As a preface, most people can’t believe how many eagles are in one location… this is untouched footage, no video trickery:) This video was made on a typical morning shoot in Jean Keene’s yard, back in 2007, shot from a point and shoot camera in movie mode. The person with their back to Tim in the opening clip is Jean, as she preps and tosses fish over the wall. I have been in her yard when there have been easily twice this number of Bald Eagles at one time… and yes, they do get that close. Closer at times, I’ve seen them land on abandoned tripods, cameras, and even the occasional human head! This is usually accompanied by a muffled, “Hoooooly, sh!t” It’s a quick clip, but fun. Favorite part? When Tim says, “Too bad there’s not enough eagles here…”
As a side note, Jean usually fed 500 lbs of fish to the eagles, each day. Around 40,000 lbs throughout a winter. Quite a women.
Last night I checked the weather. The forecast was for mostly sunny skies in the a.m. – I should have learned by now, the weather people can’t “forecast” what happened yesterday! Oh well… I awoke to my alarm at 5 am and got showered and packed for the morning ahead, out the door in 20 minutes (I’ve got this down to a science now). Stepped outside… rain. Go figure. Oh well, make the best of it. I’ve found that good things can happen with low expectations. I drove north east on the Glenn Highway towards the Matanuska Glacier, heading for one of my new favorite locations, Bonnie Lake. It rained the whole 45 minute drive, and was still lightly sprinkling as I stepped out of my car in the small parking area directly above the lake. The air was still, the water like glass – not a sound. It was still dark, but I could faintly see a low fog over the lake and through the valleys. It was chilly, so I got back in my car and waited. The “sunrise” never came – it was too overcast, and although the rain had ended, I could still feel a damp chill in the air. Once there was more light, I walked down to the dock and looked around. Suddenly the silence was broken by a sound so haunting, it can only be compared to the howl of a wolf, or the call of a loon. But this was no loon, or any wolf. From far across the lake came the sound of trumpeter swans conversing. They sounded very much like a band warming up for a rehearsal. But their call came clear from the north end of the lake, quickly echoing off the sheer rock cliffs and mountains around the lake. It was amazing. I made a video of one of their “sessions”. Now, I’m no cinematographer… so go easy on me. The video itself is nothing special, and the audio was captured using the standard mic on a small point and shoot. I’ve attempted to amplify the natural sounds, but you may still wish to turn your volume up to hear it well. These are the same swans I saw last week, 2 adults and 5 cygnets.
And here’s an image from a little later on this morning, I think it’s a spruce grouse. There were 5 grouse along the road leading into the Bonnie Lake area. They were eating gravel to aid in digestion and allowed me to get within 5 yards or so before flying off into the tree tops nearby.
Saturday was an amazing day. Tim and I drove to Homer the night before, arriving in the early hours of the morning. At 8:15 we met our guides & fellow travelers at the float plane dock of Emerald Air Service, on Beluga Lake. I’ve travelled with Ken and Chris Day before – they offer an incredible bear viewing service, travelling to the Katmai Coast throughout summer, and deeper into Katmai in the fall. Ken is a consummate pilot, and also guides during the fall. Chris (his wife) is also a renowned bear guide, and she has nearly 25 years of experience in Katmai. This dynamic duo consistently put photographers and bear viewers alike in safe situations near bears – how near? Well, keep reading! As Ken preflighted the plane, Chris gave us a safety briefing and a detailed bear etiquette discussion. I’ve been through this briefing several times now, and she does an excellent job preparing you for the day ahead. Nothing is left to chance with Emerald Air, they take care of your every need each step of the way. They don’t skimp on adventure either, and the sights you see are immense and awe-inspiring. I can’t recommend their service enough. We took off around 9 am, and quickly made our way over the absolutely glass-like seas of Kachemak Bay and the Shelikof Strait. Then we approached the Katmai Coast, approaching from Cape Douglas, passing Mount Douglas, Fourpeaked Mountain, Swikshak Bay and finally into Hallo Bay. We landed gently on the ocean and taxied closer to