Milo Burcham Photography

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Milo's Favorite 50 of 2024

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2024 brought great adventure, including two trips to different regions of the Arctic.

I had opportunities to photograph wildlife in both the Arctic of Alaska, and then while guiding in the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway's Arctic.

There were a few brief respites from northern climates, with visits to the desert southwest, just for diversity!


We started the year in typical fashion: visiting family in California with a quick trip to the desert.

Greater Roadrunner warming at sunrise, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California (B_GRRR_J1A2339)

Desert Bighorn ram, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, California (M_DEBH_J1A2768)

Loggerhead Shrike, Joshua Tree National Monument, California (B_LOSH_J1A3183)

Back home in Alaska, we were given a gift that lasted all winter.

We experienced an irruption of our local finch populations as a result of a bumper cone crop.
Siskins, Redpolls, and Crossbills appeared in numbers unlike we have seen in many years! In fact,
we counted record numbers of Red and White-winged Crossbills on our Christmas Bird Count.

I set up branches with cones in our backyard and had my own backyard bird studio for most of the winter.

Redpoll, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_CORE_J1A0138)

Red Crossbill male, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_RECR_J1A3353)

While I had previously seen and heard White-winged Crossbills many times in my life,
I had never had a chance to photograph them prior to this winter. They became
regular visitors to my backyard bird studio and were observed readily throughout Southcentral Alaska.

White-winged Crossbill male, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_WWCR_J1A6608)

I then started some travel.

On winter visits to Anchorage I sought some of the local wildlife, including the celebrity White Raven.
This leucistic bird became well-known to the Anchorage community and even had its own Facebook page.
Whenever I would follow up on recent sightings, I would bump into others looking for the same.

Unfortunately, it has not returned as of December 2024.

Leucistic Common Raven, Anchorage, Alaska (B_CORA_0061)

River Otter consuming Rainbow Trout, Anchorage, Alaska (M_RIOT_0036)

In mid-March I started a longer road trip, taking me down the Alaska Highway from Anchorage to Missoula, Montana,
where I picked up a camper which we brought back to Alaska in mid-April.

Snow Goose flock in flight at sunrise, Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area, Montana (B_SNGO_J1A4672)

Dense Snow Goose flock, Freezeout Lake Wildlife Management Area, Montana (M_SNGO_J1A4996)

Bighorn ram, Jasper National Park, Alberta (M_BHSH_J1A6256)

After catching up with many familiar faces and places in Montana, I flew to Seattle where I met Paula, and we continued
to visit her cousins in Missouri and Arkansas.

Paula had said that she needed to visit her cousins and wanted to go in January. I said let's go on April 8.
Of course, she wanted to know "why April 8?" Well, I had a hidden agenda, as a Total Solar Eclipse would pass directly over her cousin's house
in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas on that day.

The event lasted 2 hours and 37 minutes from start to finish. A hush fell over the landscape as darkness fell in the middle
of the day. My favorite parts were the "Diamond Ring" at the start and end of totality, and the solar prominences ("flares") seen
on the sun's perimeter and clearly visible to the naked eye.

It was truly spectacular. A life event for sure.

...and we had a nice visit with her cousins!

Composite sequence of the Total Solar Eclipse as seen from Hot Springs Village, Arkansas (L_SOEC_J1A5781_COMPOSITE)

Back home, of course I had to take in our spectacular shorebird migration.

Canada Goose wing flap in front of Western Sandpipers and Dunlin, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_CAGO_J1A0532)

Hank Lentfer recording sounds of shorebird flock, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_SBFL_J1A9143)

For the next two months, I was a moving target.

In early June, Paula and I made a trip to visit my Dad in Burbank, California, and then attend my niece's wedding in Sedona, Arizona.
Of course, while in the warmer climate, I had to look for reptiles, this time with the help of my nephew!

My nephew, Beckett, with Greater Short-horned Lizard, Coconino National Forest, Arizona (H_SHLI_J1A1557)

Mojave Fringe-toed Lizard, Mojave National Preserve, California (H_MFTL_J1A1785)

Blainville's Horned Lizard, San Gabriel Mountains, California (H_BLHL_0025_FB)

But that warmth would not last.

The day after returing to Alaska, I hit the road (well, hit the ferry first) and started a road trip to Alaska's Arctic.
I was towing our new trailer and made it to the end of the Dalton Highway, just 12 miles from the Beaufort Sea,
at 70 degrees north latitude!

