ALL RUFFLED UP: A Steller's jay fluffs its feathers on a cold day in Anchorage, Alaska. #birds #birding #nature #photography

SEDUCTRESS: A Barrow’s goldeneye hen seems to celebrate early one May morning in an Alaska pond. In fact, the bird’s actions were part of a breeding display for a drake outside the frame. #ducks #birds #nature #photography

THE BEAR STARE: A young adult brown bear, photographed in Canada's Yukon last May, shows little emotion as it peers into my lens. #bear #wildlife #animals #nature

CATCHING ANYTHING? With snow in the forecast, a kingfisher glances up from its perch overlooking a Southcentral Alaska salmon stream. #birds #nature #wildlife #photography

LOVESICK BLUES: Rising from the brush, a bull moose seems to sing a wistful tune as it tests the air for the scent of a receptive cow. Breeding season for moose in Southcentral Alaska begins in September and runs through October and even into early November. #moose #wildife #nature #photography

A spruce grouse hen (Canachites canadensis) stands at alert near a trail in eastern Alaska's Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. #birds #wildlife #nature #photography

A trumpeter swan catches a stray sunbeam as it flies through stormy skies on Alaska's Copper River Delta. #birds #swans #nature #photography

APRIL OUTTAKE: I was fortunate six months ago to gather a number of shots of this kingfisher in a snowstorm. Sharing now a slightly different perspective. #kingfisher #birds #nature #photography

ARCTIC BEAUTY: A tundra swan pauses primping to pose for the camera. Photographed near Barrow, these Arctic nesters are distinguished from trumpeter swans by the yellow patch between eye and bill. Tundra swans winter in the Lower 48 along the East and West coasts. #swans #birds #nature #photography

SPRUCED UP FOR DINNER ... an American three-toed woodpecker forages for grubs hidden in the bark. #woodpecker #birds #nature #photography

Western sandpipers. Southcentral Alaska. #birds #shorebirds #nature #photography

A marbled godwit towers over a flock of dowitchers in Southcentral Alaska's Prince William Sound. #birds #shorebirds #nature #photography

EYES ON THE PRIZE: Late evening, sun's dipping into the trees and this ol' boy is stalking out from the shadows, focused on a cow moose he's been eyeing all day long. #wildlife #nature #moose #photography 🦊

BLUEBILL MOON: I found this greater scaup hen, foreground, and drake cruising a misty Alaska lakeshore. Called "bluebills" by some, greater scaup breed in tundra regions throughout North America and Europe. They are the world's only circumpolar diving duck. #ducks #birds #nature #photograohy

GREATER SCAUP: A diving duck sometimes called“bluebill.” The green sheen on the head distinguishes these ducks from the slightly smaller lesser scaup (which has a purple sheen on the head). Photographed in Southcentral Alaska. #birds #ducks #nature #photography

SANDHILL CRANES: These big birds and many other waterfowl species are now heading south, out of Alaska, toward wintering grounds in warmer places. #birds #nature #wildlife #photography

A young common merganser tosses back a freshly caught stickleback in a small stream on Alaska's Kenai (pronounced "Keen - eye") Peninsula. #birds #ducks #nature #photography

BARROW'S GOLDENEYES court on a springtime evening in Interior Alaska. #Birds #ducks #nature #photography

MEMORY FROM MAY: Alaska's puddle ducks are already heading south for the winter, so here's a look back at a drake wigeon I photographed one lovely May morning. #ducks #birds #nature #photography

PORTRAIT OF A WILD HARE: This summer has been a good one for me and snowshoe hares. I like the detail in this recently photographed critter's face. Soon enough, it and the wild lands around it will be snow-white. #hares #rabbits #wildlife #nature

DARK-EYED JUNCO ... greets the morning in Southcentral Alaska. These and many other songbirds are currently migrating south out of Alaska to winter in warmer climes. #birds #nature #wildlife #photography

PRINCE OF TIDES: A black oystercatcher on the prowl peeks over barnacle- and mussel-encrusted rocks on a Prince William Sound beach. Slightly smaller than crows, these shorebirds feed on mollusks by using their heavy bills to smash or pry open the shells. #Birds #nature #wildlife #photography

MAMA SEA OTTER cradles her fluffy, sleeping baby last spring in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. #wildlife #animals #nature #otter

