Where in the world did she go?

Well I have epically (is that a word?) failed at playing catch-up on the blog again, almost as much as I have failed to find a layout that I like. But bear with me, I have a decent excuse this time:

I'm in Alaska!

About a month ago I landed an incredible internship doing multimedia for the National Park Service up here. It's been a whirlwind 3 weeks, but I am now living in a bush community near the arctic circle, trying to learn everything I can about photography, the backcountry, native culture, local wildlife, and how to design visitor's guides. I'll be living here for the next 9 months (from 24 hours of sunlight, to just 3 hours in the winter!) so there's no telling what adventures might be in store.

The birding up here is great, as most of the species are lifers. Long-tailed jaegers, glaucous and mew gulls, red-necked phalaropes, golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows, northern wheatears, hoary redpolls, and red-throated loons are among the common species I've seen.

long-tailed jaeger

muskox herd

tundra wildflower whose name I've forgotten

red-necked phalarope in horsetail grass

glaucous and mew gulls

monkshood flower

american golden-plovers

northern wheatear

view of the mountains

grizzly bear scat (no nature blog is complete without a picture
of cool wildlife poop!)

golden-crowned sparrow

Red-throated and pacific loons

semipalmated sandpiper

golden eagle chicks

red fox

arctic tern over the Bering Sea

I've only been out here a couple weeks, but once I finish training I'll be spending time in the backcountry, which should yield even more interesting nature and wildlife finds. So far it's been a blast though and I can't wait to see what's next!