Northern Gannet Landing with Seaweed in a foggy Gannetry

A Northern Gannet lands directly in front of me with a fresh load of seaweed on a windy and foggy morning during my Gannets Galore Workshop in Quebec. Because it is so easy for the huge Gannets to lift off in high winds, the sky fills with circling birds calling their mates (they recognize their mates by sound); The sky full of tens of thousands of Northern Gannets swirling around you is one of the greatest wonders to witness!

Northern Gannet Landing with Seaweed in a foggy Gannetry (Morus bassanus, Fou de Bassan, NOGA) from my GANNETS GALORE WORKSHOP at Bonaventure Island, Quebec, Canada ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 600mm f/4 G Master OSS Lens & Sony 1.4X Tele-extender @840mm. ISO 1,600, f/5.6 @ 1/5,000s Manual exposure. Full-frame image.

Northern Gannet Portrait showing off nasofrontal hinge

A Northern Gannet poses during my Gannets Galore Workshop for a portrait with its mouth wide open, showing off its nasofrontal hinge.

That’s not an accidental break in its beak! At the base of the upper mandible, a thin sheet of nasal bone is attached to the skull at the nasofrontal hinge, which gives mobility to the upper mandible, allowing it to move upward and downward.

Northern Gannet Portrait showing nasofrontal hinge (Morus bassanus, Fou de Bassan, NOGA). Image made during my GANNETS GALORE WORKSHOP at Bonaventure Island, Quebec, Canada ©Christopher Dodds All Rights Reserved. Sony Alpha a9 III Mirrorless camera & Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS Lens @598mm. ISO 400, f/14 @ 1/400s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Mother and Yearling on the run

Seeing a bear explode from a nap to 56km/h (35MPH) is impressive! Even more so as they head directly towards you! My Ultimate Brown Bears of Alaska group saw this several times during my workshop in the sacred Halo Bay on the Katmai Coast in Alaska.

Not to worry, although they look like they are about to run us over (especially while looking through a zoom lens @347mm), this intelligent mother is running behind us to use us as a shield from the boar who turned away when he saw us.

Few sights are as terrifying for a mother brown bear in Alaska as a big male brown bear. Adult male bears (boars) are known to kill cubs —and sometimes the mother that defends them. A new study suggests that intelligent mama bears have found a surprising way to protect their young. To shield her cubs from male attacks, mom has to raise them near an adult bear's No. 1 enemy: humans.

Join me in Alaska for the Ultimate Brown Bears of Alaska for eight days of brown bear photography! Learn more HERE.

Coastal Brown Grizzly Bear Mother and Yearling on the run (Coastal brown bear, Grizzly bear, Ursus arctos, ours brun) from my June Coastal Brown Bears of Katmai workshop in Alaska. Image Copyright ©Christopher Dodds. Sony Alpha 1 Mirrorless camera & Sony 200-600mm Lens (@347mm) ISO 3,200, f/6.3 @ 1/3,200s Manual exposure. Full frame image.

Coastal Brown Bear Clamming in the fog

Here is a Coastal Brown Bear (AKA: Grizzly Bear) emerging from the three-foot deep hole it dug in about 25 seconds while hunting for a Razor Clam. We had a fabulous morning watching this giant clamming while ignoring us during my Ultimate Brown Bears Galore Adventure Workshop in Alaska. I used my Sony Alpha 1 and the 200-600mm zoom lens I love for its portability and versatility, set at only 255mm.

Coastal Brown Bears Wrestling

It was an amazing experience watching a couple of young coastal Brown Bears play fighting on a foggy morning. Play fighting is very important for young bears because it teaches them to protect themselves and helps them get stronger. But if things get too rough, mama bear will discipline them by swatting them with her paw!

There is still room for you to join my Brown Bear Boat trip in June and September. Specifically looking for a female solo traveller to share a room with same. Learn more about my Ultimate Bears of Alaska trip HERE.