The National Parks are a network of protected areas that have a responsibility to maintain natural habitat as well as cultural things.
I like to make a calendar for my family and friends. It is a chance to showcase my photographs around a particular theme and share the wonders of the natural world. It is a chance to look hard at what I’d captured, trying to pull out the very best. A calendar limits me to thirteen … Read more
In July, the Milky Way rises almost vertically in Washington State, moving from east to west throughout the night. On Sourdough Ridge, twilight faded toward darkness, and the stars began to glow. The star band appeared on the southern horizon and rose over our heads to the north. No clouds were visible on any horizon, … Read more
The Katmai Peninsula is wild, still supporting all the animals and fish present when Europeans first came to Alaska. The vastness, the brown bears, the sockeye salmon, and the glaciers leave one in awe. We spent a week in Alaska, where we experienced this landscape. I traveled with Nature Photography Adventures; they organized the trip … Read more
Presentations I am preparing to give several book readings, presentations, and discussion sessions over the next four months. More will be added once the book is available. Some will focus on Alaska and what I cover in my book. Others will be versions of my talk titled What is a Raptor Anyway? Both are about … Read more
Mount Rainier rises above Washington’s skyline, looking down on Puget Sound like an empress overseeing her kingdom. “The Mountain is Out” is a common phrase in Seattle. This happens when clouds are absent or high enough to make the volcano’s peak visible. When I jump on I5 to head south, one of the first things … Read more
One of my charges at The Wilderness Society was to help bring a science component to our conservation work in Alaska. The landscape is wild and extensive but under many threats from development, climate change, and greed. We added an ecological and economic component to the excellent policy and advocacy work. I went to Anchorage … Read more
The word “Olemut” came as a whisper from the front, like that uncontrolled response one has to the unexpected, so I whipped around instantly, for Robinson, our guide, had been spotting things all morning, and no doubt something lurked in the bush. He had brought us through the gates into Nairobi National Park four hours ago, … Read more
Three park rangers stood at the Y in the road, and our Landcruiser coasted to a stop. Our guide, Robinson, began talking with them in Swahili. The words were musical, crisp, and delightful to hear. I understood nothing. He handed them some papers, and I worried that something might be wrong. The one ranger stepped … Read more
A dark bullet-like object shot across the road, it hesitated, and then dropped into the wildflowers. On the other side of some acacias, Yellow-necked Francolins were giving their “ko-waarrk” calls; loud, raucous, chicken-like. The songs of longclaws drifted from some grasslands in the distance, and a light wind rustled the acacia leaves. The clouds had filtered the … Read more
A long black tube-like bird came fluttering across the grasses. It seemed to be flying barely, flopping through the air, like a balance beam gymnast having trouble. “Can we stop?” I shouted to our driver. The slender shape was not quite vertical to the ground. I was standing in the back of a Landcruiser with … Read more