The Kodiak Brown Bears didn’t have to try too hard to snatch up a fish in the shallow waters as the Pink Salmon made their way up stream to spawn. The gulls hung around the edges of the river, playing a sort of waiting game, biding their time as they waited for leftovers from the bears. The gulls didn’t wait only for tidbits of salmon dropped by the bears. They sought out places where the salmon laid their eggs, dipping their heads into the water and gulping down the red pearls when they could.
This is one of the last Kodiak Brown Bears we photographed on our last afternoon of shooting on Kodiak Island a couple of weeks ago. The bear stopped, turned, and looked back at us. A great memory of a great trip.
On our first day at Bear Camp on Kodiak Island in Alaska two weeks ago, we encountered a Kodiak Brown Bear maneuvering along the rocks at the edge of the Uganik River. I just love this pose, both awkward looking and showing agility at the same time. Although the face is clearly visible, what strikes me most is the rear, truly a bear behind!
Until the last morning at Bear Camp, the fishermen among us hadn’t had much of a chance to fish for Silver Salmon. Our guides, Hiram and Chris, took us up the Uganik River to a fishing hole where Moose, the other Chris, and Dan cast their lines into the river with good results, mostly catch and release. We three non-fishermen cast our eyes about taking in the gorgeous scenery. Moose caught our dinner right in the midst of this view. It was a pretty nice fishing hole, both aesthetically and productively.
The river at times looked like it was boiling. The Pink Salmon swam near the surface of the Uganik River that runs through Kodiak Island heading upstream to spawn as the Kodiak Brown Bears feasted on them. The fish amassed at the edges, some failing to navigate off the rocks at the shoreline, others flailing about causing the water around them to froth and roil. Their dorsal fins poked just above the surface, creating a carpet of salmon that stretched across the water. This Kodiak Brown Bear stood in a deeper part of the river, gazing at the spectacle, seemingly unable to make a decision. “But, which one should I choose?” He might have been temporarily sated and was just resting for a moment, but to me, he looks utterly perplexed.
This Black-crowned Night Heron has become a regular at Angler’s Cove at the start of the Ferrari Pond Trail. On Monday, during my first walk over there in two weeks, the Black-crowned Night Heron and the Great Blue Heron were both standing on the spillway to greet me but I didn’t bring a camera because I was recharging batteries. And of course right after I passed them, a Red-shouldered Hawk flew in front of me, low across the trail and into an Oak Tree where he perched in perfect view while eating a frog or some other amphibious critter. I took a short iPhone video but quickly gave up, vowing to always have my camera with me. So, Tuesday morning, camera slung around my neck, when I arrived at Angler’s Cover just after sunrise, the GBH was absent and the Red-shouldered Hawk was not eating breakfast when I passed by the Oak Tree but the Black-crowned Night Heron was in a much better place on the rocks than he had been the day before. You gotta love those red eyes.
Young Kodiak Brown Bear siblings, like any young animal (including the human variety), good naturedly tussle and tumble with each other as they learn about the world around them. We encountered this pair on three different days on our recent visit to Rohrer Bear Camp on Kodiak Island. They would suddenly appear, only the upper half of their bodies visible in the tall sedge and other dying grasses, embracing in real bear hugs. Just as suddenly, they would disappear in the grasses, to catch their breath between tussles, appearing again a few yards away. It was almost as if they were showing off for us, making sure they were putting on a good show that we would notice, just like every kid does.
The rocky shores along the Uganik River on Kodiak Island were strewn with dead and dying Pink Salmon after they migrated upstream to spawn. The Kodiak Brown Bears, of course, kept a watchful eye on the salmon supply as did the hundreds of gulls that crowded the shoreline. But the Bald Eagles had the best view, high up in the trees. They would occasionally land in the midst of the gulls but they seemed more comfortable perched on a branch, surveying the situation.
This past week in the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge, we watched a Kodiak Brown Bear climbing deftly over the rocks at the edge of the Uganik River in search of salmon for its next meal as we drifted by in our boat. He (I don’t know if this is a male or female) stopped mid stride to watch us pass. I love this image because of the goofy position of his left rear leg still resting on the rock behind him.. He held it there for several seconds before continuing on. It’s one of my favorites from that first outing a few hours after we arrived at Rohrer Bear Camp.
Tuuli, Jeanne’s Karelian Bear Dog, arrives at camp with Jeanne at the helm. The bow ramp makes the perfect place for Tuuli, with the wind in her face (her name means “wind” in Finnish) and nothing to obstruct her view. Jeanne and Tuuli live in the next cove over from Rohrer Bear Camp and usually walk over but this day, they decided to arrive by landing craft, Kodiak style.
