Coastal Brown Bears of Alaska

Coastal Brown Bear with a Salmon

I am working on a program about the Coastal Brown Bears of Alaska.  This program will be available after 1 April for presentation to camera clubs, libraries, or any other organization that would be interested.  Now there are some locations to see coastal brown bears in Alaska.  My presentation will do with Lake Clark National Park and Silver Salmon Creek Lodge.  Silver Salmon Creek Lodge is the location;  I spent photographing the bears.  There are a large number of tour operators that offer photographic trips to this Silver Salmon Creek Lodge.  When my group was there, three other photography groups were photographing.

Our Group at Breakfast

The usual itinerary has you arriving the day before and to Anchorage, Alaska, and then the next morning you will assemble for a plane ride to the Lodge. The planes land on the beach by the lodge and need to arrive there at low tide. From the beach, you and your luggage a picked up, and the people from the lodge drive you up to the lodge.

On the Beach

We were greeted, assigned your rooms and given a lecture about the bears. Depending on the tides, you usually can get a chance to be out photographing the bears that day.  The lodge supplies you with waders.  With your camera gear, the group is driven out to where you can then walk to where the bears are located. Each group has their guide, who is there to keep you safe.  The guides know the habits of the bear and do have to listen to what they tell you.

Groups Photographing

The reason you must observe the tides because of the change in the heights of the tide.  In fact, when I was there we had the highest tides of the year, and there was a 25-foot difference between low tide and high tide.  At full high tide, the water came  almost right up to the lodge.

There are three delicious meals a day.  If you cannot be out photographing you can even photograph from the lodge since the bears will come right up and walk around the grounds.

The weather can be warm and sunny, cold and windy and heavy rain, so be prepared bring appropriate clothing and rain gear, both for you and your equipment.

Usually part of one day you take a boat trip up to the puffin island where you can photograph horned puffins, gulls, double-crested cormorants and possibly even a peregrine falcon.

Horned Puffin in flight

It is fun to watch the habits of the bears running in the water after salmon, Cubs playing with each other.  Glaucous-winged gulls are hovering around waiting for scraps and Eagles also feeding.

Sow and Cub

Cubs play fighting

Taking a Rest

Glaucous-winged Gull

 Landscapes are also nice to photograph.

Looking out at the Cook Inlet

Johnson River

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St. Paul Island, Pribilof Islands, Alaska

The Cliffs of St. Paul

I received an email yesterday from my my friend Joe describing his trip to St. Paul Island in the Pribilof's.  I have also visited St. Paul and found it to be at a very interesting location.  On reviewing my blogs, I found that I never wrote about it.  So here goes.

St. Paul island, which is the largest of the Pribilof Islands is located in the Bering Sea in between Alaska and Russia.  The the Pribilof Islands home to the largest population of northern fur seals.  In fact, the northern fur seals with the basis of a Walt Disney film titled "Seal Island.".  There is only one town on the island, St. Paul, which is home to the largest Aleut community in the United States.  Most of the island is owned by the TDX Corp., which is a shareholder owned Aleut Alaska native village, cooperation.  The island is also part of the Alaska Maritime national wildlife refuge.  There is one church on the island, Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church, which was built in 1907.  What brings visitors to the island is the vast number of birds that occur on the island, including many migrants from Eurasia.  It is the breeding grounds for millions of seabirds.

Saints Peter and Paul Russian Orthodox Church

Fishing boats in the harbor

Flying into the island or out of the island is very weather dependent.  At least when visited, there was no radar control on the island in the plane had to land by visual flight rules.  What makes it hard, is the large amount of summer fog that can be persistent.  In fact, the day we left it started out sunny and then by noon time.  The fog came in, and the plane was not able to arrive for almost 4 hours late.  What we were worried about was of the plane did not make it onto the island, we would miss our return flights home from Anchorage.  However, we did finally make it.

The first day we were there we were blessed even with a sunset.

Our only sunset

Otherwise, we dealt with fog, wind, and the most enjoyable photography.

Black-Legged Kittiwakes

Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch

Lapland Longspur

Rock Sandpiper

Northern Fulmar

Wandering Tatler

Horned Puffin

Black-legged Kittiwake

Tufted Puffin

Northern Fur Seal

Snow Bunting

Red-leg Kittiwake

Crested Auklet

Least Auklet

Pribilof Arctic Fox

Red-faced Cormorant

Parakeet Auklet

If you are a birder or a photographer than St. Paul is worth at least one trip.  There is only one hotel, one place to eat and nothing is pretentious.

Thoughts about Silver Salmon Creek Lodge and Greg Downing’s Photo Workshop

Today's blog will not show any bear pictures, but will give my thoughts about the trip.
First this is an outstanding trip, and I wish to thank Greg Downing for having organized it and led it. This is the third trip I have taken with Greg and they are all have been excellent. Greg has set up this workshop for next year and the information is available at http://www.naturescapes.net/docs/index.php/workshopdetail?ws_code=alaska_bears_2012. In fact if you sign up by November 1 you can get a $200 discount on the trip.
Our Group and new friends.

The location is on the Cook Inlet at Lake Clark National Park and you stay at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge

Fish mounts

Wood stove to help dry cloths and keep you warm

Communal Living Area



Bear Statue



Preparing Meals



Guide Rich and me

. The Lodge supplies everything that you need, excellent food with three squares a day, hip boots so you don't not get wet when you are walking through the water, which at times depending on the tide which can be up above your knees. The guides are outstanding also, they understand the bears and no what to do to keep you safe. You are transported to the areas we you will photograph by ATV and you are in a cart behind it with your equipment. Expect long days and they are well worth it.

This is the location where you can get up close and personal with the Coastal Brown Bears, without large numbers of people around and be safe.

Part of the trip is a boat ride out to see the tufted puffins and this of course is weather and sea determined.

The Lodge also has Salmon fishing available. If you want a trip of a lifetime consider Silver Salmon Creek Lodge and Greg Downing NatureScapes photo tours.

Alaska-Lake Clark National Park continued

After yesterday's windy and stormy day, Saturday arrived with a nice sunrise here at Silver Salmon Creek Lodge. I went out again and captured the sunrise and other photographers photographing it.
I also created a panoramic of the sunrise.
After breakfast, we traveled to Johnson River to see if we could find any bears there. No there were not any bears which was very unusual, however, found a nice Bald Eagle and some scenics to photograph.


Rest



"I caught a fish"



"Nothing like fresh salmon"



looking for more fish but would not drop the one it had

Bear Fight

We came back to the mouth of the Silver Salmon Creek where we again photographed the bears in various activities.
Here is a group of photographers photographing the bears.
I have taken a picture of a gull which while I was out doing the photography thought it was a Herring gull. On processing the picture, the gull turned out to have a completely black bill and no black on the tail feathers or the wings. After looking at my bird guides I believe this was a glaucous-winged gull, which I caught with his mouth wide open.

Sow with yearling cub

We finished up the day further inland on the Creek and obtain photographs of a bear in the grass and a different Sow Bear and its yearling cub.
Tomorrow, we will be flying out to return to Anchorage and our flights home, but if the weather is nice, will get up early and photograph the sunrise.