A sea otter really digging into the raw bar. Photographed in Morro Bay, California. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second.

Here’s another one from my trip to northern Minnesota back in December. This great gray owl was diving head first into the snow in hopes of catching a vole. I suspect this particular attempt was a miss. It was hard to tell as the owl entered the snow behind a clump of grass and spent some time on the ground before heading back to his/her perch. Karen and I are off to New York for a few days tomorrow. Enjoy the weekend. I’ll be back Monday with my next post. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1250th of a second.

The recent bobcat activity at my camera trap got me doing a bit of research. Thirteen subspecies of bobcat are claimed but only two are officially recognized. Lynx rufus rufus, exists east of the Great Plains — thus the guy that occasionally visits my backyard — and Lynx rufus fasciatus exists west of the Great Plains. The latter, pictured above, was the first of the subspecies that I got good looks at with camera in hand. Photographed in the same place as yesterday’s ruddy duck, but back in 2011, just south of Los Angeles. Still a great memory as I was able to get down on the ground as the bobcat strolled past on its way to stalk ducks in a nearby pond. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 300mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second.

Here’s one for the duck fans out there. As far as ducks go, the ruddy duck is one of my favorites, especially males like this one in his summertime breading plumage, which includes the chestnut feathers and sky blue bill. Photographed at the San Joaquin Wildlife Sanctuary in Irvine, California. Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/5000th of a second.

Dark-eyed juncos aren’t very flashy, but they make up for it in personality. They’re quite common and we see them around the yard throughout the year. They like to spend a lot of time on the ground, mainly eating insects and seeds. I had my camera trap set up on the edge of the yard during a snowstorm last winter to capture this one. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trigger and remote flash units.

It was a spring snowstorm when I photographed this pronghorn in Yellowstone National Park. Likely just chewing on some grass, but I like to think that he was trying to catch snowflakes with his tongue. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 310mm) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/1000th of a second.

I went out to check on my camera trap this weekend and was very excited to see that a bobcat stopped by for a visit. This is the second time I’ve been able to get a bobcat and both times I was set up for raccoons and opossums and the other small mammals that use this fallen tree to get around — not for the larger ground travelers like bobcat, coyote, deer and bear. This is my three-flash set up, one in a tree above and to the right of the bobcat, one to the left of the bobcat, sitting on another fallen tree, and one on the ground behind the fallen tree pointing up to get the nice backlight on the fur. Nikon D810 with Nikkor 20mm lens, ISO 500, f/14 at 1/200th of a second, Cognisys camera box, trail monitor and remote flash units.

Here’s another shot of the mink I photographed last month in northern Minnesota. He/she didn’t stray far from the den, but did come out and spin around a bit, likely cleaning off from breakfast before heading in for a nap. Nikon D500 with Nikkor 500mm PF lens, ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/2000th of a second.

There are three different species of bear in the United States — the black, brown and polar bear. The term grizzly bear refers to the subspecies of the brown bear that ranges from Alaska down into Wyoming, also known as the North American brown bear. I photographed this one playing in the snow in Yellowstone. At least it looked like he was playing in the snow as he sat back, grabbed his feet and rocked back and forth. Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 550mm with 1.4 TC) ISO 800, f/5.6 at 1/5000th of a second.