Thomas Bancroft — Author • Scientist • Naturalist
My New Book from WSU Press
The narrator embarks on a week-long trip to Alaska’s Katmai Peninsula to photograph bears, but other thoughts soon lurk in his mind: his life, family, and career, as well as the evolution of birds, geological processes, and how nature shaped our social system.
Click Here for More InformationSounds of the Wild Country
Horse Spring Coulee lies east of Loomis, Washington, in Okanogan County. The plateau is above Spectacle Lake, and during the Pleistocene, water was thought to have flowed down the coulee when ice blocked the valley below. The upper part of the coulee is covered in sagebrush and full of birds. This album is a collection of bird songs recorded there.
Go To Album Page for Streaming LinksRecent Publications:
HUMILITY IN TIME: THINKING LIKE A GLACIER IN SINLAHEKIN VALLEY
North, the hill plunges over 600 feet. South, it drops a similar elevation in increments. The hilltop is maybe a hundred feet wide, flat, and stretches a hundred yards or more perpendicular to the valley’s western wall before descending in stair steps to the creek running north. My mind tries to comprehend time and what has happened to sculpt the amazing configuration of this valley.
Read More & See More Photographs here
https://www.mountaineers.org/blog/humility-in-time-thinking-like-a-glacier-in-the-sinlahekin-valley
From: Mountaineer: Spring 2024 Volume 118: 28-31.
- Tanzania – Nile Crocodile
The Nile crocodile had sprawled on the bank of the Rufiji River, enjoying the sun. Our guide turned off the boat’s motor, and we began to drift toward the monster. This crocodilian … Read more - Tanzania – Woodland Kingfisher
A blue, red, and black flash shot by the front of our vehicle, heading left into the shade of a large acacia. There, sitting about eight feet off the ground, was a … Read more - Madagascar: Eastern Gray Bamboo Lemur (Hapalemur griseus)
The trail climbed gently through a second-growth rainforest. Everything smelled damp even though it hadn’t rained for a while. The tree leaves were a light shade of green, with a hard texture … Read more - Uganda: Purple Heron
Our boat guide said “Purple,” but I couldn’t understand his pronunciation. I asked three times, and it always sounded like he was saying something that started with a “C” and had a … Read more
Two young brown bears wrestle during a pause from fishing for salmon below Brooks Falls. 
The view from Washington Pass in the North Cascades of Washington. 
Short-billed Dowitchers rest at Bottle Beach, Grays Harbor, WA. A Black-bellied Plover walks in the background. 
Dunlin and Western Sandpipers feed at Bottle Beach, Grays Harbor, WA. 
An adult Common Loon brings a fish to its chick. Beaver Lake, Okanogan Highlands, WA. 
Brown bears fish for sockeye at Brooks Falls, Katmai National Park, Alaska.