Milo Burcham Photography
Paula and I started 2018 on a road trip after visiting family in Burbank, California.
New Year's Day found us in the southern California desert, we then drove through southern
Arizona to the Chiricahua Mountains, before returning home.
The rest of the year was like many others, with bears once again playing a prominent role
both in my photography and for my job with the Forest Service.
The year ended with another holiday visit to California, and another road trip,
this time north through central California.
These photographs chronical my year in pictures, repeating some of my favorite
annual wildlife 'events', as well as some new adventures.
Enjoy!
Black-tailed Jackrabbit, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, CA (M_BTJA_S2E1764)
On the second day of the New Year, I found the same great ram I ended 2018 with.
While I don't like to see too many similar images in my favorite 50, this guy was hard to pass up!
Desert Bighorn ram, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, CA (M_DEBH_S2E2435)
Desert Bighorn ram, Anza Borrego Desert State Park, CA (M_DEBH_S2E2863)
Saguaro Cactus and double arch, Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, AZ (P_CACT_S2E3295)
We spent a few days just outside of Tuscon with Alaska friends, Ron and Janine Niebrugge.
They have created Desert Photo Retreat, a virtual oasis for desert wildlife. Anyone interested in capturing images
of a wide assortment of desert wildlife, should check out their web site... and pay them a visit!
Gila Woodpecker, Desert Photo Retreat, AZ (B_GIWO_S2E4098)
Javalina, Desert Photo Retreat, AZ (M_JAVA_S2E4578)
Javalina, Desert Photo Retreat, AZ (M_JAVA_S2E4887)
The extreme southeast corner of Arizona provided some surprising wildlife White-nosed Coati, Chiricahua National Monument, AZ (M_COAT_S2E5567) White-nosed Coati, Chiricahua National Monument, AZ (M_COAT_S2E5607) Coues White-tailed Deer, Chiricahua National Monument, AZ (M_CODE_S2E5926) Vermillion Flycatcher, Whitewater Draw State Wildlife Area, AZ (B_VEFL_S2E6184) Returning home never disappoints... Bald Eagles, Prince William Sound (B_BAEA_S2E8665) Dall's Sheep ram, Chugach Mountains (M_DASH_S2E8260) The Copper River Delta shorebird migration began with stormy weather, which tested both Whimbrel weathering spring storm, Copper River Delta (B_WHIM_S2E7906) Dunlin and Western Sandpipers taking flight, Copper River Delta (B_SHFL_S2E8660) The next two images were taken just 10 seconds apart. While I like to show diversity Dunlin reflection, Copper River Delta (B_DUNL_S2E9723) Dunlin and Western Sandpiper reflection, Copper River Delta (B_DUNL_S2E9741) Hudsonian Godwit swallowing marine worm, Copper River Delta (B_HUGO_S2E9425) Roosting Western Sandpipers, Copper River Delta (B_SBFL_S2E9472) Short-billed Dowitchers, Copper River Delta (B_SBDO_S2E0360) Harbor Seal, Prince William Sound (M_HASE_S2E8355) This image of a breaching Orca is my favorite image of the year and was made at 11:33 at night! Orca male breaching at sunset, Prince William Sound (M_ORCA_S2E3624) Brown Bear female with cub, Prince William Sound (M_BRBE_S2E3121) Brown Bear, Prince William Sound (M_BRBE_S2E2995) Because of our continuing Black Bear research in Prince William Sound, I made an extra Black Bear cub in tree, Prince William Sound (M_BLBE_S2E0919) Black Bear with radio collar, Prince William Sound (W_PWSBBS_S2E5452) Black Bear feeding on roe of salmon carcass, Prince William Sound (M_BLBE_S2E9172) Black Bears, Prince William Sound (M_BLBE_S2E3871) Black Bear, Prince William Sound (M_BLBE_S2E4281_FFSSt) Black Bear, Prince William Sound (M_BLBE_S2E0360) Black Bear, Prince William Sound (M_BLBE_S2E0779) Photography can be a powerful tool to illustrate conservation issues surrounding wildlife, so I am including these Black Bear crossing Main Street, Cordova (M_BLBE_S2E7083) Brown Bears, Cordova City Dump (M_BRBE_S2E8037) Pink Salmon stranded in shallow water, Prince William Sound (F_SALM_S2E4112) Cow Moose, Chugach Mountains (M_MOOS_S2E6608) Bull Moose flehmen response, Chugach Mountains (M_MOOS_S2E7180) Cow and bull Moose, Chugach Mountains (M_MOOS_S2E9311) Bull and cow Moose, Chugach Mountains (M_MOOS_S2E9929) Collared Pika, Talkeetna Range (M_PIKA_S2E9887) Rainbow and Chugach Mountains, Copper River Delta (L_CHUG_S2E4115) I made two trips towards the end of the year; one, to visit Paula in Pittsburgh after she Eastern Milksnake, Hawk Mountain, PA (H_MISN_S2E2049) Rutting White-tailed buck, Pittsburgh, PA (M_WTDE_S2E2149) White-tailed deer in graveyard, Pittsburgh, PA (M_WTDE_S2E3772) Surf Scoter, Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, CA (B_SUSC_S2E5162) Northern Pintail drakes, Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, CA (B_NOPI_S2E5876) Horned Grebe, Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, CA (B_HOGR_S2E6114) Western Grebe, Bolsa Chica Ecological Preserve, CA (B_WEGR_S2E6174) I spent several days looking for Bobcats, and while I saw several, this was the only good photo opportunity! Bobcat, San Benito County, CA (M_BOBC_S2E6657) Cinnamon Teal drake, Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA (B_CITE_S2E6983) Sunset on New Year's Eve... Ross's Geese landing at sunset, Merced National Wildlife Refuge, CA (B_ROGO_S2E7264)
This road trip continued into the new year, so you have something to look forward to in 2019's top 50! Wishing everyone excellent adventure in 2019.
sightings, including coati, and a thriving waterfowl refuge.
birds and birdwatchers.
in my portfolio each year, when a situation is good...it's good! The second image
was well received on Facebook, which reminds me how much I appreciate feedback
to my posts. In this case, it helped me recognize an image that has more impact
than I might have realized.
For that, THANKS to my Facebook friends.
It was made in the company of my wife and good friends, after watching bears on a perfect summer evening.
effort to photograph Black Bears. That was relatively easy this year as a berry crop failure had bears looking for
food everywhere, including throughout our town... unfortunately, to the detriment of many bears.
images that illustrate some social issues that are affecting bears in our community.
finished 1 1/2 months of work on a movie about THE Mr. Rogers, entitled "You are my Friend" (opens
fall 2019), and another to California to visit family at Christmas.
Of course, I take my camera everywhere!
My one and only herp photo resulted from finding this snake on a fall day at the summit of Hawk Mountain
These images were 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.