Category: alaska

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Holy Cow

Captive Golden Eagle at the Alaska Raptor Center

When Hubby and I visited Alaska a couple of years ago, the Alaska Raptor Center in Sitka was one of our stops. Actually, it’s one of the reasons Sitka was added to our itinerary. I’d read about their Bald Eagle rehab program and thought it would be a cool place to visit. It was. Very cool actually.

It’s really interesting to see these magnificent birds up close. The one pictured on the right is a Golden Eagle. As explained on this Web page done by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Golden Eagles are common in western North America, but rare in the East.

You’re most likely to make a rare sighting during the winter in the Mid-Atlantic region, which is where some Golden Eagles and many other raptors go to escape the harsher weather of their summer breeding and year-round ranges.

Hubby and I did see at least one Golden Eagle in the wild when we were at Denali National Park. But I haven’t seen one here.

Why then am I telling you about Golden Eagles? Because one of the people in my computer recently did a blog post about them. Before I tell you more, here’s a little info you should read about the differences between Bald and Golden Eagles.

American Bald Eagle description (from the American Bald Eagle Information Web site): A female bald eagle’s body length varies from 35 to 37 inches; with a wingspan of 79 to 90 inches. The smaller male bald eagle has a body length of 30 to 34 inches; with a wingspan ranging from 72 to 85 inches. Their average weight is ten to fourteen pounds. Northern birds are significantly larger than their southern relatives.

Here’s what that same Web site had to say about Golden Eagles: Length of about 3 feet (.92m). Weighing up to 15 pounds (7kg), with a wing span of up to 7 feet (2m). Golden eagles are larger than bald eagles in average height and wingspan, but there isn’t much difference in average weight.

After watching the video I’ll tell you about shortly, I thought Golden Eagles have to be way bigger than Bald Eagles. But they’re not.

You’ve just got to check out the very short video on my Flickr friend’s blog that shows a Golden Eagle hunting a deer. Yes, a DEER.

When I saw it, I exclaimed, “Holy cow!”

Usually, if Hubby overhears me commenting out loud about something I’ve just seen on the Web, he’ll say, “What?”

This time, he immediately grabbed his glasses and headed toward me saying, “Anything that warrants a ‘holy cow’ must be good.”

I hope you are similarly astonished.

While looking for that Golden Eagle picture, I saw this shot of me Hubby took in Alaska that I thought was cool…

ToadMama Looking for the Perfect Photo Opportunity

You can see Sitka in the background. It’s a town on one of the islands in Alaska’s famous Inside Passage.

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Better Bird Pictures

Can you believe it? I had nothing better to do yesterday, so I went back to Conowingo and captured this picture.

Don’t believe it? Good. ‘Cause I am pulling your leg. This is a Bald Eagle in captivity, taken when Hubby and I visited the Alaska Raptor Center during our visit to Sitka, Alaska in 2008. As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, unless you have a big, expensive camera lens or are very close to a bird, it’s hard to get good bird pictures. Here are a couple of their other captive birds.

This is a Peregrine Falcon.

And this is a Golden Eagle.

Don’t be sad that these birds are captive. They are only being held here because they couldn’t survive in the wild. The Alaska Raptor Center rehabilitates birds.

I didn’t explain in yesterday’s post why I went to Conowingo. I mean, I’ve lived in this area for 42 1/2 years and never knew eagles congregate at the dam during the winter. It just so happens that I read about it on a Flickr “friend’s” blog. I don’t know the guy really. I just like looking at his pictures, because he takes really good ones. His name is Jon, aka Nikographer, and I was introduced to his work by another Flickr “friend” — Alaska Dave — in Soldotna, Alaska. I met AKDave when researching our Alaska trip. Dave introduced me to Jon, which is sort of funny since Jon lives in Northern VA. Small world…

So, back to the why. It was through Nikographer Jon that I learned about the eagles at Conowingo. I also learned about a cool place called the Bombay Hook National Wildlife Refuge (BHNWR), in Smyrna, Delaware, through Jon. If you didn’t click on the BHNWR link, you missed some amazing Red Fox pictures. He is also the reason I went to Wheaton Regional Park where I captured a nice great blue heron photo.

I’ve mentioned all of this before, but in case you don’t remember, I had to explain again. If you missed my last discussion about these guys, you also missed a very cool Snow Geese video.

If all goes as planned, I may actually get to visit BHNWR on Friday. I’ll sort of be in the area since I’m doing a 5k on Saturday in Ocean City, MD. The plan is to detour through Smyrna on the way. Maybe I’ll get some good bird pics there. If not, that’s okay. Again, I really just want to see the Snow Geese. There’s just something magical about seeing the skies and fields full of Snow Geese and Canada Geese, not to mention hearing nothing but a cacophony of honking.

It’s a bit early in the year, so I might be disappointed. I’m hoping to get lucky though. Keep your fingers crossed for me.

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People Who Hunt

I’m not a hunter. It’s not that I am against hunting, it’s just that I am a city girl. And I personally don’t feel a need to hunt.

Had I grown up in Alaska, where hunting is a necessity for many and a way of life for many more, I’d probably be a hunter, too. And a fisherwoman. And a dogsled owner. And a hiker. I’d probably know how to walk in snowshoes, too.

