Milo Burcham Photography

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Milo's Favorite 50 of 2021

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2021 was tough.

I experienced some close, personal losses and most of my leave and travel this year was associated with them.
This is on top of the second year of the pandemic which has been hard on us all!

Still, I take my camera wherever I go, and seek wildlife at every opportunity, for my own well-being and, of course, to share.

I would like to dedicate my favorite images of 2021 to two people very close to me:
My mom, Jackie Burcham and best friend of 40 years, Pat Bannon.

The year started off all right!
Perfect ice at Sheridan Glacier and Paula got to try out her fat-tire bike with studded tires.

Paula on her fat-tire bike with Raven in-tow, Sheridan Glacier, Alaska (R_BIKE_A8A8747)

Bald Eagle in flight, Prince William Sound, Alaska (B_BAEA_A8A0044)

I love capturing images of wildlife in snow, so, I spent considerable time with our local wildlife.
Swans and otters are a couple of our reliable winter subjects.

Trumpeter Swans in deep snow, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_A8A1795)

Trumpeter Swans in icy mist, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_A8A3907)

Trumpeter Swan and Great Blue Heron, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_TRSW_A8A9578)

Sea Otter feeding on Decorator Crab (Oregonia gracilis), Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_SEOT_A8A6075)

Sea Otter grooming (or grimace?), Prince WIlliam Sound, Alaska (M_SEOT_A8A0408)

Sea Otter pup in deep snow, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_SEOT_A8A0818)

I got into the habit of heading 'out-the-road' before sunrise on weekend mornings, to spend time
with members of our local moose herd.

Moose on winter range before sunrise, Copper River Delta, Alaska (M_MOOS_A8A3149)

Moose and rising moon, Copper River Delta, Alaska (M_MOOS_A8A8058_FFSSt)

Cow and calf Moose on winter range, Copper River Delta, Alaska (M_MOOS_A8A9640)

I spent time with family in April, but took regular walks in the San Gabriel Mountains,
right out my sister's back door.

Southern Pacific Rattlesnake (Crotalus oreganus helleri), San Gabriel Mountains, California (S_RASN_A8A2347)

Blainville's Horned Lizard (Phrynosoma blainvilli), San Gabriel Mountains, California (H_HOLI_A8A3070)

Desert Bighorn ram, Mojave Desert, California (M_DEBH_A8A2598)

Again, spring was marked by the annual migration of shorebirds on the Copper River Delta.

Whimbrel in rain, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_WHIM_A8A5483)

Solitary Sandpiper and reflection, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SOSA_A8A7226)

In June I made a trip back to Montana where I spent time with many
good friends, some of whom I have not seen in close to 30 years!

Cow Elk, National Bison Range, Montana (M_ELKC_A8A8376)

Western Tanager, National Bison Range, Montana (B_WETA_A8A9179)

White-tailed Deer in garden, Missoula, Montana (M_WTDE_A8A9529)

White-tailed Deer in Ponderosa Pine forest, E Bar L Ranch, Montana (M_WTDE_A8A9806)

...and back to Alaska.

Golden-crowned Sparrow, Chugach Mountains, Alaska (B_GCSP_A8A1328)

Brown Bear munching sedges, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_A8A2039)

Where to start?

I have mentioned many times that bears are a favorite subject of mine.

They still are.

This summer I was presented an opportunity that I have dreamed of ever since moving to Alaska:
bears feeding on a whale carcass. On a web forum in early July I saw a few pictures of bears
on a whale carcass, taken 'somewhere in Prince William Sound'. I tried to contact the author but
got no response (I commend them!). I then contacted a friend who had recently spent time in the Sound,
and he reported seeing a whale carcass floating in Hinchinbrook Entrance two weeks earlier.

That was enough encouragement to go looking, so at 4:30 the next morning I launched my boat and headed out.
It proved easier to find than expected and through binoculars on my first view of the carcass,
I could see 11 Brown Bears feeding at once!

For the next 3 weeks, until bears moved to other food sources, I headed out at every opportunity.
I had wanted to photograph such a scenario for years, as this was once a common sight on the
west coast of the U.S., as 'Golden Bears' would feed on marine mammals along the California coast.
Those bears were extirpated in the 1920's.

Some of my observations were amazing.

***********************

It is little surprise that my favorite image of 2021 came from this setting.
In fact, I made this image within 10 minutes of discovering the carcass for the first time.
What I like is that this image contains many bears (although not the most I captured),
and as a friend of mine stated, 'has a lot going on'.

A male bear had just left the carcass and passed too close to a female with two yearling cubs.
She attacked him leaving the two cubs looking on, catching the attention of another bear at the carcass,
standing in alarm. Another bear just paused from their meal.

The image was difficult to make as I had my 600mm lens on a tripod on a rocking boat.
For this image, I had to stitch portions of 2 adjacent images to make a little more room for the bears.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, too!

Brown Bears at Humpback Whale carcass, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_A8A3104)

Brown Bears at Humpback Whale carcass, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_A8A4896)

A few notes on what it took to get these images:

This is a hunted bear population so these bears are anything but tame.

In fact, I never saw more bears than on that first approach. It took not only good weather
to make the 1+ hour boat trip, but the wind had to be nearly calm and from
the west to keep the bears from smelling me and the boat. They instantly left if they did.
Any chop and it was nearly impossible to photograph from a boat.

I soon adopted the practice of slowly approaching to 1/2 mile,
quietly anchoring, and then getting in a small kayak.

Working for me were this food source (!!!!) and that the bears were often
more concerned with each other than me. It was a bit of musical chairs
watching the social interactions of a bear or bears dominating the carcass,
and others waiting their turn.

While it lasted, I would visit the carcass at every opportunity.

I would leave town at 7PM, photograph until 10:30 or so at night, anchor
in a nearby cove for a few hours sleep, wake at 4AM and photograph until 7AM.
I could then make the run back to town and be working by 8:30AM.

Brown Bear at Humpback Whale carcass, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_A8A6510)

Brown Bear at Humpback Whale carcass, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_A8A6633)

Brown Bear at Humpback Whale carcass, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_BRBE_A8A7079)

This bear glowed red in the most beautiful late evening light.
Well, it was the Fourth of July, after all!