This is an old one from my film days. This dalmatian-coated harbor seal was enjoying the weather atop a rock just south of Monterey. I’m not sure of the camera settings as it was pre-digital for me, but most likely I was using my old 600mm manual focus f/5.6 lens and my Nikon F100 camera.

I’ve seen a lot more red foxes in my travels throughout the United States than I have gray foxes — not that the latter are particularly rare. I did have a nice little encounter in Zion National Park in Utah one morning. This gray fox was moving quickly, but staying in one general area, allowing me to grab several shots. In this particular image, you can see the legs of a grazing elk that was suddenly in the background when the fox climbed on top of that fallen tree trunk. Too bad I didn’t have a wider lens to capture both animals. By the time I zoomed out to the wide end of my 200-400mm and backed up, the fox had moved on.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 3200, f/4 at 1/160th of a second

A Brandt’s cormorant stretches its wings as the sun sets on El Matador State Beach in Malibu, California. These shorebirds are fairly common up and down the Pacific coast.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 160mm) ISO 800, f/2.8 at 1/40th of a second

My trip to Chugach State Park in Alaska last fall provided some nice moose-in-landscape opportunities. This guy was a bit late to the party as two other bulls were already making their play for the lone cow in the area.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 70-200mm (at 70mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1000th of a second

In early summer, male elk are still in the process of growing their antlers. And those antlers are still covered in velvet. They shed the velvet in the fall and then drop their racks shortly after that. I photographed this elk early evening on a stormy, yet still somewhat sunny day in Wind Cave National Park in South Dakota.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/400th of a second

Prairie dogs are very social animals. They live in closely knit family groups called coteries. Several coteries make up a ward. And several wards make up a town. In this shot, members of a coterie were just emerging from their burrow in the morning and checking in all directions for any possible danger in town. Photographed in Badlands National Park in South Dakota.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 600mm f/5.6 manual focus lens (with 1.4 teleconverter for 800mm) ISO 400, f/11 at 1/125th of a second

I watched this coyote howl for a few minutes before a second coyote came out of the woods and joined in. And I didn’t have to go far to find either one. This was photographed within the city limits of Los Angeles at Griffith Park.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 1600, f/4 at 1/200th of a second

I got up before the seals to get this shot of a juvenile northern elephant seal just waking up, while a lighthouse shines in the background. This is a little spot just north of San Simeon where mothers return each year to have their babies. A few juveniles like this guy still hang around and spend most of their time back in the dunes away from all the overly protective new moms.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 24mm) ISO 400, f/10 at 1/60th of a second, Nikon SB-900 flash unit

There are fifteen different species of marmot that range throughout the world. This is the yellow-bellied marmot that inhabits high alpine regions of the Sierra and Rocky Mountains. September is the time of year that they start to hibernate. They’ll remain in hibernation for eight months, emerging from their burrows ready to fatten up again come April. I photographed this one years ago while searching for mountain goats on Mount Evans in Colorado.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 400, f/5 at 1/250th of a second

A barred owl peers from behind the leaves of a tree in Everglades National Park in Florida. A few seconds later, it would make a dive downward and capture an eastern lubber grasshopper. Barred owls are the most commonly seen owls for me, especially in the eastern half of the lower 48 where they range from the far north to the deep south.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 360mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/320th of a second