I spent over a week exploring Alaska's North Slope and seeking out some of the region's bird specialties,
many of which were either new to me or I had never photographed. The 24 hours of sunshine made it difficult to sleep
but provided spectacular light for photography ALL NIGHT LONG!

Grizzly Bear digging roots, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (M_GRBE_J1A2311)

Grizzly Bear, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (M_GRBE_J1A2473)

Bluethroat male singing, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (B_BLTH_A8A9370)

Smith's Longspur male singing, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (B_SMLO_0047)

Spectacled Eider male preening, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (B_SPEI_A8A1439)

Pacific Loon, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (B_PALO_A8A2891)

Caribou bulls in velvet, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (M_CARI_A8A3569)

King Eider male preening, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (B_KIEI_0123)

Male and female King Eiders, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (B_KIEI_A8A3856)

Every year I try to pick out my favorite image of the year. That task is always difficult,
but perhaps more so again this year! Among my favorites were the River Otter with trout, Solar Eclipse, King Eider preening,
Walrus, Polar Bear rolling on snow, and many of the Dall's Sheep images. My favorite, however, might be the following
image of this Yellow-billed Loon courtship display. They are a special bird of the high arctic, and catching their courtship display in that setting
sets this image apart for me.

Yellow-billed Loon courtship display, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (B_YBLO_0077)

Yellow-billed Loon wing stretch, Arctic Coastal Plain, Alaska (B_YBLO_A8A5195)

I was home for only 4 days before heading to Norway to guide two back-to-back trips
through the Svalbard Archipelago with Cheesemans' Ecology Safaris.

While we like to think of Alaska's Arctic Coast as high-latitude and having a very cold climate,
the Svalbard Archipelago lies 500 miles further north, reaching 80 degrees north latitude!

Common Eider hen detail, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (B_COEI_J1A4300)

Dovekie or Little Auk, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (B_DOVE_J1A0042)

Atlantic Puffin in flight, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (B_ATPU_J1A9147)

Atlantic Puffins, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (B_ATPU_J1A0322)

Arctic Fox with remains of Black-legged Kittiwake, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (M_ARFO_J1A2207)

Curious Walrus, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (M_WALR_J1A7143)

Polar Bears in snowstorm, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (M_POBE_0532)

Polar Bear, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (M_POBE_0581)

Polar Bear rolling on snow, Svalbard Archipelago, Norway (M_POBE_0679)

Eurasian Coot feeding young, Oslo, Norway (B_EUCO_J1A0969)

I was closer to home for the rest of the year. Highlights included a migrating Merlin, time spent with
Dall's Sheep and Moose in both fall colors and during their rut, and a nearly white Sea Otter.

Merlin in flight, Copper River Delta, Alaska (B_MERL_J1A1854)

Dall's Sheep rams posturing, Denali National Park, Alaska (M_DASH_J1A2986)

Dall's Sheep rams, Denali National Park, Alaska (M_DASH_J1A3594)

Dall's Sheep ram portrait, Denali National Park, Alaska (M_DASH_J1A3746)

Spruce Grouse male and fall color, Denali National Park, Alaska (SPGR_J1A7207)

Bull moose bedded among fall colors, Chugach Mountains, Alaska (M_MOOS_J1A9213)

Bull moose under rainbow in last rays of sunset, Chugach Mountains, Alaska (M_MOOS_J1A9813)

Dall's Sheep rams chasing ewe during rut (M_DASH_A8A1497)

Dall's Sheep ram flehmen response (M_DASH_A8A3338)

Dall's Sheep ram and ewe bedded in snow (M_DASH_A8A5784)

Dall's Sheep ram and ewe copulating at sunset (M_DASH_A8A3062)

Leucistic Sea Otter, Prince William Sound, Alaska (M_SEOT_A8A0119)

These images are presented in roughly the chronological order that they were made throughout the
year. As with all my photography, these are the scenes as they looked through my viewfinder; no content,
not a single blade of grass or twig, was digitally added or subtracted.

With advances in image processing software it has become a common practice to over-process images in an attempt to
increase their impact to viewers. For me, it is not the magic that I can create on a computer but the magic I see in nature.
I try to maintain accuracy in my wildlife images.

Wishing everyone excellent health and adventure in 2025.