Puffin

I don't do much wild life photography, mainly because it seems to take too much patience. It also helps if you have a really big lens, and I don't.But sometimes I get lucky as in this photo. We were visiting our son Jon in Sitka, Alaska and he had taken us in the company boat to see the flora and fauna of a few nearby islands. We don't have puffins in South Dakota so I felt lucky to be close enough to a few to get some photos. I took 10 or so photos but this is my favorite because it does a good job of showing the flared wing tips and the excellent aerodynamics of neatly tucked legs and feet.

03-11-10 Wildlife

The only wildlife I seem to photograph is captive, such as the butterflies I've posted. And now a lumbering brown bear, on display at a zoo a few miles south of Sitka, Alaska, named "The Fortress of the Bear." This young bear is one of two at the compound. They were orphaned after their mother had to be be destroyed. The crime the mom had committed was that she had made her way into the kitchen of a resort. Once a bear has tasted peanut butter and jelly, she is less inclined to eat berries and salmon. And before you know it, they'll be back in your kitchen. Here's another view. (click)