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Learning Naturalist Nature Uncategorized Wildlife

Your Backyard

Posted on December 6, 2018

Outside your door is a world to explore. Miles or inches away from that door is some sort of nature. It may not be as sexy as elk and grizzly bears, but there is something. It could be insects or pigeons, dandelions or oak trees. Study something to improve and build skills. It will make your next adventure more productive, because it doesn’t matter what you are looking at that matters, it is what you see. Your trained eye is what will help you spot the unnoticed things others walk past everyday. Ask yourself questions and recall the details. Give this a try 5-10 minutes a day. I would love to know your results.

Learning Naturalist Nature Uncategorized Wildlife

The Gear Needed to Tell Great Nature Stories

Posted on November 14, 2018

Sometimes I get asked about what camera I use. And the answer is simple, whatever I had available. Anything from point and shoot, iPhone, drone, GoPro and various trail cameras make the images I happily share on social media. Brands have little meaning to me. Whatever will I get me closest to my vision is what I will use. One piece of advice I have for newbies, avoid G.A.S. Or gear-acquisition-syndrome. It is a costly game and can become habit forming. As much as I would love to have big lenses, I can wait to save up and buy them later when I feel I really need them to step up my wildlife photography game.

Keep in mind a simple point-and-shoot camera still takes great pictures that can produce sizable prints. This little old Olympus camera is nothing special; waterproof, drop-proof, decent video and tough. No RAW, interchangeable lens, or other fancy features happen on this camera. Birds in flight pictures? Not likely. Nightscapes and star-trails? Nope. Take it every where I go in case something interesting happens? YES. That’s where the “one you have with you” photography cliche comes from. You always have be ready. Other fitting cliche? You will always miss the shots you didn’t take.

Olympus Camera TG-860

A simple point and shoot can produce great printable images.

You do not need a big arsenal of equipment to document nature. In fact, some of my favorite stuff from others naturalists is hand sketched. They make beautiful pictures and notes. One book I love on how to nature journal is Keeping a Nature Journal by Leslie/Roth. Never lose sight of why you are out enjoying nature observation.

I will leave you with a picture of a Stellar’s Jay taken with a trailcam from EBay. This camera is a close focus system. I have been looking for a long time and found this one “cheep cheep” on eBay.

Bushnell Natureview TrailCam

Trail Cameras can be a great help for those shots you can’t be there for.

Learning Naturalist Personal News Seasons Uncategorized Wildlife

Montana Serengeti

Posted on November 1, 2018
Montana Nature Blog Flathead Serengeti

Just another beautiful Montana Morning

Early mornings on the North Fork of the Flathead remind me of the pictures often posted of the sun coming up on the African Serengeti. Each biome is rich in its own wildlife, and the Glacier National Park area of Montana is no exception. Many different species live in this area, however seeing them is complicated by the dense trees of the inland rainforests, aka refugia. These areas make ideal hunting for wolves and big cats, add some elevation to your journey and you leave the trees and find yourself in alpine areas of scrubby bushes and mountain goats. One of my favorite things about the sunrises in this area is the summer slow mornings. The sun starts rising at about 4:30 and takes a little bit of time. The birds are easily an alarm clock. Robins start singing not long after that first light and it is definitely time to wake up, make the coffee, and see what the new day holds. Getting out and seeing wildlife starts long before that sunrise and ends long after the last light. In the winter, that means a really short day, however in the summer that can easily become over an 18 hour day. so this leads to a new project.

Sunrise on the Montana Serengeti is only the start.

In the relaunch and rebuild of this blog, I want to start sharing a virtual safari with readers. Once or twice a year, I would love to offer a full Montana Safari itenerary for people. This is only an early start of an idea. I am in awe of people I follow on social media sharing their African safari photos and camps. I would love to offer that to people that want to see this area. This is a great place to call home, and I would love for you to vacation here, see the wild, and leave with lifetime memories. Thanks for reading.
Learning Naturalist Nature Uncategorized Wildlife

