I had to be in Vicksburg, Mississippi for a few days for work. I was able to get out and explore on my own on Sunday and made it out to the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana. I didn’t see much — other than a bunch of hummingbirds. The ruby throated hummingbird is the smallest species of hummingbird and the only in the United States that regularly nests east of the Mississippi.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 210mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/2500th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash

Grand Teton National Park is a great place to view American bison. This cow was nursing her calf beneath the majestic Teton range. Also of note here is her exceptional beard.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/800th of a second

This coyote was working on a carcass that was buried beneath the ridge line of the snow. Perhaps the coyote chanced upon an elk or deer that couldn’t make it through the harsh Yellowstone winter. Or, more likely, wolves had abandoned a kill that subsequently got buried beneath the drifting snow. Either way, the coyote kept a watchful eye on me as it feasted away.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (400mm) ISO 400, f/7.1 at 1/640th of a second (plus 1.33 stops ev)

This is an old one — from 2002 when I lived in my car for a year and traveled to all 50 states. Very simple. Just sand, sky and sun, but that’s what I like about it. I was searching for desert kit foxes at the time in White Sands National Monument in New Mexico. I came across quite a few fox tracks, but no foxes. This was taken before I had my first digital camera when I used to shoot slides — so I don’t have all the specific camera data. I do know that I was using a Nikon F100 camera with a 17-35mm lens, I was shooting Fuji Provia 100 speed film and was using a small aperture (probably f/22).

I captured this short eared owl just as it was about to land on those sticks in the ground. It had been out hunting for voles (and sparring with the northern harrier hawks). Click below to hear its call.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second
Short Eared Owl Call

The silver fox is a melanistic form of the red fox. They can be almost completely black, more silver in appearance, or even a bit bluish grey. Their skins have historically been the most sought after by fur traders and were fashionable to nobles in Russia, western Europe and China. In the wild, they occur alongside the more commonly colored red red foxes, and they are born into mixed litters. I came across this silver fox late one afternoon while hiking in Mount Rainier National Park in Washington.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second (-2/3 stop ev)

Snowy owls can have pretty comical faces at times. This female was moving her head back and forth, showing me a little attitude before flying off.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 500, f/4.5 at 1/1000th of a second

Harbor seals can be very curious creatures. I was kayaking late one afternoon in Elkhorn Slough — about a fifteen minute drive north of Monterey — and it seemed that every time I turned around, I’d catch a harbor seal following closely behind. Sometimes the seals would act as if caught and quickly dive under, while other times they would just sit there staring back at me while I aimed the camera and clicked the shutter.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/640th of a second

This fine looking duck is an American wigeon. The males, or drakes, have a large green patch on the side of the face. The females, or hens, are much less conspicuous and more uniformly brown in color. These guys are also sometimes called baldpates because of the whitish strip across the top of the head. This photo was taken on my recent owl outing at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in British Columbia, Canada.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second

Devil’s Tower was declared the first national monument in the United States by president Teddy Roosevelt back in 1906. It is comprised of igneous rock in an area which is otherwise sedimentary rock. There are several theories as to how the tower was formed, many believing that it is all that remains of an ancient volcano. You might remember it for its role in the 1977 movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind. I’ve been to the monument several times — this photo being taken on my most recent visit, late in the day, as the last rays of the sun illuminated the western face of the rock.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 200, f/18 at several shutter speeds (HDR image)