Exploring Nature by Sheila Newenham
The salmon run congregates bears closer together and in higher numbers than they would otherwise tolerate. Like Big Brother on television, this creates drama. Family Drama When a sow with cubs begins fishing, the hungry cubs watch with rapt attention. Once she catches a salmon … Continue readingBrown Bear Stories (Part One)
It’s all about the timing. Life in coastal Alaska is dictated by the tides – for both human and non-human animals. On the shore of Lake Clark National Park, the annual silver salmon run has just begun. A few days ago, there were a few … Continue readingFishing Bears
“Go to Theodore Roosevelt for the wild horses. Sure, there are bison, elk, mule deer, coyotes, burrowing owls, black-footed ferrets, badgers galore, prairie dogs, and a unique sub-species of turkey that you will likely photograph while there, but the wild horses are the real draw … Continue readingWild Horses of Theodore Roosevelt National Park
Black-legged Kittiwakes I’m idly watching a colony of thousands of nesting kittiwakes, white gull-like birds that don’t really do it for me. But there’s a beautiful, rustic, derelict cannery along this stunning, cliff-lined inlet, where we’ve stopped on our way back to camp from an … Continue readingHunting Peregrine Falcons
Communication This bear argument is loud, powerful, and impassioned, yet fairly benign. All social species require a way to resolve conflict without risking their lives or their relationships. Just because you have power does not mean you need to use it. Nature has so much … Continue readingBears: A Heated Discussion
The car ahead of me is braking. A deer? No, a coyote. No, it’s a wolf!! A timber wolf is trotting across the highway! If that’s not a good omen, I don’t know what is! It was the long legs that made me think deer, … Continue readingVince Shute Wildlife Sanctuary
The Wooing I fell down a rabbit hole of toad photography one Monday this May. I set out with my camera and journal to sit on a shady bench under my backyard willow. And I did. The sounds of amphibians coming from the pond were … Continue readingAmerican Toads
Should I run up this tree? Black bears seek refuge in trees from a young age. Their mothers will send them up trees for safekeeping while she forages. They learn that it’s a safe place to rest and an excellent place to avoid other bears … Continue readingA Day in the Life of Black Bears
The Original Glamping Going camping, but with glamour. It’s like regular camping, but with nicer things than usual, being warmer, and more comfortable. I’ve been spending one week every summer in my grandparent’s old summer cabin on a quiet lake in the Northwoods of Wisconsin … Continue readingBirding from Bed
Wonderment I often get distracted walking past my patio doors by the sights outside: songbirds eating, bluejays demanding their peanuts, ducks waddling in the lawn, a swimming muskrat, a foraging beaver, hunting herons, coyotes passing through, deer, geese, anything and everything. My camera sits on … Continue readingBackyard Drama: Coyote versus Geese