I have never photographed a species as much as I have bald eagles.  Those trips were experiences I will always remember.

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Bald Eagle with Fishing Line Caught in Talons; Homer, Alaska

Photo of bald eagle with fishing line caught in talons.
A Dangerous Situation

This immature bald eagle has monofilament fishing line caught in both of its feet.   The artificial bait (shrimp) is still attached to the line.  This is a recipe for disaster.  At some point the line is going to get snagged on a limb or other object and, unless the bird figures out how to remove it, the bird is going to die.  Unfortunately, fishing lines kill a lot of birds and other wildlife.