The third leg on my East Asia Trip was to Kamchatka Krai and we flew into Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy (PK) after spending a week in the Vladivostok area. During our 5 days in the area and on our return trip from Vilyuchinskiy Pereval, a Kamchatka Brown Bear ran across the dirt road and stop right next to us. We were so close that I couldn't get all the bear in the frame, at least for the first few images.
After spending a day in Inchon South Korea, we flew into Vladivostok Russia. We had great guides the Explore Primorye Tour Company run by Rada Sumach and Sergey Abarok and we even had with us ornithologist, Tatiana Svatko. One of our stops was to Sergey grandmother's home north of Valdivostok where we saw this Eurasian Nuthatch.
Went on a Heritage Expedition voyage organized by Shearwater Journeys and it was a wonderful adventure. I don't know how many parts this will required but I saw 137 new species, experienced a forgotten coast, encountered spectacular birds including the Stellar's Sea Eagle and the purpose of the expedition to find the Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Hopefully, I will be able to share the experience through my photos and words.
I was in the area attending a workshop with Nick Page and a group of 10 other photographers. The first afternoon we head out into the Palouse toward Steptoe Butte, which looks over the rolling wheat covered hills. The photograph below was taken about 1 hour before sunset. The low sun highlighted the contours in the hills and the grain silo and with the light in the farmhouse it created a line of sight between the two.
The migrant birds started to arrive last week and I decided to hike around the canyons northwest of Reno, NV. I started at Keystone Canyon where I found Rock Wrens, Gray and Dusky Flycatchers, and a fly over of a Common Poorwill.
