I think of Bald Eagles in two ways, that comes from all my experiences with them. Back in the day in Homer on a -10 February morning, or up on the Haines River in early winter, you see the Bald Eagle in what we affectionately called, “snow pigeon” mode. This is when despite there being tons of food about, they only want the food that’s in the talons of their neighbors and go to great lengths to take it from their clutches. The other mode and the one I enjoy so much, is when they are masters of the skies!

I had the rare opportunity a few weeks back to spend an hour or so with some that were actively fishing. This pair put on one helluva a show as they would come in, bank and do a 180 so they could use the wind to stall their flight providing for flap maneuverability and then at the last moment, lower them talons and grab the fish (or attempt to) to then tuck it up under their tail and go. To say they smoked me more than once as I was panning is an understatement. I would lose them because they had done an about-face in midflight, me panning one direction and them flying off in another. There were a couple of times though that the wind, light, and flight direction lined up and I could follow them down the water’s surface and watch the intensity in their glorious flight. And it seemed as quickly as we started shooting them, they were gone and the action was over. It was just a thrill though if for only a moment to be amongst them and watch them at their best being master of the sky!

There always seems to be some sort of magic in nature just before the sun comes up. The magic can be incredibly grand and expected or a total surprise. But some of the best are the small things, the moments in nature that reaches out and touches your soul. That was our experience a week back in the Badlands of South Dakota.

We had seen the normal groups of Rocky Mtn Bighorn Sheep along the rim, not a surprise for the time of year. I had told my friends to look for lambs as they drop them at this time (drop as in give birth). We stopped a couple of times to watch the ewes but no lambs insight. The Badlands is a great place for the Sheep as they can in a flash escape into its many ledges, canyons, and crevices. We kept on wiggling down the road photographing the spectacular landscape and critters but no lambs. But it was still early.

We were rounding the bend near the south end of the road. It was a locale I had photographed sheep before so I took my eyes off the road and looked over my shoulder. There were two ewes lying on the ridge. Knowing a little about their biology, I pulled over on the other side of the road and slowly walked back to see what was up. That’s when the magic of morning kissed our day!

Lying tightly up against their moms and not visible from the road were two newborn lambs. One still had its umbilical cord attached (though dry) so it was just heartbeats away from first wandering this planet. Well, we slowly, quietly set up to watch life unfold. For the next hour, I watched in amazement through the D6 / 180-400VR the lambs start to explore their new world.

The “oldest” of the two was full of wonder and one of the first things to greet it this morning was a group of Grackles on the ridge. It was not sure about them at all! It kept looking back at the ewe as to get some sort of reassurance that it was OK. Every time the birds moved, the lamb stopped dead in its tracks until finally, they flew off and its attention went elsewhere. When we last saw the two lambs, they had just finished running back up the sheer slope they had just run down, disappearing with the ewes over the top. Not before jumping and playing on that sheer slope that appeared near vertical to us. But to them, just a big playground to express their new found energies and footing. I’m grateful the once again Mother Nature had magic this morning to share with us, newborn lambs just a few heartbeats later.

Where the Uganik River empties into the bay are vast coastal sedge grass flats. When you fly over or cruise the coast in a boat, the vast green comes crashing down the mountains emptying into the bay except where the river empties. Centuries of times have brought down the sediment creating a fertile landscape supporting a vast garden of Eden of grasses that grows as tall as your head. It’s in this forest the giants come to forage like cattle, fattening in early spring on this lush garden. They bring their young, they find new mates and they start their summer amongst the flats. This is where we spent a week amongst the Kodiak Browns.

Kodiak Browns are recognized as different from those you might find on Alaska’s mainland or Yellowstone. The one thing that makes them different is, they are the giants! A large mainland Griz would be the smallest Kodiak Brown. This size thing is what makes them the scariest of all the bears to folks. This fear comes from misinformation and myth and not the reality of being with them. Yes, you surprise a Kodiak Brown just like any Griz, they will run you over, and then after you are there flattened, badly hurt, do they turn around to see what they just ran over. So DON’T surprise a bear. Simple. That’s how we spent the week amongst them!

The vast beauty of Kodiak Island is the stunning backdrop for our Brown experience! We boated up from the rustic Bear Camp (no electricity, no running water, no internet :-) ) in shallow bottom craft permitting us to access up the river at high tide. We traveled into the sedge flats by boat about a mile passing Browns, some with cubs, as they fed, slept, doing that bear thing. We would put in and wearing hip boots, get out and then wait, watch, and revel in it all! I shot the whole time with the D6 / 180-400VR w/TC-14eIII. I used the length not because we needed to keep our distance from the Browns but because the water world of the sedge flat didn’t permit us to travel just anywhere we wanted.

It’s really pretty simple, you plant yourself and let the Browns do their thing. When done correctly, they “accept” you as part of the landscape so they eventually come to you. That’s what they did over and over again. We had at least twenty-two individual bears surrounding and amongst us during the week. One, the 700lbs 6 year old female you see here in these images was by far our favorite. She invited us into her world over and over again as she ate, shit, slept, and played about the grasses as only a Brown of that size can.

The grasses were only about 2-3 feet tall at the time of our Adventure so it was safe to be out in them. Once they got taller, being on the sedge flats is very dangerous. Remember, DON’T surprise a bear! This female would eat to its heart content and then as all bears do, fall asleep in the sun. They are the perfect couch potato with really only one thing on their mind, get fat and go to sleep in the winter.

As you go through the images you will see one image where just the very top of her head is visible and the next, you can see all 700lbs of her. One aspect of the Browns that amazes folks is how this large animal can disappear in literally no cover. This fact alone is why you DON’T chase after bears but let them approach on their own account. It means you need to be where they like to hang and then hang yourself. You might spend hours upon hours standing in the sun or rain or wind waiting, watching. You might not take any photos or a couple thousand in a matter of minutes. It means you have to love simply being in their world, amongst them knowing that at some point, they will be right with you.

You will see some images with LOTS of Brown in the frame. That’s from those moments, which were many, that they came right up to use. No, I carry no spray, no gun, just decades of experiences being amongst them keeping me safe. This female came as close as fifty feet a number of times while she fed. There was not once a tinig of fear only admiration and awe. I know of or have experienced nothing in this world like time with the Browns!

There are 16 images here, click on arrow to view them all. You can see a larger collection of images from our Adventure on my Portfolio Pages.