Life is Beautiful, Live it the fullest
When planning our trip to Alaska, there were many things M & I wanted to see and do there, but observing Bald Eagles was not one of them. This was purely out of ignorance; I didn’t know Alaska was THE place to see Bald Eagles.
Continue reading “Oh Alaska: Bald Eagles”
gulls over the kenai peninsula, off Seward, Alaska
We will always be alongside
Sun on our backs, and
all the fresh fish we can catch!
Our Alaska Trip:
Never considered myself to be a 'birder'. But after looking at their pics in the guide books, we eagerly sought Puffins during our visit to Alaska. During our cruise of the Kenai Fjords, we saw the endearingly beautiful, plump chicks by the thousands. Have to say, they are the cutest birds ever.
Puffins like the open ocean and spend most of the time on the water, far away from land. Each spring, they come to the cliffs in the Kenai Peninsula to lay eggs and rear the young chicks. Sometime in the early Fall, they leave en masse for the open Pacific.
Rather than take flight, this one just tried to swim away from our boat. This is the “tufted puffin” characterized by the blonde tuft sweeping off its crown, much like a tiny pony tail. The orange beak definitely makes them very stylish!
Continue reading “Oh Alaska: Puffin Madness”
After a wonderful day in Anchorage, we took the train to the coastal town of Seward. It was a fantastic train ride, billed as the most spectacular in the country. As the train sped across the wilderness, we spotted Dall Sheep perched on high cliffs and zipped past glaciers yielding to the earth. I was never interested in photographing birds, but was awed at the bald eagles surveying the land and artic terns hovering over the waters and scooping in to grab the fish. With my favorite 17-55 mm lens resident on my camera, my pics were less than optimal. But in Seward, I mounted the brand new 55-200 VR lens!
If you ever visit Alaska, take a few days and relax in Seward. It’s a tiny town located at the top of Resurrection Bay. The bay itself was carved by receding glaciers at the end of the last ice age and thus snow-capped mountains tower both sides of the bay. We walked along the water and spotted the common sea gulls as well as the endangered sea otters. Here are a few pics of Seagulls caught from the shore and other birds we caught on a cruise out in the ocean.
The common seagull, but what a majestic wingspan.
Continue reading “Oh Alaska! Birds Galore”
Arun Shanbhag 