The weather has been cool but very lovely as of late. The birds seem to enjoy all the variations except maybe the really windy conditions. Spenard Crossing is serving up some very nice bird opportunities. This American Wigeon was pretty cooperative and I enjoyed working with him for a short period of time.
We were in Colorado last week and the weather was colder than what we left behind here. A lot of the water was still iced over and it snowed 3 or 4 times while we were there. I was looking forward to coming back to warmth. The cooler weather was somewhat unusual for Colorado at this time of year, normally Denver is well into spring. We also headed up to Rocky Mountain National Park for a day but that was somewhat disappointing. They are rebuilding the entrance and resurfacing at least part of Trail Ridge road and with all of the construction and heavy equipment and people there was not even a squirrel to be found. The forest itself is really in bad shape with the pine beetle infestation. Of course it is not like it snuck up on them, it is cyclical and it started about 18-20 years ago. Looks like they are going to be cutting down A LOT of trees. If they don’t the whole place will be a tinder box. A bad predicament.
Eventually we stumbled upon some birds and located this nice pair of Glossy Ibis’s. Very beautiful bird when the sun hits those feathers…
May means birds. Its that simple. Up here in Alaska as the winter snows slowly rescind the birds move in to fill void. The Homer bird festival is the 5/6-5/9 and the Festival in Cordova is this week also. That is a bit unusual as they typically follow one another. Break out the binos, put on the T-shirts and get out there.
Photo of Canvasback duck
Potters Marsh had a very nice collection of Canvasbacks out and about on Tuesday. I appreciate the gentlemen who pointed their location out to me. In the same area there were American Wigeon, Grebe, Canadian Geese and Arctic Terns. The board walk was mostly quiet but I did see a pair of Green Winged Teal there.
The new Print of the Month is up on our website (www.fallriverphotography.com). This is a 6×17 panoramic of the Skookum volcano formations in Wrangle St. Elias National Park.
New Print of the Month. Watchful King Eider. From the North Slope. Alaska. FallRiverPho
I am sure most of you are aware of the northern boundary water canoe trails up on the Minnesota-Cana