Now that my mother has moved from Gloucester, Massachusetts down to Bonita Springs, Florida, I’ll be searching for spoonbills and gators when I go home for a visit rather than snowy owls and moose. This one was taken this past weekend out on Sanibel Island at the Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge. Odd name, but a great place for all kinds of birds, including roseate spoonbills and white ibis.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/2000th of a second

You don’t have to go far to see wildlife at Yellowstone. This bull elk greeted us before we even entered the park, just as the morning light was beginning to illuminate the higher peaks.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 70mm) ISO 800, f/3.5 at 1/400th of a second

The American marten is a weasel of the mustelid family and often times referred to as the pine marten. It is similar to the fisher, although smaller and lighter in color. This one was running around in the snow just outside of the northeast entrance to Yellowstone National Park.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/800th of a second

Here are a couple of photos of purple sea stars to close out Prince week (apologies to the purple honeycreeper who will have to wait until the next purple week). These guys are also called ochre sea stars, and as you can see, they aren’t always purple — some have a bright orange coloring while others are different combinations of the two colors. Like the sea urchins I posted earlier in the week, they were photographed in Olympic National Park in Washington.
Top Photo — Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/20 at 25 seconds
Bottom Photo — Nikon D700 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 400, f/20 at 6 seconds

I don’t post many flowers, but seeing as it’s day four of Prince week, and I photographed these purple harebell flowers in Minnesota, it seemed only appropriate. I was on my way back to Minneapolis after photographing black bears in the northern part of the state, when I stopped for a short hike. I didn’t see any wildlife on that hike, but did see quite a few spring flowers.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 105mm macro lens, ISO 800, f/4 at 1/2000th of a second

For day three of Prince week we have the purple gallinule. The purple gallinule is a swamp hen in the rail family. They breed along the southeastern United States and tropical regions of Central America, the Caribbean, and northern South America. I captured this one on a walk along Anhinga Trail in Everglades National Park in Florida.
Nikon D700 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 320, f/4.5 at 1/400th of a second

For day two of Prince week, we have the purple sea urchin. These guys live near the shoreline in the Pacific Ocean from Ensenada, Mexico up to British Columbia in Canada. This shot was taken in Olympic National Park in Washington. Interesting fact of the day: purple sea urchins are important in biochemical research, because believe it or not, even though they lack a head structure, they share 7,700 genes with humans. Many of those shared genes are involved in sensing the environment. Oddly enough, they also have almost the same life expectancy as humans at just over 70 years.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 400, f/9 at 1/400th of a second

They’re common, I know, but I still love to photograph raccoons when they are cooperative enough to pose for a shot. This one was photographed in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park in Key Biscayne.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 280mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/160th of a second