Humpback Whales

Niue is becoming renowned as a hotspot for viewing humpback whales.  The Pacific populations head north from their summer feeding grounds in the Antarctic to breed in warmer tropical waters, mainly around Samoa and Tonga.  In recent years, Niue has increasingly become a breeding area too, so that whales are active around the island for much of the winter, between June and September. 

Although there are operators running ‘swimming with whales’ tours, which are very popular with tourists, I prefer to watch from the shore.  While on Niue, on several occasions I watched a tourist boat approach a whale, which then dove and surfaced again some distance away.  Rather than leave the whale alone, the boat then approached again, forcing the whale to dive once more.  Although I believe that most operators are reasonably sensitive to the wellbeing of the whales, under pressure from enthusiastic visitors, I cannot help but feel there is likely to be some degree of harassment.  These whales travel a long distance to breed and do not feed again until they return to Antarctic waters, living off their stored fat reserves. 

If swimming with whales is regarded as the ultimate experience, viewing from the shore is amazing and very satisfying for me.  We regularly heard whales at night from our cliff top accommodation, and watched them during the day from many superb vantage points around the island.  We saw females with calves, copulating pairs, breaching and spy hopping.  One of the best viewing spots was the Sails Bar, brilliantly situated on a headland with a 180-degree plus view out over the ocean.  On one occasion, a whale breached very close to shore while we were walking on the reef platform, giving us a real appreciation of the size of these animals.  I didn’t get my camera out fast enough to capture the moment, but I shall never forget it.  Many times we watched whales cruising past close to the surface, easily visible through the clear water.  I was surprised at how fast they travelled in their seemingly unhurried fashion.

Overall, I believe that tourist operations benefit nature conservation, as without public appreciation of the value of nature, humans are more likely to exploit the natural environment for gains of a more damaging kind.  Personally I prefer a more ‘hands-off’ approach, watching nature from a distance without interaction because I am more interested in how wildlife relate to each other than to humans.

I found the photography difficult, even though we had such good views of the whales.  Being fast on the shutter button was important, because they travelled fast and were out of the water for only a short time when breaching or spy hopping.  The light wasn’t always easy, either.  During the day it was often harsh with high contrast.  Also, because some of the activity was at a distance, the sensor of my camera (Olympus E5) didn’t have enough megapixels to allow as much cropping as I would have liked.  In addition, when the light was better at the ends of the day, there was less of it; so to maintain a high shutter speed the necessary high ISO resulted in a lot of noise with the Olympus (or the compromise lower shutter speed gave a blurry image).  With my new Nikon D750, I would get far less noise, better definition, and more detail in the shadows.  So now I need to plan my next visit!

Atlantic Puffin

Atlantic Puffin (Fratercula arctica)

This disarming little bird is everyone’s favourite.  I had seen Atlantic puffins on the Farne Islands, off the coast of Northumberland, and in the north of Scotland, but the first time I had the opportunity to photograph them close-up was on a trip to Skomer Island in June. 

Skomer Island is a ten-minute boat ride from Martins Haven, on the west coast of South Wales.  It is a National Nature Reserve owned by Natural Resources Wales, and managed by the Wildlife Trust of West Wales.  Small boats transport up to 250 visitors each day, six days a week, to spend about five hours on the island.  About 15 kilometres of walking track  (6 or 7 km to walk around the island) keep visitors generally well spread out.

Puffins are found on the island from mid March to early August during the breeding season.  They build nests in burrows in grassy banks above the sea cliffs in April and May.  Chicks hatch from the eggs in June and fledge in July, so these two months are the most interesting for visitors.  Adult birds are making the finishing touches to their nests and catching fish to feed their nestlings.  Puffins returning with a beakful of small fish (known as sand eels) are often harried by gulls, which are after an easy meal.

With a beakful of nest material

With a beakful of sand eels

The Skomer Island puffins are very tame, as they are used to visitors walking along a trail that passes through the centre of one of their main breeding colonies.  They scuttle across the path on their way from the cliff top to their burrows carrying a beakful of sand eels or nest material, dodging between the legs of visitors and photographers’ tripods.

Showing long tongue

Having such a deep bill with sharp edges makes it easy for puffins to catch and hold a number of small fish at once.  As each fish is caught, it is held between the tongue and upper mandible, leaving the lower mandible free to catch more fish.  In this way a bird can hold a dozen or more at a time.  Their strong beaks are also used to excavate nesting burrows, which may be several metres long.

When they leave the nesting colony in early August, Atlantic puffins spend the winter in the Atlantic Ocean, not returning again until March.

Hoary Marmot

The hoary marmot (Marmota caligata)

I have seen hoary marmots in several locations throughout the north-western states of the US.  These were photographed in Mt Rainier National Park.  Marmots are well known for occupying conspicuous ‘look-out’ rocks, with a burrow in talus or in the ground beneath their rock, allowing a rapid retreat if necessary.  This habit makes them stand out against the background so they are relatively easy to photograph.

Hoary marmots are alpine specialists, living above the tree line among rock and snow.  They are attractively marked, looking as though the frost has caught the outer tips of their fur, as the hairs are tipped with white.  The fur on their tails is orangey coloured, as you can see as this individual scurries into his burrow.

Hoary marmots hibernate between September and May, so they have a relatively short period of activity.  They usually excavate their burrows under large rocks to prevent them being dug into by hungry grizzly bears, and are more communal than other marmots living in quite large family groups.

Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels

Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel in Yosemite National Park

I find golden-mantled ground squirrels the easiest of all squirrels to photograph.  They occur throughout the mountain areas of the western United States, so I see them almost everywhere I go when I am travelling there in summer.  These squirrels are usually not wary of humans so readily allow a photographer to approach them.  And campgrounds are favored foraging areas.

A real 'Copperhead' in the Eastern Sierra

Siblings Interacting (Colorado)

Playing and Grooming

We watched these young squirrels playing in a camping area in Colorado for several days, under the watchful eye of their mother.  However, on our last day, the adult disappeared and her offspring dispersed to different areas where they searched for food separately.  Now if one young squirrel encountered another, it would chase the intruder away.  Food gathering is an important activity later in summer as although these squirrels hibernate for much of the winter, they also hoard food in their burrows to see them through either unusually warm or cold periods, when they wake to feed.

Here are a couple more images of young golden-mantled ground squirrels photographed in Wyoming:

Surprised!

Natural food

 There must be something interesting in there......

In Yosemite National Park

Looks like he's found it......

All the photographs so far have been of the most widespread golden-mantled squirrel. This is Callospermophilus lateralis, which occurs in higher areas from Arizona and New Mexico to Canada.  Another species, with less distinctive dark side stripes, Callospermophilus saturatus, is found only in the Cascade Mountains of Washington and southern British Columbia.  There is a third species in northern Mexico.

This squirrel has been collecting nesting material for its burrow:

Cascade Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel in Mt Rainier National Park

Cascade Golden-Mantled Ground Squirrel in Mt Rainier National Park

Notice that the colour of the fur varies markedly in both species of squirrel.