On The Fly Catching this Atlantic Puffin on the fly as it hurtled through the Svalbard air space was both challenging and fun. The foot-long, fast-moving feathered fury is capable of flight speeds near 50mph as it zips to and from its shadowy cliffside roost and the salty sea. ~ Anecdote and Atlantic Puffin capture, On The Fly © Jerry L. Ferrara
This is part two, a continuation from the previous story, Assault. The Misappropriated Meal From the towering cliffside area it was hunting, the Arctic Fox paused purposefully and gazed toward the sea. Hearing the raucous clamor developing from that direction, the canny canid bolted toward the sounds of death. Within seconds it reached the spot where the Glaucous Gull had just delivered its coup de grâce to the Black-legged Kittiwake. The gull, spying the approaching fox, quickly moved its dispatched victim back into the water in an attempt to foil the fox’s intentions. It was to no avail, though, for the fox continued its pursuit and entered the icy water. Losing its nerve, the gull flew off giving the swimming fox the misappropriated meal. ~ Anecdote and Arctic Fox and Black-legged Kittiwake capture, The Misappropriated Meal © Jerry L. Ferrara. Svalbard, Norway
This is a two-part story, the first installment appearing today: Assault We were cruising in the zodiac when a large Glaucous Gull attacked a much smaller juvenile Black-legged Kittiwake overhead in midair. The action came without warning and was as fast as it was frenzied making photographic acquisition of the action, framing and tracking it challenging, especially from the moving boat. Mortally injured, the Kittiwake plummeted to the water’s surface where the Glaucous Gull followed in vicious pursuit seizing its prey and dragging it to shore. Once there, the predator continued its assault until the murder was consummated. What happened next was as stunning as what had just occurred. STAY TUNED for part two, The Misappropriated Meal. ~ Anecdote and Glaucous Gull and Black-legged Kittiwake capture, Assault © Jerry L. Ferrara, Svalbard, Norway
A Bodacious Behemoth While sitting quietly near a Norwegian shoreline, the head of an Atlantic Walrus suddenly popped above the water’s surface and into view. Slowly the curious creature came forward revealing its immense size, enormous tusks and mustachioed lip. It was a bodacious behemoth. ~ Anecdote and Atlantic Walrus capture, A Bodacious Behemoth © Jerry L. Ferrara
Late Light on an Icy Shelf 7:14PM. 9/7/22. 79° 15′ 30″ N by 22° 52′ 25.776″ E. Bråsvellbreen, Spitsbergen region of the Svalbard Archipelago, Norway. ~ Capture, Late Light on an Icy Shelf © Jerry L. Ferrara
A Gentle Sparring Moment Softly swirl did the airy flakes of snow as the amply-antlered bull Svalbard Reindeer casually approached a nearby member of the herd. What he instigated next was a gentle sparring moment. It was not a “battle royal” for social position. That had already come to fruition. Instead, the perpetrator simply was exerting and reinforcing his dominance. ~ Anecdote and Svalbard Reindeer capture, A Gentle Sparring Moment © Jerry L. Ferrara, Spitsbergen, Norway.
Coming Soon Coming soon to nearby Autumn mountain meadows … the eerie challenges of Rocky Mountain bull Elk. It is one of Nature’s most alluring sounds. ~ Anecdote and Rocky Mountain Elk capture, Coming Soon © Jerry L. Ferrara
The Towers A rapturous eye May gaze up to the sky Where The Towers reach high While the heavens comply ~ Poem and The Towers capture, The Towers © Jerry L. Ferrara, Torres del Paine National Park, Chile
A Shade of Dusty Rose As the Belt of Venus infused the evening firmament with a shade of dusty rose, a flock of Red-crowned Cranes sail to roost. ~ Anecdote and Red-crowned Cranes capture, A Shade of Dusty Rose © Jerry L. Ferrara
Dances With Fish Fleeting, ephemeral and transitory instances in Nature are thrilling to witness. Vision, however, is often challenged. To capture all of the precise aspects of an ephemeral moment with the eye alone is nearly impossible. An example of this is proffered here. A resplendent Bald Eagle is caught in a trice as it is about to seize a Kokanee Salmon. At the same time, the eagle’s watery likeness impersonates the predator’s reality. The bird and its “apparent partner” seem to be dancing around a precise locus, a pivot at a point in the prance where real and reflected are both in rhythmic lockstep, tripping the light fantastic in concert as they perform dances with fish … and the camera captured an elusive part of the deed in a wink of the eye. ~ Anecdote and Bald Eagle capture, Dances With Fish © Jerry L. Ferrara