Here’s another one from the Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Litchfield, Connecticut. They have two red-crowned cranes there, also known as Japanese cranes or Manchurian cranes. As the name would suggest, they live mainly in parts of Japan and China, as well as Russia, Mongolia, Taiwan and Korea. They are one of the rarest cranes in the world and are known as symbols of luck, longevity and fidelity. The red on their crown is actually a patch of bare, wattled skin, which you can see in this image. This is another species that I have not photographed in the wild, but would love to get back to Japan for winter wildlife. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second.
A polar bear walks along the shoreline of the Hudson Bay, waiting for the water to freeze so that he can go out and hunt seals. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.
A northern elephant seal catches an early-morning shaft of light on a beach in central California. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 240mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
I photographed this black-backed jackal very late in the day in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana. The landscape is so flat that the sun has nowhere to hide until hitting the horizon — enabling rich, saturated colors just before the light disappears. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second.
I saw a few of these great black hawks while in Amazonian Peru. They are large hawks that range from Mexico down through South America as far as northern Argentina. In April of 2018 one got lost and ended up in Maine where it was caught in a snow storm and eventually captured and brought to a rehab facility. It was ranked as the “#1 Craziest Vagrant of 2018.” Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/250th of a second, Godox V860iii fill flash.
Wombats seem to do one thing — eat grass. Lawns are always well manicured in areas where they live, like this field in Cradle Mountain National Park in Tasmania, Australia. They’re often so consumed with the task at hand they don’t notice a close approach with a wide-angle lens. This guy came right up to my camera and didn’t miss a beat. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/5 at 1/400th of a second.
I took a drive out to the Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Litchfield, Connecticut today. The conservancy was founded as a “breeding facility focused on maintaining genetic diversity of rare and endangered species.” I don’t usually post captive animals, but I was really impressed with the mission of the conservancy and hope to do some marketing work with them. They have waterfowl from all across the world, including three species of eider. This is the king eider, which I’ve yet to photograph in the wild. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.
Hamerkops aren’t very colorful, but they make up for it with style. The two species of hamerkop can be found throughout most of sub-Sahara Africa. They are medium-sized wading birds with eating habits that can best be described as “generalist.” In other words, they aren’t too particular about what they eat, although they have a penchant for fish and amphibians. I photographed this one in the Masai Mara of Kenya. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 340mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/3200th of a second.
The African wildcat looks almost identical to a common house cat — except they live out amongst the elephants and giraffes. They are, in fact, relatives to the domestic cat, they are mainly nocturnal and they hunt mice, rats, birds, reptiles and insects. I photographed this one in northern Botswana while on a night safari. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/60th of a second, two Nikon SB-900 flash units.
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Here’s another one from the Ripley Waterfowl Conservancy in Litchfield, Connecticut. They have two red-crowned cranes there, also known as Japanese cranes or Manchurian cranes. As the name would suggest, they live mainly in parts of Japan and China, as well as Russia, Mongolia, Taiwan and Korea. They are one of the rarest cranes in the world and are known as symbols of luck, longevity and fidelity. The red on their crown is actually a patch of bare, wattled skin, which you can see in this image. This is another species that I have not photographed in the wild, but would love to get back to Japan for winter wildlife. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 500, f/5.6 at 1/400th of a second.