NOT EXACTLY SEASON-APPROPRIATE ... but some in the Blue Sky Social world might enjoy this opportunity to cool off. Mallard drake landing in a March snowstorm. Anchorage, Alaska. #birds #ducks #nature #wildlife

A SPECTACLED EIDER drake gives me the eye in Alaska's high Arctic. Did you know spectacled eiders have blue eyes? #birds #ducks #nature #wildlife

TAKE OFF: A trumpeter swan makes a splash on a pond in Alaska's Interior. #swans #birds #nature #wildlife

WHAT'S UP PUSSYCAT? A Canada lynx pauses at the edge of an alder thicket in Southcentral Alaska. #wildlife #animals #nature #photography

Red-throated Loon mother and chick paddle in a high-country pond recently in Interior Alaska. #loons #birds #nature #wildlife

BLACK OYSTERCATCHER says hello from the briny beaches of Alaska's Prince William Sound. #birds #shorebirds #nature #wildlife

BEAVER SHOT: The wholesome kind. 🦫🦫🦫 #wildlife #animals #nature #wildlifephotography

A Wilson’s warbler pauses on a willow in Interior Alaska. #birds #nature #wildlife

GRUMPY GRIZZLY ... Bear No. 141 (see yellow ear tag) seems to snarl after being spotted near a roadway last spring in Yukon, Canada. In fact, 141 was simply munching on wild greens. #wildlife #animals #nature #wildlifephotography

ON A SUNNY NOTE … a yellow warbler seems a tangy lemon drop in an Interior Alaska willow. #birds #nature #warbler

TRUMPETER SWANS ... fly low over Alaska' Copper River Delta. #swans #birds #nature #wildlife

A WILSON'S SNIPE hunkers on a tussock on the tundra outside of Nome, Alaska. #birds #nature #naturephotography #snipe

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY … to all of my American friends great and small. 🧨🇺🇸🇺🇸 #eagle #birds #july4 #America

A northern shoveler drake takes a moment to preen in an Interior Alaska beaver pond. #birds #ducks #nature #wildlife

WHAT'S UP, DOC? A snowshoe hare pauses at the edge of cover after being chased by a hungry lynx. #hare #rabbit #wildlife #nature

A yellow warbler warbles its little heart out recently in Interior Alaska. #warbler #birds #nature #naturephotography

Out of respect for National Eagles Day, here’s one more for the road. #eagle #birds #raptors #nature #wildlife

Celebrating National Eagles Day with this mature bald eagle in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. #eagles #Birds #nature #wildlife

THE ART OF SHOVELER: Known for their king-sized schnozzolas and mud-siphoning ways, northern shoveler drakes in springtime breeding plumage - like this one photographed last week in Interior Alaska - are colorful, even handsome, fellows. #ducks #birds #nature #wildlife

A GADWALL DRAKE ... laughs it up at dawn on a Southcentral Alaska pond. Gadwalls are sometimes called "gray ducks." Intricate vermiculations and patterns in their plumage make up for their lack of vibrant colors. #birds #ducks #waterfowl #wildlife #nature

STORM'S A'BREWIN' ... on Alaska's Denali Highway Tuesday, where winter's power is fading reluctantly. In fact, in the Alphabet Hills where this shot was taken, I found myself in quite a spring snowstorm Monday night. #landscape #scenic #mountains #Alaska #landscapephotography

A collared pika, a small lagomorph related to hares and rabbits, reflects in an alpine garden. Southcentral Alaska. #wildlife #animals #rabbits #nature

COLORFUL CRUISER: A green-winged teal drake cruises a lakeshore recently in Interior Alaska. #birds #birding #wildlifephotography #nature

TAGGED FOR REVIEW: Ear-tagged Brown Bear No. 141 forages on the outskirts of Haines Junction, Yukon, Canada. #Yukon #Canada #wildlife #animals

LESSER YELLOWLEGS backlit by early morning sun calls out at a pond’s edge in remote Interior Alaska. #birds #birding #nature #photography

SHOVELER DRAKE … photographed recently in Interior Alaska. #birds #wildlife #nature #ducks

PROFILE: Spruce grouse male photographed recently in Alaska’s Tetlin National Wildlife Refuge. #grouse #birds #birding #nature #wildlife