with Apex Expeditions, having just been asked to co-lead a two-week long itinerary exploring Iceland in the spring. Volcanoes and glaciers and stunning landscapes!
Here’s a full description of the tour: Apex Expeditions - Iceland in Spring 2022.
The trails are in excellent condition...
having now dried out from a wet spell in January.
History is being made...
at Boca Chica, Texas, also known as Starbase, where SpaceX has stacked the largest and most powerful rocket for an orbital test launch in the coming months. The booster and Starship seen here is taller than the Saturn V that heaved Apollo to the Moon, with more than twice the thrust and 100-150 tons of payload capacity. WOW.
Image credit: NASASpaceflight.com (click on image to enlarge).
Elon Musk is determined to make humans a multi-planetary species, and this is the launch system that will take us to the Moon and Mars. Learn more about Starship here.
Spring-like conditions bring out...
a Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) melodically claiming its territory with song.
Note the translucent nictitating membrane covering the eye in this image, the equivalent of a “blink.”
Aerial bullies...
chase a soaring raptor overhead this afternoon. This Red-tailed Hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) is being abused by several pesky Western Ravens (Corvus corax sinuatus) in the images below.
A scold of jays...
overwhelmed the feeding station this afternoon, with more than 50 in number. Here are just a few.
Pinyon Jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus).
Another successful bird strike...
by this pint-sized Northern Shrike. It’s quite the regular hunter at the feeding station these days but very difficult to photograph.
Northern Shrike (Lanius borealis) relaxing après-kill.
A couple bucks...
strolling along on a dusky walk.
Mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus).
'Tis the season...
for mass wasting events in the canyons. A local resident shares the image below, taken last night on UT 128, about a mile north of Dewey Bridge. It’s the geology of now!
Image credit: Cathy Sherwood.
A mezmerizing murmuration...
of Starlings is swarming about the valley. Just don’t look up with your mouth open.
Wolf Moon rising...
above the eastern skyline late this afternoon, the first full orb of the new year.
UPDATE: Tonight’s moonrise, Sunday, 16 January, shown below.
Portrait of a...
parking lot prankster. These huge and handsome and intelligent birds are highly entertaining and loads of fun to watch.
Western Raven (Corvus corax sinuatus).
Pro tip: Shoot these active characters near a dumpster!
Much too heavy...
for the hawk to lift and carry away, this raiding rodent is pigging out daily on bird seed. The cheek pouches appear to be at capacity in the image below.
Well fed rock squirrel (Otospermophilus variegatus). Click on image to embiggen.
A new predator...
is in the neighborhood, successfully grabbing a bird at the feeding station for brunch, but much too quickly for me to capture the kill. This poor image was taken shortly afterwards, in dim and drizzly conditions.
Immature Northern Shrike (Lanius borealis).
Today marks the centennial anniversary...
of the death of Sir Ernest Shackleton.
On the evening of 4 January 1922, as his ship - the Quest - lay anchored in the Grytviken harbor on South Georgia, he wrote his final thoughts in his diary: "A wonderful evening. In the darkening twilight I saw a lone star hover, gem like above the bay." Sadly, later that night, he succumbed to a heart attack and died in the place he loved most. RIP.
I used an astronomical charting program to determine, for that night in North Cumberland Bay on South Georgia, the star he likely saw was either Sirius or Canopus, the two brightest stars in the evening sky.
Icy reflection...
on the Colorado River.
The birdbath de-icer...
is huge hit with my feathered friends. The 120V-50W unit maintains access to water at temperatures well below freezing. Highly recommended!
The overnight low last night was 3° F (-16° C) but the water remained open, with a narrow icy shelf around the periphery of the metal basin.
A welcome flash of color...
at the window this morning. I hope they stick around.
Western Bluebird (Sialia mexicana).
New Year's Eve snowstorm...
created a lovely and frigid winter scene in Castle Valley, now being slowly revealed the morning after.
Baby it’s cold out here.
Good riddance to 2021...
and this pooping polar bear pretty much expresses how I feel about the past year. I’m hoping for a return to normality in 2022 but am not very optimistic.
Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) on Storøya, Svalbard archipelago, in 2017, unabashedly going about its business.