Spawning Pink Salmon, familiarly called “Humpies,” attracts Kodiak Brown Bears to the Uganik River in Kodiak, Alaska this time of year. A male Kodiak Brown watches as a Humpie splashes in the water in front of him. He looks as if he’s deciding whether it’s worth the effort to chase it. Thousands of these fish fill the water, and in shallow areas, their dorsal fins protrude from the water in such numbers that you think you might walk across the river on their backs. In the deeper parts of the river, the fish jump out flipping in the air and making great splashes in the water. Apparently, the splash from this Humpie was not enough to entice the bear to pursue. After hesitating for a short time, the bear turned and walked the opposite direction up the river, without having yet caught his next meal.
“I can’t believe I ate the whole thing!” A Kodiak Brown Bear, sated from consuming vast amounts of spawning pink salmon followed by a salad of nutritious sedge, waddled across the ridge and plunked down in a clearing of trampled grasses. As I watched, she rubbed her forehead in a gesture reminiscent of the old Alka Seltzer commercials.
You can’t call an Uber to get to Rohrer Bear Camp on Kodiak Island in Alaska, but you can call Kodiak Air Service! Willy Fulton, owner of Kodiak Air Service, pilots a de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver float plane that carries bear enthusiasts to camp. I photographed Willy and his Beaver as they took off from the Kodiak Seaplane Base headed to bear camp on Saturday with the first four members of our group.
A pair of Kodiak Brown Bear siblings played along the Uganik River yesterday afternoon in an absolutely delightful display to watch. They would tussle and pretend to bite and pretend to slap each other, rolling over and disappearing in the tall grasses only to reappear a few yards down, heads popping up briefly above the grass. To put it in human sibling rivalry terms, one was saying to the other, “Mom likes you best.”
Welcome back! That’s what I’d like to think this Kodiak Brown Bear was saying to us as we drifted by while she munched on Pink Salmon that were dying after spawning in the Uganik River. We took boat ride up the Uganik River after dinner last night and she was the first bear we encountered, up close and personal. I’m thrilled to be back!
Walking home from dinner in Kodiak last evening, the dock at St. Paul Harbor caught our attention. I didn’t have a camera with me so I went back to my room and got my Z8 and Z24-120 and walked back down to the harbor. By this time, there was a bit more color in the sky with gorgeous reflections of the clouds in the still water. Today, we’re flying to Rohrer Bear Camp in the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. Soon I will be featuring more than landscape here. Stay tuned.
On April 24, 2025, at 6:26 AM, I was walking at Ferrari Pond near where I live with my Nikon Z9 and Z600f/6.3 lens with the 2X teleconverter attached. The pond is surrounded by grasses and I liked how the grasses looked as the sun rose behind them visible through a sliver of clear sky under dense clouds so I took some shots. With a mirrorless camera, you’re not looking directly at the sun through the viewfinder so you’re not damaging your retina as you shoot. After taking a few shots, I focused on the sun instead of the grasses but I thought the sun looked blown out so I went back to shooting the grasses. I didn’t like any of the shots I got so none ever saw the light of day but yesterday, I ran across the RAW files I’d taken and discovered that the sun was not blown out when I focused on it. There were some wispy clouds visible across the front and spots on the sun. Spots? Sun spots? Really? Sun spots are visible through a regular camera? The spots appear in the upper right quadrant of the sun. A quick Google search revealed that in late April, sun spot number AR 4079 became visible on the sun’s surface and I inadvertently captured it. The spots are huge. Planet Earth would fit into one of the spots. This is not a spectacular shot by any means but I was so astounded that I actually photographed sun spots that I had to share. According to an article I saw about it, the spots were visible using the special solar eclipse glasses that we all had during the last solar eclipse. Who knew sun spots could be photographed?
Mount Moran is almost completely obscured by clouds just after sunrise at Oxbow Bend on the Snake River in Grand Teton National Park in October 2018. The trees show off their fall colors despite the clouds. I’m looking forward to returning the Tetons next fall.
Every morning I walk past the Tenth Hole of the Lincoln Hills Golf Course on my way to the Ferrari Pond Trail at Ingram Slough. It is rare to have clouds this time of year but recent days have brought clouds, some rain and lightning strikes which have sparked quite a few wild fires in the surrounding area. Yesterday morning, I started too late to see the color in the sunrise but the clouds and the God beams were enough for me to stop on the sidewalk to appreciate the view. I decided a black and white rendering enhanced the clouds and the God beams.
At just 140 pounds, Samson (what an appropriate name!) is still growing. He’s a two-year old Great Pyrenees. And, what a cutie he is. He seemed to love the attention he got as he sauntered along Ferrari Pond Trail but he is just visiting here with his owner (whose name I forgot to ask).