It’s been a winter of expectation waiting for these guys to turn up, but finally this week I got to see one, the Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica) at it’s Newfoundland nesting site. This particular puffin colony is on a small rocky island visible from the mainland, but thankfully not accessible. Seen here, this puffin is standing out in front of it’s burrow – the hole in the ground used as a nest site. These birds spend most of the year out at sea, but they come ashore to nest, with mating pairs returning to the same burrow year after year. It was interesting to watch them coming and going ..read more

I’ve published a Common Murre from the western seaboard here before, but due to the expression on the birds face, I  just couldn’t resist publishing this handsome devil, a shot I took recently at a nesting colony on Newfoundland, where these birds are colloquially known as ‘Turrs’. Newfoundland is one of the main nesting areas for the Atlantic population who flood inshore for nesting. However, these birds do not build a nest as such, but precariously lay one single egg on a as close to level piece of rock on a sheer cliff face that they can find. It is thought that the overly pointed end ..read more

Here’s a couple of shots from a few years back of a beautiful black morph red fox. This isn’t the same fox as we met in ‘Black Vixen’, but that post is a good article that explains the black morph variant that is commonly found amongst some red fox populations and how you can differentiate them from actual black foxes. One of the other things I like about this shot though is the small pink ‘Storksbill’ plants sprouting amongst the grass at her feet – adding to the springtime feel of the shot. See more here: Foxes ..read more

At the end of May last year I published ‘Osprey Treat’ – the news of an osprey nest in the St John’s area of Newfoundland that also had a live webcam set up on it. Well, about 2 weeks or so ago, the osprey returned to that nest once again and immediately set about rebuilding their nursery home. For those that enjoyed watching in on them last year, you’re in for a treat once again as the good folks at Newfoundland Power have turned the camera over the nest back on. To give you an idea of the positioning and viewing angle of the camera, below is a shot of the nest on the platform at the top of ..read more

This is a young sub-adult grizzly bear we named ‘Patch’ due to a thick clump of long dark fur that was always present on his back left leg. It didn’t matter how short his spring/summer coat was, this thick dark patch always stayed on his leg. He was a similar age to those two favourites JJ and Junior and he would often hang out with JJ, but rarely with Junior. There was a dominant adult bear, known by some as ‘Zeus‘, who seemed to have it in for Patch a lot more than some of the other young males in the area and on several occasions I observed him following Patch determinedly, as if fixed wit ..read more

I came across this amazing colourful little sea duck for the first time last week in a small harbour on Newfoundland’s Bonavista peninsula. The Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) nests in the high arctic and this male bird was probably resting whilst making the journey north. He is seen here in the throws of moulting from his non-breeding to his breeding feathers – one of three moults he will go through in a year, most ducks only moult twice. They dive the deepest of all the diving ducks, seen down to depths of up to 60 metres and when feeding can spend more time underwater than on the surf ..read more

Today will mark the fifth full moon of the year and this shot was a May full moon taken a couple of years back. May full moons are often known as a ‘Flower Moon’ – due to the spring blooming of many flowers in the northern hemisphere at this time of year, but it has also been called the ‘milk moon, budding moon and planting moon’ amongst others in the past. Spectacularly, on this occasion it was giving off a strong red colour, which is sometimes called a ‘blood moon’. But this usually occurs with a lunar eclipse, which is when the earths orbit places it between the sun and moon, blocking blue ..read more

Here’s one of our grizzly bear favourites from the Khutzeymateen, Star – seen here gazing out from her daybed amongst the bushes. As well as the inquisitive, yet low profile of Star in this shot, I also love all the foliage and ‘old-mans beard’ that fills the frame. If she hadn’t looked up from her sleepy hollow, I doubt we’d have even known she was there and would probably have gone right past none the wiser ..read more

These impressive looking black seabirds with white wing patches are members of the auk family that are found in NorthPacific coastal waters from California up, around the Aleutians and down to Japan. If you ever get to see them out of the water, they have bright red feet which, believe it or not, are shown off to females as part of their courtship rituals. When they’re calling you also get to see the inside of their mouths, which strikingly match the bright red colour of their feet. Pigeon Guillemots (Cepphus columba) closely resemble their east coast cousins the Black Guillemot, but have sma ..read more

Nai’a is the Hawaiian name for these spectacular showboaters the Spinner Dolphin. I came across a pod whilst out on a boat trip on a visit to Maui a few years back and when they are in a playful mood they are great to watch, but a nightmare to try and photograph! Worldwide there are four different subspecies of ‘spinners’ and the Hawaiian spinner (Stenella longirostris) is one of them. During the day they can often be found resting in shallows off Maui and Lana’i, but they feed well offshore on the likes of fish, shrimp and squid once the day starts to wane. They are known for jumping high an ..read more