Milo Burcham Photography
In complete contrast to last year, my favorite images from 2020 come from close to home.
I did not go anywhere!
No one did.
The global pandemic taught us to appreciate our own backyards.
A year long staycation.
I did set a few modest goals for myself: photograph local species I have overlooked;
photograph bears (duh!); and upgrade my camera body.
Who knew in January what 2020 had in store for us! We are so happy that we had just completed
our trip to Western Australia in November, before the pandemic took hold of the world.
These photographs chronical my year in pictures, repeating some of my favorite
annual wildlife 'events', as well as some new adventures.
Enjoy!
Trumpeter Swans in flight, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_S2E4710)
Trumpeter Swans landing on frozen lake, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_S2E4587)
I love capturing images of wildlife in falling snow, so, whenever I see snow dumping outside, I grab my
camera and go looking for something. Anything. Swans and otters are a couple of my reliable winter subjects.
Trumpeter Swan in snow storm, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_S2E5175)
Sea Otter in snow, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_SEOT_S2E6212)
Red Fox, Anchorage, Alaska (M_REFO_S2E8751)
By May, the pandemic had pretty much halted travel and events like the Copper River Delta Shorebird Festival
were cancelled. While the human activity may have been hampered, bird activity was not, in fact, I
had a little bit more time to enjoy the migration myself.
Black-bellied Plover among many Dunlin, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SBFL_S2E0907)
Migrating shorebird flock, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SBFL_S2E1573)
Western Sandpipers, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SBFL_S2E3050)
Western Sandpipers roosting, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SBFL_S2E4787)
Short-billed Dowitcher wing stretch, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SBDO_S2E5739)
Short-billed Dowitcher with polychaete or bristle worm, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SBDO_S2E1274)
Dunlin foraging among roosting Western Sandpipers and a Dowitcher, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_DUNL_S2E9327)
Red Knot, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_REKN_S2E1879)
While we all have some understanding of how incredible bird migration can be, putting a face and a
place to a migration story really drives the point home.
Whenever photographing birds, I am always keeping an eye out for banded individuals, and attempt to
document them with photos. This past May I noticed a Hudsonian Godwit male with a leg band. I got a
few decent photos, and sent them to ornithologist friends to begin tracking down the origin of the band.
I was put in touch with Dr Carmen Espoz of Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile, who captured the bird in
February 2019, in Bahia Lomas, on the very southern tip of South America! I photographed the bird in
May 2020, so this was not the first trip for this bird. As the crow flies, the distance between the Copper
River Delta of Alaska and Bahia Lomas of Tierra del Fuego is over 8,800 miles. Since they actually migrate
through the Great Plains of North America, the actual distance is greater.
Now that's a great illustration of how birds connect our world!
Hudsonian Godwit with leg band, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_HUGO_S2E2308)
Trumpeter Swan, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_S2E5042)
One of the goals I set for myself this year was to photograph some of the local species I have either
never photographed, or tended to overlook in recent years.
I had several successes: Solitary Sandpipers are uncommon in our area and I had never photographed them.
Additionally, I had not photographed Spotted Sandpipers, Rusty Blackbirds, Red-necked Phalaropes, or
Rufous Hummingbirds for many years, despite their being quite common.
This being stuck at home wasn't so bad after all!
Solitary Sandpiper, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SOSA_S2E6912)
Red-necked Phalarope, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_RNPH_S2E4790)
Red-necked Phalarope, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_RNPH_S2E5179)
Rufous Hummingbird male, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_RUHU_S2E8361)
Semipalmated Plover on nest, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SEPL_S2E7208)
Spotted Sandpiper, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SPSA_S2E7340)
Rusty Blackbird display, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_RUBB_S2E7975)
Greater Yellowlegs, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_GRYE_S2E8307)
American Dipper fledglings, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_AMDI_S2E9869)
Trumpeter Swan pair and cygnets, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_S2E0737)
Steller Sea Lion and Black-legged Kittiwake, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_STSL_S2E8981_FFSSt)
Bears!
They have long been a favorite subject of mine and this year conspired to be an excellent one.
Both salmon and berries were late (thankfully for bears, they both ended up being abundant) causing bears
to concentrate like I had never seen, allowing for some great viewing and photography opportunities.
Brown Bear, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E9231)
Brown Bear, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E0002)
Brown Bear, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E1383)
Brown Bear female with yearling cubs, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E4674)
Brown Bear female with yearling cubs, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_MG_1978)
Brown Bear female with sleepy yearling cubs, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_MG_2125_FFSSt)
Brown Bear with Chum Salmon, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E4987)
Brown Bear female with cub, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E4579)
While this image of a charging bear may be my favorite of the year, I am not entirely proud of it.
The bears in my area are a hunted population, therefore, not habituated like where most people photograph
bears in Alaska. While I go to great lengths to minimize disturbance and be safe when looking for them,
most leave when they see or smell me.
In this case, a female with a single cub that I had seen on several previous occasions
(see previous image), came to the opposite side of a river in plain view of me. She seemed to accept my
presence but after 10 minutes, suddenly charged. She turned back after closing 20 of the 60 yards
between us, but it was enough to leave me rattled.
To be honest, I do not remember taking the picture!
Brown Bear agressive charge, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E6943_FFSSt)
Brown Bear female with yearling cub, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E8010_FFSSt)
Brown Bears fishing, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_S2E8262)
I did escape lockdown for 2 weeks in September, taking an assignment to photograph moose and then
made a short trip to Denali.
Moose removing velvet on spruce tree, Chugach Mountains, Alaska (M_MOOS_MG_2575_FFSSt)
Young bull Moose sparring, Chugach Mountains, Alaska (M_MOOS_MG_3180_FFSSt)
Bull Moose with cows competing for urine pit, Chugach Mountains, Alaska (M_MOOS_S2E9879)
Dall's Sheep ram, Denali National Park, Alaska (M_DASH_S2E1419)
Caribou bull, Denali National Park, Alaska (M_CARI_S2E9786)
Bull Moose, Denali National Park, Alaska (M_MOOS_S2E9901)
A new camera body, the Canon EOS R5, arrived in November and gave me another excuse to get out and
learn the new tool. It replaces my EOS 1D Mark IV which I have used for 11 years!
Trumpeter Swans, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_A8A2373)
Sheridan Glacier, Copper River Delta, Alaska (L_SHGL_A8A1227)
Sheridan Glacier, Copper River Delta, Alaska (L_SHGL_A8A1742)
Ice skating at Sheridan Glacier, Copper River Delta, Alaska (R_ICES_MG_3871)
Harbor Seal, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_HASE_A8A2805)
A fitting end to our annual Christmas Bird Count: a flock of shorebirds in front of our City Hall
with the fully lit City Christmas Tree above it!
Rock Sandpipers and the city of Cordova, Prince William Sound, Alaska(B_ROSA_A8A5478)
Sea Otter in snow storm, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_SEOT_A8A7050)
So here's to a new year! Wishing everyone excellent health and adventure in the coming year.
While our problems might not disappear overnight, let's hope that by the end of the year, we have put this behind us.
And, maybe in the mean time, we can squeeze in a little fun!
These images are presented in roughly the chronological order that they were made throughout the
year. As with all my photography, these are the scenes as they looked through my viewfinder; no content,
not a single blade of grass or twig, was digitally added or subtracted.