But back to hunting. The following picture tickled me. This is not the sort of woman I’d picture if someone told me to imagine a woman who hunts. I mean, this chick is one of those naturally pretty women that some other women might secretly hate. She’s the type that probably looks good even first thing in the morning, after having slept, unshowered, in a tent. She’s got a pretty smile, great hair, and…

…the guts to pose with two recently murdered deer.

Her name is Josy. She looks a bit rougher on day two of hunting. Maybe it’s just the bloody deer that makes her look rougher. Or maybe she doesn’t look all that great after sleeping in the wild.

I don’t know this woman. I saw her in the hunting gallery on the Anchorage Daily News Web site.

Like I said, I’m not a hunter. But if I were, and I shot and had the stomach to butcher and decapitate five deer, this the kind of picture I would take.

Anyway… if you want to see how other folks live and spend their spare time, check out the hunting gallery for yourself.

If nothing else, at least look at the size of the bear this kid killed.

Oh my.

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On Visiting National Parks

Surfing the Internet this morning, I came across an article in the Anchorage Daily News about a guy who got attacked by a rabid wolf. I read the short article, which led to this radio segment on the Alaska Public Radio Network. I only visited Alaska once (I will go back), but I’ve read quite a few books, too. The Kuskokwim River mentioned in the broadcast is very remote. While surfing, I stumbled across a cool, short video taken while some folks were kayaking at Kenai Fjords National Park. To see the video, look at this Blog post, making sure to scroll all the way to the bottom to see the short video clip. It reminded me of our trip last year when the orcas swam right under our tour boat.

National Parks are cool. Hubby and I are going to have to make it a point to see more of the National Parks in Maryland. I think we’ve only been to six. Did you know the BW Parkway is a National Park? Hey, I could visit that one today! But why?

He and I are already planning to add some District of Columbia National Parks to our “visited” list in October.

I’ve never actually tallied how parks we have visited, but here are some of my favorite National Park pictures.

Glacier Bay National Park – Alaska


Denali National Park – Alaska




Badlands National Park – South Dakota


Devils Tower National Monument – Wyoming


There’s more, but finding and posting these images is far more time-consuming than I had anticipated. It’s a gorgeous day here in Maryland, so I need to get out and enjoy it!

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Honey, Grab the Camera. It’s a Bear!


I took the above photo on a recent trip to Alaska. Hubby and I spent two weeks touring various parts of the state. Many people have asked, “Did you enjoy your vacation? Are you happy to be home?” To all, I have answered, “Yes, the vacation was awesome. No, I am not happy to be home.”

The truth is, I really did spend the entire first week back pissed off because I absolutely loved Alaska and didn’t want to leave. The weather was perfect for us. The scenery is magnificent. We got to see all kinds of critters (like the bear shown above). And made new friends.

Alas, we did have to come home. It wouldn’t have been so bad, maybe, if we hadn’t returned to Maryland’s horrible summer heat and humidity. And work. We do need to make a living, but I really enjoyed those two weeks of leisure!

I’ll stop whining. After all, we’ve been home for over a month. I don’t spend all of my spare time dreaming of life in Alaska. I do think about it a lot though. And I am really close to applying for a spot on Discovery’s Alaska Experiment…

Anyway, on his way out of the house for work this morning, Hubby told me he’d seen on the news that a Cruise West cruise ship ran aground in one of the inlets in Glacier Bay. I just had to look it up to see if there was any damage, like an oil spill or something, because Glacier Bay is one of the most beautiful places on Earth (that I have experienced, anyway). And it would suck, big time, to have any of it spoiled.


There was no damage, fortunately.

While I was researching, I ended up at the Anchorage Daily News Web site (where else?). One of their regular features is BEAR SIGHTINGS. Me being the critter freak that I am, I just had to look. I thought it was pretty cool. I also thought some of my loyal readers would like to take a peek, too. Which is the entire reason for this post. Lame, maybe, but bears are awesome. Seeing bears in Alaska is the best! What’s most amazing is where many of the sightings occur… in backyards! If you haven’t already followed the “bear sightings” link above, CLICK HERE. Enjoy!

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"Extreme Heat is in Store"

Alaska has been fabulous. As anxious as we both are to get home to our families, I am absolutely dreading the thought of returning to Maryland in the midst of a record-breaking heat spell. “Extreme Heat”?!? Temperatures well into the nineties?!?

It was about 45 degrees this morning when we left for breakfast at 7:00 AM. After breakfast, we shopped for awhile. On the way back to the room, we were both happy to be wearing jackets. The high today was about 65 degrees. And there were people out and about EVERYWHERE taking advantage of the heat wave.

I could very easily get used to year-round cool weather. Mike says no way could he live here. I told him, “I’ll miss you.”

As an aside, June’s daughter Leah said they went swimming recently. She thought it was really cool that they could jump off of an iceberg into the lake. Not an iceberg, literally, just the lake ice that hadn’t yet melted. This was probably within the last week or so. Can you imagine how COLD that water is?

Believe it or not, I didn’t take any pictures today. There’s no link if you click on the moose. Mike was the shutterbug. He took three pictures, and they were all of me with various things. The picture at left pretty much sums up our activity for the day.

Aside from shopping, we each did some reading. One of us napped. The other continued reading/relaxing. Then we went on a “moose hunt” to Kincaid Park in Anchorage for urban moose (we saw two; we’d see more if we went later in the day instead of midday). Finally, we decided we should eat. And we stumbled upon La Cabana, a Mexican restaurant in downtown Anchorage with yummy food and tasty margaritas. A perfect end to our perfect vacation.