Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham
This morning, as sunlight begins to stream over the horizon and hazy shadows take form, I’m watching the puma Petaka. She and her two 15-month-old kittens are taking turns feeding on a guanaco kill. When one cat moves off to groom and nap, another moves … Continue readingThe Puma Petaka
First Sighting The warm light of the rising sun casts everything – the grasses, the guanaco, the puma – in the same golden glow. I know there’s a lion on the hillside 50 yards away. A guide with two guests are watching her as I … Continue readingPumas of Patagonia
Chilean Patagonia is made of mountains, glaciers, and sea-level fjords. It has the world’s largest flying bird and odd flightless birds. There are flamingoes and grey zorro foxes that aren’t actually foxes. It’s tectonic plates and salty lakes. It’s guanacos and sheep grazing the grasslands. … Continue readingChilean Patagonia
Every winter, northern elephant seals haul out on the shores of Northern California to breed. The big males arrive first to stake their claims. January and February hold the greatest numbers of lumbering, blubbery seals on the Point Reyes National Seashore beaches. This year, the … Continue readingCalifornia Elephant Seals
Serendipity: an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident. accidental discovery Planned In October, I went to Estes Park, Colorado, the hotbed of elk activity, to photograph the rut. There weren’t many elk around, and Moraine Park was empty. Unplanned Later, I was in Northern … Continue readingTule Elk Rut
A Pictorial On the rolling hills of Point Reyes National Seashore, gophers drive the ecosystem. In addition to sustaining coyotes, foxes, weasels, and bobcats, this makes for happy hunting for all manner of raptors: kestrels, red-tail hawks, great horned owls, white-tailed kites, northern harriers, and … Continue readingThe Birds of Point Reyes National Seashore
The stark black and white stands out like a beacon in the amber fall landscape. For a fraction of a second, I thought I’d found a badger. That’s the only striped animal I expect on this landscape. But the color, body shape, and floof of … Continue readingSkunks During the Daytime
It’s my fourth trip to Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), though it’s been nine years since my last visit. Usually, the town of Estes Park is overrun by elk in the fall. They’re on the golf course, at the school, downtown, and, of course, in … Continue readingA Lake of Rocky Mountain Elk
The Flood Spring of 2022 brought a “once in 500 years” flood to Yellowstone National Park, prompting evacuations and an unprecedented full closure of the Park. Flows in the Yellowstone River were recorded at 50,000 cubic feet per second (cf/s) on the morning of June … Continue readingForce of Nature: The 2022 Yellowstone Flood
I’m surprised at how many bears I saw at close range during this first week of June. I didn’t expect any real bear encounters here. I thought they’d all be binocular or spotting scope distance away. On my first morning out, a private guide pointed … Continue readingYellowstone Bears