Top Tips for Wildlife Spotting

Posted on September 25, 2018
grizzly bear

Grizzly Bear

This is a short brief on my techniques to spotting wildlife. While there are no photography tips in this post, a photographer could use these tips in finding their next subject. These tips with a little bit of luck should give you a successful outing next time you go out exploring. So grab your binoculars and a coat and get ready to spot those animals.
  1. Get Outside – The first thing to be a successful wildlife spotter is that you have to go where the wildlife is. Sometimes the hardest thing is grabbing your gear and getting off the couch. Once you are off the couch and walking in nature, you will already be in the environment for studying wildlife.
  2. Slow Down / Move Quietly– Our day to day lives are full of hustle. We all have places to go and things to do. How much stuff do you miss on a commute, only to notice it when someone else is driving. This same thing applies to nature-spotting. When you slow down, you can visually take in more of your environment, and things aren’t whizzing past in your periphery. Slowing down gives you a chance to scan. Slowing down also means you can think and move with stealth and intention. Practice walking quietly.
  3. Stop and Shut Up – Sometimes completely stopping and being quiet is what it takes to find what you are looking for. Becoming part of the environment and blending in may just make wildlife more comfortable in making themselves seen. This also lets you settle and listen to things around you. Are there birds chirping or did they get quiet? Looking for changes is a key to this technique.
  4. Get Up Early and Stay Up Late – Most animal activity is in the mornings and evenings. They like to wakeup and feed and go down to water sources first thing and last thing of the day. During the summer, animals avoid the heat like people. You would too if you had on a fur coat! Be sure you are ready with the added equipment to help you navigate twilight-lit landscapes.
  5. Edge Zones – Edge zones are the areas where forests give way to meadows, or forests give way to shorelines. Roads could also be considered edge zones. ever notice deer grazing on the side only to turn back into the trees and hide as you pass. (ok, sometimes they run in front of your car and help you check the operating condition of our brakes and reflexes.) Wildlife likes to hangout in these areas because of the quick retreat into cover. These have often been successful spotting places for me when looking for bears.
  6. Know Your Subject – If you are looking for something specific, do your research. This is where skills in tracking and sign cutting can come into play. Tracking is a longer post blog, but starting early in the day or late at night gives the sun the right position for seeing tracks on road surfaces. Scat is also a helpful indication of what is around and how long ago it was around.
  7. Have the Tools – Camouflage cover can be a handy aid to have when it comes to hiding. just be sure it doesn’t flap in a breeze, otherwise being stealthy, still, and quiet could all be a wasted effort. Other things to have handy: binoculars or spotting scope, camera, reference material, water or thermos of a warm drink, warm clothes, insulated sit pad (Crazy Creek chairs are nice for this).
  8. Respect the Wildlife – Lastly, keep a safe distance from animals. Recent videos in Yellowstone show people harassing bison, or getting dangerously close to elk and nearly getting gored by antlers during the mating rut. Use common sense; have an escape plan and stay far enough away that you hopefully won’t need to implement the escape plan.
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Here Comes Fall

Posted on September 21, 2018

September 22 is the official start of fall. What does this mean exactly though? What makes a season start and end?

Well fall and spring are known as autumnal equinox and vernal equinox. When you hear “equinox” it helps to think equal. In this case, equal day and equal night. The other “equa-” reference is to think of the Equator or 0* Latitude. The Equator comes into play because that is where the sun is and crossing over to start the next season. Between September to March, the sun is below the Equator. From March to September, the sun is above the equator. This is one of many amazing celestial dances. 

The quick takeaway of TLDR : Autumnal Equinox

  • Sun is at the Equator during equinox
  • The sun is moving towards the South Pole.
  • Equinox is an equal day (12 hours) and equal (night 12 hours)
  • December 21, the sun starts moving back towards the North Pole
  • The only state in the United States that the sun is ever directly overhead is Hawaii
A new season begins…
Learning Naturalist Nature Plants Uncategorized

Lupine

Posted on June 28, 2018

This purple plant is in the same plant family as the pea. Crazy huh? One big difference between this and the pea that a person would eat is that wild lupines have been known to cause fatalities to domestic livestock and people. When wild lupine goes produces seeds, they tend to look like pea pods.

 

 

 

 

 

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Silk Moth

Posted on May 31, 2018

This large moth was sitting on the porch when I got home.

When I came in the other night, I was met by a giant moth on my front porch. Few of these actually reach maturity. At over six inches as a caterpillar and bright green, it would make for an easy snack. They emerge in late spring and turn out to be a fairly large moth. The wingspan is easily eight inches. Really an amazing part of the natural world. The world is amazing when you slow down, have a sense of situational awareness, and open yourself up to experiencing nature as it presents itself to you.

 

 

Naturalist Nature Uncategorized Wildlife

More Hummingbirds

Posted on May 27, 2018

After putting up the feeder, and then a single hummingbird finally finding it, I am so fascinated by these little birds ability. As a drone flyer, these little birds are the ultimately nature’s drones. And… Look fat those little feet!

If you want to know 25 fun facts about hummingbirds, click here. I learned a lot of things I never knew or considered. Like that an average hummingbird’s heart rate is more than 1,200 beats per minute.

Hummingbird taking a drink

 

Hummingbird seeing if he emptied the feeder after one drink, then realizes he still has a long way to go.

Nature Uncategorized Wildlife

Ahh Spring!

Posted on May 6, 2018

Having seasons is nice. One change leads to another and each one is new and exciting with those changes; winter and fresh snow, fall and the larch trees changing to vibrant colors of yellow, or summertime playing in the mountain lakes. But springtime… means there will soon be newborn wildlife all over.

The other day I came across this osprey hanging out on the nesting box. It is in the perfect spot next to a lake, so feeding should be easy. As the season continues, I hope to spot other young wildlife roaming around.

Many of these nest boxes for osprey are occupied this time of year.

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Return of the Blog?

Posted on April 23, 2018

I have been on a hiatus from this project for awhile as I worked on other projects related to flight, video, and pictures. While I have been away though, I have learned more about videos and creating some really neat content. However, getting back to nature is my true love and I neglected this blog.

Nature is always calling, we just aren’t always listening.

Stay tuned!