Over the past few weekends we have taken day trips to some refuges around the Sacramento area. We are lucky to have many great refuges that come alive every winter. While officially not part of the Sac NWR Complex, Cosumnes River Preserve in Galt is worth a stop. Close to 1000 Sand hill Cranes winter […]
Author: Alan
Giant Otters
The highlight of our trip to Ecuador this year was seeing a family of Giant Otters. We were fortunate enough to see them on 3 separate occasions and at one point floated in our canoe about 10 yards from them as they played and fed (all behind foliage however). I did manage to capture some […]
Grand Teton National Park
I’ve been lucky enough to visit many beautiful places in my life. If I had to pick a favorite for sheer awesome beauty, it would be Grand Teton National Park. The vistas in this park are simply amazing and it is hard not to take post card worthy pictures in every direction. Rather than type […]
The Sloth
There are six species of sloth in the world and all of them live in Central or South America. Sloth have to be one of the more unusual rainforest creatures due to their slow movement and habits. Sloth spend 99% of their lives in the trees and only come to the ground about once a […]
The Beauty of Snakes
I realize that a lot of people will see the word “snakes” and bypass this post. But, I encourage folks to continue on in case you see something that may help you appreciate snakes just a little bit. Besides the obvious facts about how important snakes are to the ecosystem, I think they can be […]
Parrot Clay Licks – Ecuador
Many of the seeds and nuts found in the rainforest have toxins in them and animals come to clay licks to neutralize those toxins. This is a daily ritual for many birds in the Amazon. Ecuador has two of the most accessible clay licks in the Amazon and both can be visited on the same […]
Howler Monkeys
It was 4:00 AM and pitch dark outside when the low guttural scream started. I jerked awake thinking it must have been a dream. But, then the noise happened again only louder this time. It echoed through the trees and into my ears. It was like no sound I had heard before. There it was […]