The Finnish folk musician Liisa Matveinen lives in a mustard-coloured house in Ilomantsi, 12 miles (20km) from the Russian border. Large books of folk songs line her walls. Sitting in her kitchen, Matveinen sings about a humble hunter going into the woods to find reindeer. The song tells us how they were “honoured” providers of […]
Tag: Ptarmigan
Inspired by nature – 6 times biomimicry has transformed outdoor gear
Recently, I traveled to the Swiss Alps with the outdoor brand Columbia to test out their newest technology. Omni-Heat Arctic is an insulating technology that is inspired by how a polar bear‘s fur works to keep it warm in frigid arctic conditions. Though polar bears appear white, they actually have heat-absorbing black skin and two […]
They Call Him Jim Bob!
Well, we call them Jim Bob, the rest of the world calls them Willow Ptarmigan (the Alaska State Bird). When it’s mating season this largish bird simply turns stupid. While not the brightest bird in the flock to start with (some hunt them by simply throwing rocks at them), when there is sex in the […]
Scotland 2017
A short break in Tomatin up in the highlands of Scotland has given me the chance to see some fabulous sites again whilst picking up a few year ticks and grabbing a few record shots. First I visited a fish farm near Cairn Gorm and managed to see my first Osprey of 2017 without having […]
Alaska – 8th June (Day 12)
Today was a key day in the Nome section of the trip with one of the star birds to see. We were up early and headed up the Kougarok Road to Mile Post 72 we arrived at around 06:00. This site is known as the Coffee Dome, the summit of this relatively small hill is […]
White-Tailed Ptarmigan: Colorado
It’s a great day as a wildlife photographer when you photograph a species for the first time. Today was one of those days for me – a White-tailed Ptarmigan. And it happened quite by accident. Ever since we moved to Durango last summer, Cheril and I have talked about going snowmobiling. Finally,today we did it. […]