shore. Finally, we waded through the North Pacific Ocean to the shore in our hip waders. It was a beautiful day, with a slight breeze coming in off the ocean and slightly overcast skies (good shooting weather). Right on the shore, not far away, we saw a good omen. I’ve often thought of bald eagles as good luck, and right there were 2 of them, perched on drift wood. We prepped for the hike to come and set off, quickly sighting bears not too far off, and a few red fox (mother and kits) near their den. We photographed the mother fox as it approached us without fear, then skirted around us, leisurely poking in the driftwood and nearly oblivious to our presence. We moved on to photograph a few bears in some mud flats as they interacted and dug for clams. Further along we found ourselves being paralled by a large grazing male brown bear; he stuck close by as we photographed him and our group become more relaxed in the presence of these giants. All along, Chris pointed out fascinating facts regarding the bears, their diet, wildflowers, and other wildlife. Everything was amazing, and we soaked it all in. Soon, it was lunch, and we all sat on a group of driftwood in a lush meadow to share our lunchtime with 8 bear. After lunch we moved off into the meadows bathed in brilliant green sedge grasses, carefully stepping over and around bear scat (some people less successfully than others). We stopped frequently to photograph to our hearts content, and the opportunities kept improving every minute. In the mid-afternoon we approached a beautiful blonde female bear named “Peaches”. We stopped about 15 yards away and sat quietly, the frequent click of shutters the only human sound. Peaches was a bear that Chris was very familiar with, and the beautiful animal continued to graze lazily in our presence. She would nibble on grass as she walked, rarely lifting her head – so intent on her meal. Then she moved closer, and closer, and closer! I was on the far right side of our group, Tim to my left, and Chris (with the rest of the group) just beyond. Peaches kept meadering closer, and then – here she was – less than 2 feet away from me! Her coat shimmered in the soft light, her breathing easy, her eyes sparkling. I could hear several things: the soft chomping of her jaws on the grass, Tim’s fast camera blazing away at high speed (capturing every moment), a quite whisper from the group “Oh my god…“, and my beating heart. This was an amazing moment – it seemed to last forever, but was over all too quick. When she got closer (which the group agreed was about 18 inches from me), Chris slowly walked forward and said softly, “Ok Peaches, that’s close enough”. And Peaches just moved on, slowly continuing around my right side and away from our group.
Image copyright Tim Smith/Sixtyone North 2008
I’ve been inches from bald eagles and just feet from dall sheep. But this was, by far, the most incredible experience of my photographic career. Absolutely amazing. I can’t admit to being totally fearless during the encounter – this was a first. But I wasn’t shaking from fear, just pure excitement and joy at such a gift. A gift that would not have been possible without Chris’s expertise with these beautiful creatures.
But this was not the end of our day. We moved to photograph a few bears not far away. One bear was rolling lazily in the grass, frequently on it’s back scratching it’s belly, one rear paw in the air. Soon afterwards we watched (and of course photographed) another bear on the edge of a shallow stream laying down with its fierce looking paw beneath its chin. On the way back to the plane we encountered a lone young bear with a bit of an attitude. He quickly strode towards us, only a few steps, but Chris quickly put it in its place. Not with a word, or by clapping her hands (which she was preparing to do), but just by her pose. Dominant for such a tiny woman, she stood directly in front of our group and the bear quickly stopped and moved on. Amazing strength and knowledge.
Soon we were back to the beach, the tide quickly moving out. Ken brought the plane in as close as he could without running the pantoons into the mud. We waded out to him, water cresting our hip waders and quickly filling them with the cold North Pacific Ocean. As crazy as it sounds, it was the perfect end to an incredible day. I wouldn’t change a thing, except to maybe have stayed out there for several more days:)
Another BIG thankyou to Ken for an amazing flightseeing trip over and back, and Chris for keeping us safe and showing us once again that, when you look into a bears eyes – you glimpse eternity.
