Finding owls

Here in Alaska, the days have gotten much colder and the leaves on the trees have been replaced by lumps of snow and frost. The ground is covered by about 3 inches of snow, which crunches under our feet as we venture outdoors. For me the changing season is like grinding to a screeching halt after the momentum of a sprint. The warmer months were filled with so many birds offering many great photo opportunities. Our summer birds have now departed, and many of our winter birds are returning, but not nearly as numerous or plentiful as their warm weather counterparts. Many of our cold weather birds tend to flock together in large numbers through the chilly season for food and safety.

Creepy Bird of the Month #3: California Condor

It's way past time for an installment of Creepy Bird of the Week Month. Yes, that's right, I will be switching this from a weekly to a monthly post. A monthly schedule just makes more sense since a weekly post is just not sustainable for me at this time. It's been a couple months anyways since my last one.

This months Creepy Bird is the California Condor which was recommended by my sister Joanie who is an avid birder in Washington State. This bird is MASSIVE! Massively UGLY that is. Well, it is pretty huge in size as well. But make no mistake, this is one ugly beast and rightly qualifies for the Creepy Bird of the Month.

Reaching my goal

It's been a really great summer here in Southcentral Alaska, but the leaves have turned golden and mostly fallen from the trees. Winter is right around the corner which means cold, short days with minimal lighting.

My goal this year was to see and identify 150 different species of birds. I've had the pleasure to shoot many of them, and have had a blast doing it. Honestly, about a month ago, I was wondering if I was going to make it as the flocks began heading south for the winter and new birds were more and more scarce. Thanks to a community of active birders, I have continued to add them up. Someone would