Alaska birds 2

There is nothing more Alaskan that a sight of a bald eagle on an iceberg:





A Horned Puffin in a middle of a colony:




The puffins are almost too fat to fly. They need a long runway to get aloft. According to our captain, sometimes when they eat too much, they have stay around in the water until they are light enough to fly again.


This one made it to the air - eventually.


Not all colonies are for birds only.


Black-legged Kittiwake colony:


A Common Merganser with her brood:


White-winged Crossbill. Its billed is indeed crossed - to better extract pine seeds from the conifers:


A Gray Jay is spoiled for choice for its lunch:


Yellow-rumped Warbler:


Steller's Jay:


Northwestern Crow - a fatter and rasper version of the common American Crow we get everywhere else:


Mew Gulls make their nests on a dry portion of a braided river in Denali:




More Alaskan goodness:

Alaska impressions 6

Mount Denali:







Polychrome Mountain:


Denali Express coming in for the landing:




Dall's Sheep:


Protection of the habitat for Dall's sheep was he original reason for the creation of Denali National Park:


But now it also protects the habitat for many other animals, including grizzly bears:




... and caribou:




Another day - another caribou:


Dall's sheep - or rather, a ram:


Moose close-up:

Alaska impressions 5

Ansel Adams was given an assignment to photograph Mount Denali (it was called Mount McKinley back then) for the Alaska Department of Tourism. He spent more than a month in the park and only got to see the mountain three times.

We spent three days in the park. We also got to see it three times. We totally lucked out! It was clear skies and 82 degrees (what they call a heat wave in Alaska).


A mother moose with two cubs was hanging out the visitor center:


On a hike one evening, I got a clear view of two caribou across a creek:


Both male and female caribou wear horns, and both lose them by the winter:


In the spring, caribou channel almost 40% of their bone mass into growing new horns:


Arctic Ground Squirrel again:




Another moose that I came across on another hike:




A Mew Gull dive-bombing a dog that came too close to its nest:


Exit Glacier in Seward, AK:


The blue color is the color of deep ice in the crevices:




Mount Denali: