Ferrara Wildlife Photography

Black Tern – The Wind Dancer

The Wind Dancer Handsome and elegant come to mind when I see the Black Tern. Little creatures of freshwater marshes, their distinctive call is a harbinger of late spring. They arrive, breed, rear their young and just as suddenly as they appear, they vanish. Their journey takes them to the wetlands of Mexico and Central America for the winter. When I first tried capturing Black Terns as images, it proved a daunting task. Their flight patterns are anything but linear and predictable. Erratic is more the rule, or maybe an unchoreographed free-style dance would be a more fitting description. I caught this one in mid-ethereal flight as it danced across the wind. ~ Anecdote and Black Tern capture, The Wind Dancer © Jerry L. Ferrara

Sweep the Boreal Aurora Sky While the background for this shot may be reminiscent of those eerie, shadowy curtains of charged particles from the sun [the aurora borealis], it is in reality not the dramatic light show at all. What follows is the story behind the making of the image: Across the wide and watery chasm of the expansive bay, white-headed entities idled tree-bound in the deafening, hushed stillness while greeting the somber light of dawn. That same light, cast from the forest and smeared subtly onto the liquid surface, created ephemeral impressions, mirrored reflections, and muted hues … Nature the artist, the lake its immense canvas. In time, a solitary Bald Eagle launched from its lofty lookout. Over the pigmented fluid it glided low, the backdrop redolent of a Northern Lights array. Suddenly the eagle performed an astounding aerial maneuver … and “Sweep the Boreal Aurora Sky” came into existence. ~ Anecdote and Bald Eagle capture, Sweep the Boreal Aurora Sky from the book, Wild North Idaho: Photos and Reflections © Jerry L. Ferrara

Stare Down It was incredible! The female wolf from the Agate pack just kept coming toward me. I literally had to back up to focus as she proceeded into the lens. And then she finally acknowledged my presence, putting her nose down to the snow and staring briefly into my universe. That acknowledgement was from a kindred spirit. No threat or aggression. A simple avowal of recognition. She was beautiful! ~ Anecdote and Gray Wolf capture, Stare Down © Jerry L. Ferrara.

What Part Didn’t You Get? The impish look given by the juvenile Burrowing Owl was too much to resist. By sheer accident, I noticed the bird was attracted to the click of my camera’s shutter — opening and closing. Its body posture in this frame just said everything a person might wish to say to someone who is annoying. ~ Anecdote and Burrowing Owl capture, What Part Didn’t You Get? © Jerry L. Ferrara

What The Bison Saw What the Bison saw was a universe of grass reckless with abandon wildly undulating while capitulating to the fury of the wind What the Bison saw was fire in the sky raking, arachnid-like arcing bolts that lit the inky night and set the prairie afire What the Bison saw were frozen winter ‘scapes a sea of rimy fur and vast clouds of cottony breath What the Bison saw were packs of Great Plains Wolves that choreographed strategic onslaughts on the fold they took both young and infirm What the Bison saw were indigenous people who drove the panic-stricken herd to death over treacherous cliffs What the Bison saw were iron trails stretching far across the prairie’s face avenues for smoke-belching monsters that spoke of thunder and lead What the Bison saw was a landscape of death tongueless, hideless carcasses scattered liberally to the horizon What the Bison saw was a situation of near extinction yet, from a small group their numbers grew but never like they were … that is what the Bison sees ~ Poem and Bison capture, What The Bison Saw © Jerry L. Ferrara

Below A Silent Crescent Moon The icy morning temperature loitered near twenty degrees Fahrenheit as soft calls and gentle murmurings from the Snow Geese drifted languidly across the marsh. Waiting patiently to depart their evening roost, the geese idly “talked” … and then came their cue. Light, from the eastern horizon, brightened as our nearest star began to paint the pre-dawn sky. A pregnant pause in “goose speak” stilled the air waves. The silence, however, was short-lived. What ensued was a spectacular tumult as a storm of wings-by-the-thousands thrashed the air amidst the keyed up cries of the departing geese. As rafts of boisterous birds blew up from the wetland, they passed below a silent crescent moon. ~ Anecdote and Light Geese capture, Below A Silent Crescent Moon © Jerry L. Ferrara

A Dapper Pose Resting on a small platform of floating ice in the Svalbard Archipelago, a Bearded Seal strikes a dapper pose showing off its lavish vibrissae. ~ Anecdote and Bearded Seal capture, A Dapper Pose © Jerry L. Ferrara

Along a Rocky Polar Shore Along a rocky polar shore Strides a beast the shade of hoar Its quest does seem forever more Along a rocky polar shore ~ Poem and Polar Bear capture, Along a Rocky Polar Shore © Jerry L. Ferrara. Recorded in the Ormholet Channel [78º 38′ 20.136″ N by 21º 12′ 1.374″ E] of Norway’s Svalbard Arctic Archipelago. 9/9/22

Crossing The River of Fire The setting was ablaze with the stain of autumn and in the still of a vividly-hued morn a White-tailed Deer doe herd magically materialized on the marge of a muted, meandering waterway. Their appearance was steeped in ghostly silence as they pregnantly paused streamside. Intrepidly, the deer stepped into the richly-tinged flow. In their march through the moist medium they appeared to be Crossing The River of Fire. ~ Anecdote and White-tailed Deer capture, Crossing The River of Fire © Jerry L. Ferrara

Sweep the Boreal Aurora Sky While the background for this shot may be reminiscent of those eerie, shadowy curtains of charged particles from the sun [the aurora borealis], it is in reality not the dramatic celestial light show at all but a reflection of the nearby forest on the lake’s glassy surface. ~ Anecdote and Bald Eagle capture, Sweep the Boreal Aurora Sky © Jerry L. Ferrara

Uncategorized

Black Tern – The Wind Dancer

Bald Eagle – Sweep the Boreal Aurora Sky

Gray Wolf – Stare Down

Burrowing Owl – What Part Didn’t You Get?

Bison – What The Bison Saw

Light Geese – Below A Silent Crescent Moon

Bearded Seal – A Dapper Pose

Polar Bear – Along a Rocky Polar Shore

White-tailed Deer – Crossing The River of Fire

Bald Eagle – Sweep the Boreal Aurora Sky