Dusky Monkey Watches the Setting Sun

Found primarily on the Malay Penninsula this dusky langur is also known as the spectacled leaf monkey due to the white circles around the eyes. They are primates specialized in leaf eating, spending most of their time in the trees (arboreal). This particular monkey took some time to admire the sunset.

Changeable Lizard

Like the chameleon, this lizard can change color and has independent eye operation. Although one of the common names for this lizard is the bloodsucker, they are insectivores but occasionally will eat other small lizards, rodents and seeds. The bloodsucker name appears to have originated from the fact that they can turn crimson red during the breeding season. Koh Lanta Thailand

Oriental Pied Hornbill

One of the smallest most common hornbills in South East Asia and the Indian Subcontinent. They stand 55-60cm (about 22") with a wingspan of 23-36cm ( 9-14"). They are considered frugivors feeding mostly on fruits in the tree canopy but will eat small birds, small reptiles and large insects. They are cavity nesters.

Portrait of a Great Blue Heron

Tanner Springs Park, Portland Oregon, USA

Roosevelt Bull Elk #2

A Roosevelt bull elk keeps its eye on me during the rut. Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado USA

Camouflage Grasshopper

I'm impressed by the coloration of this grasshopper which was sitting on a drive composed of crushed stone. Is the grasshopper attracted to the stone because of its coloration? Perhaps its coloration is because of the local stone? It seems too good of a camouflage fit to be coincidental.

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Ovis canadensis nelsoni, is a subspecies of the Bighorn Sheep which is distinguished by its ability to go for long periods of time without water. They may go for weeks or months without stopping to visit a water source maintaining their hydration through food and rainwater. This is also a defense mechanism allowing the sheep to live where their predators can not. The Desert Bighorn is also adapted to the extreme heat and cold of the desert allowing its body temperature to safely fluctuate by several degrees. Valley of Fire State Park, Arizona USA

The Scholars

Adak Alaska, USA

Condor 87

Considered to be one of the rarest birds in the world, I was lucky to get a chance to photo this California Condor in the wild. #87 is a 20 year old breeding male with a potential lifespan of 60 years - one of the longest living birds. With a wingspan of 3m (9.8'), it is also the widest wingspan of the North American birds. Condor population decline in the 20th century led to a conservation plan to capture the remaining condors in the wild (27 of them) which was completed in 1987. The captive population was bred in California and by 1991 were being reintroduced into the wild. As of 2018, there are now 440 birds in the wild.

Grey Ghost

Adult male Northern Harrier scanning the horizon for prey.

Screaming Eagle

It's not often I find myself capturing raptors in flight near eye level, so shots like this are a treat. A number of factors have to converge in order to get shots from this perspective and I don't find myself in areas that meet the criteria very often. In this case, I was on the mountainous but treeless island of Adak, Alaska which greatly increased the possibility of such a shot, not to mention the island has no shortage of Bald Eagles.

Portrait of a Sharpie

Not as big as a crow, Sharp-shinned Hawks (sharpies) are the smallest of the three North American anccipiters with the larger two being the Cooper's Hawk and Northern Goshawk. Anccipiters are forest-dwellers and are characterized by short but wide wings, a long tail and long legs. These traits along with stealth, ambush and speed, make them agile and acrobatic hunters in densely wooded areas. The sharpie's diet consists mainly of other birds. Chelan Ridge, Washington USA

Ewe on the Edge

Watching Bighorn Sheep prance around on these loose cliff edges is a bit nerve racking for me as a human. Watching the lambs bounding right over the edge at speed made me wonder if they would reappear. They are incredibly agile and confident on these surfaces and the young always came bouncing back over the top into view. In 2017, Badlands National Park was home to at least 265 Bighorn Sheep. That number is 10% lower then the 2016 count, the 5 year average and the lowest count since 2006. The herds have been suffering from a bacterial pneumonia but seem to be recovering as mortality rates in exposed herds has declined. Game management doesn't seem to be concerned as hunting permits are expected to be issued for 2018 unless there are significant deaths before the season opens. Five permits were issued in 2017 and all 5 hunters bagged a ram (ewes and lambs are not allowed to be hunted). Badlands National Park, South Dakota USA

