Sunday, August 24, 2008

Wildlife Excursion in Oregon

Last Sunday we went on another excursion while in Oregon. This one took us to a place called Wildlife Images - an animal rehabilitation and education center. We saw lions cougars and tigers wolves and bears. And some other fun critters. Most of the animals were behind heavy-mesh fencing which made taking pictures rather difficult. The blurriness of some of the following pictures is actually the out-of-focus fencing. You could imagine my excitement when we went to see the eagles, they rolled up a window leaving no barrier between us and them. I have always wanted to get shots of eagles so this was a real treat. Here are some favorites from this excursion.


These two shots of this eagle and the following shot of another eagle are my favorites.



An awesome shot if it weren't for that mesh fencing.


Right after shooting this picture, this HUGE bear got up and walked toward us. We were putting an awful amount of faith in a very simple and thin fence. The bear was about 1 foot away from me as we were both right up against the fence. Take note of those razor sharp claws. I had my long lens on and couldn't get any good shots at that range. You'll have to take my word for it. :)



Do wildflowers count? I couldn't resist.

18 comments:

Lacey Lichi said...

Gorgeous pictures. I love the bear laying down and the wild flowers. Actually, I love all of them! I had some pictures from the zoo today but I didn't post the animals. They were tired and far away- I didn't have a good zoom lens with me.

Went to the place I told you I would go- looks FANTABULOUS! I'm totally jealous. I can't wait for more. Keep me updated- I'll keep checking. It is clean and simple. Perfection.

Anna said...

I love that last one!!!!! Good shots Robert!

Unknown said...

Oooh, those flowers are really cool! Great shots, despite that darn fence!

Jeanne Damoff said...

Those flowers are so exotic! Very cool. And the sleeping bear makes me want to take a nap. :)

Anna said...

Love the bald eagle ones!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Just the thought of seeing the animals that close. The eagles and the bobcat shots are spectacular. The first bear pick is a bit frightening, but in the second one the bear looks kind of cute.

Those wild flowers are passions flowers. I didn't know they would grow in Oregon.

Raven said...

These are all awesome, fence or no fence. I am green with envy but glad you and your family had this wonderful experience. I love the critters and the flowers... What at treat to see them in photos if not in real life.

Looks like that party #2 was a pretty fun event too.

Re your comment at Raven's Nest... if you listen to the clips - which I hope you and others do - he says he campaigned for Guiliani, not one of my favorite people and for Bloomberg, the current Mayor of New York who I think seems like a pretty decent guy.

Anonymous said...

These are great shots...and I don't think the meshed fencing detracts from the tiger shot...it sort of makes for a neat effect.

Erin Faye said...

Those are awesome picutres! The eagle ones turned out amazing!

carmilevy said...

Hi Robert. Followed your link home from Robin's site. I love the spirit of your blog...great views of a great family, lovely pictures and very real reflections on life.

What more can one ask for?

I feel instantly at home as I read your stuff. Looking forward to more...

Anonymous said...

I love the one w/ the eagle cocking it's head.....like it's saying "what's going on?"

I wanna go see some bears! how fun!

Shelly said...

Wow! Loved them all, you're making me miss my passion flower vine - it croaked last winter.

photowannabe said...

Great shots, I especially like the poophed out bear. Great Eagle ones too.

Devika Jyothi said...

Wild flowers were the most tempting!

All have their appeal though.

Loved it :)

Robin said...

Amazing! The eagle and bear shots are my favorites! Dang about that fence, because that shot was a winner for sure.

Karen Coutu said...

Wow! What awesome shots!! That eagle is looking right at you. I wonder what it was thinking?

Love the fangs and the shot of the sleepy bear too.

Karen of the MomDot Street Team
www.MomDot.com

Minkydo said...

Fantastic pictures! The eagle ones are great. I love those birds as well. I was able to get up close and personal to several earlier this summer at the National Eagle Center in Wabasha MN. I posted a few pics on my blog is your are interested.

The bear pictures are great as well. Love the one laying down.

Nicely done!!!

Carletta said...

Robert - wow! What a wonderful experience this must have been.
Wonderful shots - the eagle is my favorite!