onekoolkid0's Favorites

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On the last day of a Big Year, but with me unaware at the time, one final life species appears. And it's a big one! Many thanks to @caiawatha for helping make this one happen. A really special observation to me.

I believe the wolverine appears at 01:58am, but then kindly reappears for better pics midday 13:15-13:30.

The camera also caught a wolverine on January 3 and January 17.

So a rare find indeed and at the grocery store 🏬 parking lot. Pretty sure this is albino considering the pink legs and white beak. Though hard to see if red existed in the eyes 👀 so maybe strong leusistic (sp)?

Nicaragua 🇳🇮 birding trip December, 2012. This was special as reported from lodge staff, this male measured 20ft long and estimated age of 125old at the time of this observation. It was so unique, we learned National Geographic made a 15-20mins film 🎞️ 🎥 to put in one of their episodes.

North American Elm Sawfly🤷‍♂️🤷‍♂️? That seems off. Anyway, I have never seen a flying insect like this. It’s big and when flying the rear legs drag low. Not sure that helps but it is a characteristic worth mentioning.

Probably my favorite interaction for this awesome and lengthy outing. Started at 9:00 🕘AM and lasted to 4:45PM with a 45minute break for refueling. The cool 😎 thing about that it enjoyed sunning on my thumb few minutes later and on my forearm. Could not get a pick of that since it took off having warmed itself up appropriately. Sure my body heat helped as well😂.

Two yearlings and mother brown bear encountered on Skilak Loop road. They moved upward, but remained visible in the trees, traveling parallel to the roadway and away from me. I'm grateful to the bear for showing itself and its cubs to me.

Solo otter with a trout. It brought it out on the ice alive and flopping, and then ate the head. It took the rest and presumably cached it somewhere under the ice.

Part One: https://youtu.be/alMgaDzHCxs

Part Two: https://youtu.be/pGmg3PjraWI

One of my top observations for 2day. We have had so much snow ❄️ that the low la da are more than saturated. So this individual popped its head up looking 👀 at me and I was on the bike trail. Just like that it dove and disappeared. The only mammal of the day so far.

Interesting 🧐. I figured this to be an unusually colored Bald Eagle. Almost leucitic. Was large. I almost thought 💭 a Golden based on the spotting pattern. However, these are dark and goldens are white. Anyway, a gorgeous bird nonetheless.

Definitely Sandhills as I heard there unique sound. This was a flyover while walking Kincaid Park. I thought the pic turned out better then when I took it to my surprise. They were using thermals and gaining elevation.

I took this shot cuz it reminded me of delphiniums my family had while growing up. They were alway a favorite of mine because of their perennial value and knew Alaska had wild ones and this was my first encounter with them. How exciting! Took me 37 yrs to find my first wild one. They were everywhere on Pioneer.

One of the healthiest and big individuals of this species I’ve seen at West Chester. I know it as a rainbow based on the leopard spotting on the back and caught a quick glance of the blush cheek spot. It was at the outlet of the lagoon waiting for the salmon smolt to make their way out to the saltwater.

Most unusual. From my research, I learned that one species is endemic to North America and enjoys northern latitudes such as here in Anchorage. This is that species and fascinating about the color as a defense from predation. My example was yellow and black, the more dominant form. Anyway, since I began this journey in nature and joined iNat, I’m amazed at the variety of Lepidoptera that exists here.

Pretty sure this is a new species for me. In fact it’s the very first time for me. The large black shoulder area caught my eye realizing it was not the Canada version. It cooperated nicely as I made several attempts to get it with the wings flattened but to no avail.

This local marsh is wonderful for the swallow action. Over the years they have become quite acclimated by the human visitors. Took several shots of a few specimen but this was my best shot and it shows the metallic beautiful greed. The swallow do a very good job managing the pesky mosquito and fly population in check:)

Considering the habitat and the game bird behavior of ground loving you can see it is a qual. To further narrow it down you can see the question mark extension from the forehead. Though the lighting wasn’t good, through my binoculars I witnessed the rufous cap and the lightning strike like lines bolting through the brick colored wings. Watching them was a pleasure though quite skittish understandably so.

For whatever reasons, this bird fascinates me. Part of that is because it is in the cuckoo family yet is ground loving. A skilled hunter as well. But it is legendary because of the cartoon based on this species. It can run fast as well. I like this pic best as the crest is exposed and fairly clear. Also quite common as they were seen very regularly.

One of the common mammals seen at the refuge. The was the best shot I could get but I think good enough for ID. We saw them almost daily in low numbers but never tired seeing them. Plus for Alaskans during winter the variety was nice.

This is probably my favorite of all cacti. It’s large, unique and well known. There are protective areas and a National Park of them. Anyway, I learned that the first extension out of the vertical trunk does not happen until it is 50 years old. Amazing.

My best example of the 2nd species caught on the river today. Notice the spotting differences as well as having finer scales. Both are very common in the Kenai River. This specimen was around 12 inches in length.