Portrait of a Pronghorn

Although the Pronghorn is not a true antelope, it is often referred to as such due to the close resemblance (American Antelope is one common name). It is the fastest land animal in the western hemisphere. With measured speeds of 55 mph it is second only to the cheetah but can sustain high speeds longer than a cheetah. This particular buck was by himself and was quite curious. I exited my vehicle to watch him and to my surprise, he approached me as I talked to him in a gentle voice. I don't have much experience with pronghorns but my previous impression had been that they spook very easily so to have him approaching me was quite exhilarating. He was still on alert though, as moving my legs or arms too quickly had him checking his escape routes. I enjoyed his company for 15-20 minutes, thanked him for posing, climbed back in to my vehicle and he watched as I drove off. Backroads of Southern Colorado, USA

Western Gull Chicks

Junior is having a hard time making sense of this crab leg while his siblings look on. Cannon Beach, Oregon USA

Gray Jay/Canada Jay - The Raptor Watcher's Friend

I'm told by raptor bird count crews that the Gray Jay is a welcome bird at count sites. This isn't for the entertainment value of their comedic antics as they come within arms length to check out your gear for evidence you may be a source of food or when they make high speed sorties close to your unattended rucksack to get a closer look. No, their value is in their ability to spot raptors at a distance that the experienced bird counters may miss. The Gray Jay will alert when it sees a raptor and warn the rest of its crew of the potential threat and trespasser. The count crews recognizes this call and they know they should be diligently scanning the sky for raptors at that moment. I personally have not heard this alert but find the Gray Jay entertaining to watch. They seem to do well scavenging off of humans as they will usually greet you at some point if you enter their territory. I've had them land on my hat, steal scrambled eggs right off my plate at camp and eat out of my hand. They are also punctual; visiting camp around the same time, morning and evening. I watch for them and welcome them even if it's just for a quick glance around my camp to determine I left no food unsecured. Bonney Butte, Oregon USA

The Classic Raven Pose

The Common Raven (Corvus corax) belongs to a family of birds known as corvids, which also includes crows, jays, magpies as well as others. With intelligence often compared to chimpanzees and dolphins, the corvids are among the most intelligent birds. Some captive ravens have been known to mimic human language better than parrots. They also like to mimic other sounds and have been known to mimic other birds. They are problem solvers, tool users and pranksters. All of which makes them fun to watch. One early morning while camping, I awoke to what I thought was an open car door chime. After unsuccessfully waiting for the door to close and chime to stop so I could return to sleep, I exited the tent to find that it was a raven making the sound. I'm not sure if I was being pranked, but I was fooled. Salt Point State Park, California.

Kookaburra

The Kookaburra aka the Laughing Kookaburra or Laughing Jackass is one of largest of the Kingfishers, weighing in at a pound or more. It's a carnivore which preys on small mammals, snakes, insects and other birds. Their call, believed to be territorial, can sound like maniacal laughter. They are bold birds having been known to steal meat right off the barbecue. They are native to Eastern Australia.

Killdeer

The largest plovers, the Killdeer is a gound nesting bird about the size of a Robin. They can be found throughout most of North America. They are known to put on a broken wing display to distract threats from their nest site (see my gallary). For threats that don't fall for it, like cows and other large mammals, they will raise their tail feathers and charge the threat trying to alter the course of the threat. They are quite vocal and have been known by such names as the "Noisy Plover" and "Chattering Plover". Tualitin River National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon USA

Portrait of a Flamingo

The flamingo is a filter feeder with a specially designed beak that strains food from the water. In this way, they resemble whales and shellfish more than birds.

Female Phainopepla

The phainopepla has a number of interesting characteristics. Its preferred food source is the mistletoe berry which it can eat over 1000/day. It is the only bird known to have a specialized gizzard which removes the skins from berries for more efficient digestion. Rarely drinking water and losing 95% of its body mass in water per day, it obtains the water it needs from the berries it eats. They are also known to immitate the calls of other birds when stressed. Thirteen different spicies are known to be mimicked including the red-tailed hawk and northern flicker. Phainopepla breed in two distinct habitats at two different times of year and exibit different behaviors in each habitat. When breeding in the desert, the pairs are territorial and protect their feeding territories, whereas breeding in the woodlands they form loose colonies. Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Nevada USA

Jumping Spider

These spiders (jumping spiders) are the only ones I know of that are acutely aware of your presence. They seem to want to interact and look you in the eye which makes them ideal models. This one is lifting his head to look right into the lens which is often the case.

Cross Spider

Araneus diadematus