All My Blogs

A pair of sea otters floating blissfully on their backs.  Alaska. I have seen sea otters a few times - certainly at the Vancouver Aquarium and in the wild earlier this year while visiting Victoria, BC.  But this was the first time I got a good look at them in the wild, especially with them floating on their backs in their peculiar manner. Sea otters are remarkably important creatures in marine ecosystems.  We think of their cute fuzziness and clam-pounding exploits as humerous and endearing, but what we don't realize is the important role they play where they live - or used to live.  You see, sea otters have especially dense fur that was sought after by fur hunters of the day.  Overhunting caused populations to plummet, which led to an unsettling occurrence.  The death of kelp beds. Kelp beds are important habitats for many marine creatures.  Besides providing oxygen and food, the beds provide thick hiding places for fish.  Like coral reefs, the t...

Left:  Short-billed dowitcher I photographed in Anchorage, Alaska. Right:  Long-billed dowitcher I photographed in Red Deer, Alberta. I like shorebirds.  Their diversity, sounds, and remarkable body adaptations have always enthralled me.  I was on a shoreline walk while visiting Anchorage, Alaska some two weeks ago and came across this short-billed dowitcher.  This begs the question, "Are you sure it is the short-billed version and not the long-billed version?" I am sure that the measurements can be argued due to differences in body position, body fat, and other parameters that I never took into account.  However, the short-billed dowitcher seems to indeed have a shorter bill than its long-billed cousin.  Not that you could easily measure such a thing in the wild to help with identification.  I also looked at Cornell Labs' All About Birds website for the comparison of the two species and find that my conclusions seem appropriate (click here to se...

Photographed on the Noordam while on our Alaska cruise. This bird is described as "unassuming" by Cornell Lab's "All About Birds" website, and they are not kidding.  A very dull, gray bird without any unusual features or aspects about it that really stand out.  The most prominent quality I can pick out is their bill, which doesn't help much with identification from a distance.  To me, it looked like an immature gull. I have never seen shearwaters before.  They seemed very comfortable being in the middle of nowhere on the ocean, riding the waves.  There was a group of them that were floating as the ship appeared and passed by.  This caused them to launch easily from the water and move away from the large passing monstrosity.  I took the above photo while ashore visiting Anchorage.  I imagine the birds would be heading south soon. They fly more than the distance of once around the Earth at the equator each year, covering about 60,000 km.  On a...

Dave and his daughter on her wedding day.   There are many words I would use to describe Dave, but the top ones would be honest, giving, kind, and family-orientated.  He is a Christian, not one that associates with that term loosely, but rather one who is truly committed to its deepest meaning.  He is knowledgeable about many things and is constantly increasing his knowledge base through his reading and program watching.  And, if that weren't all enough for a human being to be, he also plays cards (and wins - he beats me regularly). It has been my good fortune to have known Dave for over 35 years now.  During that time, I have watched him face many challenges that Life has thrown at him.  It has never been easy for him and he has faced each one with both faith and determination.  I know the pain each event has caused him and have done my best to support him during those trying times.  That's because we're friends - good friends. Likewise, Dave has...

I photographed this from our cabin balcony on the cruise ship. Yes, it's an osprey.  But my previous post on this bird was for a peregrine falcon.  That's on me, I was clearly mistaken, and some of you pointed that out to me.  Thanks. I guess I get excited when I see something like this.  Open ocean, nothing around but a few other birds using the ship as a moving landmass, and this great predatory beast cruising around the vessel in circles.  I should have known straight off that it was an osprey, but I was hoping it would be something else, maybe something exciting. And so I pulled out my bird book (yes, I brought my bird book with me on the cruise) and went through trying to identify it.  I saw a subspecies of the peregrine falcon and, for some reason, decided that was it and claimed my find.  To make matters worse, I posted my claim, complete with photo, on Facebook and was soon humbled by my rather massive error. The up side to the whole thing in t...

Eric and Kathryn in Valdez, Alaska It was a family thing.  We celebrated the lives of Kathryn's mom and dad while on the Noordam , a cruise ship of Holland America.  Kathryn and her siblings released their parents' ashes into the sea in what was an emotional farewell.  The rest of the time on the two week sojourn was spent visiting, dining, and enjoying shore trips together. I say "dining" because I seemed to have found the ten pounds that I lost earlier this year.  Morning and evening meals were collectively taken in the dining area where my normal 15 minute meals turned into an hour and a half of culinary experiences.  The time was well spent though as the ten of us (5 siblings and their partners) had a rare opportunity to visit. It was a good chance for me to do some photography, although the weather wasn't particularly helpful in that manner.  I did get some good photos of some birds and mammals and even saw a few whales on the trip.  Viewing the g...

The Noordam (bottom right) leaves for Alaska on Sunday, September 14, on 2 week cruise. Kathryn's immediate family (brothers and sisters) are celebrating their parents' lives by taking a cruise together.  Her parents, the now deceased Clara and James, will have their ashes spread into the ocean as a nod towards one of their favourite activities - cruising.  The destination is not random; Alaska was a fond and oft repeated destination for them. There will be ten of us, the five brothers and sisters and spouses.  Everyone being sexagenarians or older, the on-board activities will be limited to dining, walking, visiting, watching shows, and hopefully playing cards.  There are 8 ports of call where we will be engaging in three excursions.  Other onshore activities will involve taking in the vistas and, for me, anyways, taking photos.  I hope to get photos of creatures and places I have never seen before. I am concerned about the weather - rain is forecast -...