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Steve Williamson Wildlife Photography - Photography
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No Luck This Time
Here we see a young sub-adult grizzly bear leaving a river in Northern BC looking a little forlorn at having had no luck at catching himself a salmon - on this occasion! As we’ve seen in other posts of this bear and his sibling though, (See Sockeye Bear), they did have plenty of success overall…
Black-winged Kite
The Black-winged Kite (Elanus caeruleus)can be found across many parts of Africa, through central to Eastern Asia and in parts of Western Europe. At around 38cm it is considered a small kite that is similar in size to falcons such as the kestrel and despite its dark wings, received its name due to the black…
Beachside Bruiser
Here we see a large and fairly old looking black bear out searching for food amongst the shoreline pickings of low tide on the BC coast. This beachside bruiser certainly has distinct looking features and appears to be giving a pretty mean look in my general direction as I took the photograph, but that was…
Chameleon
I’m just back from a couple of months in Portugal, enjoying learning a lot of history and observing parts of the spring bird migration from Africa to Europe. But whilst there I did manage to see one or two other smaller animals and one of the hardest to find are these guys - the Mediterranean…
Grey Crowned Crane
The spectacular looking Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum), initially, in name at least, takes a little explaining. It is not a ‘grey-crowned’ crane but is in fact a grey crane with a crown! In some parts it is known, maybe more aptly, as the ‘golden-crested’ crane, along with several other names in others. This is…
Long Awaited Return
In a few weeks time I’m heading back to the Khutzeymateen after three years away. Although I have thousands, many still unpublished, photographs from the area and despite being able to keep fairly up to date on some of the comings and goings through others visiting the area, I still miss regularly seeing the resident…
Mountain Lion
In this case the title does not refer to the alternative name for the cougars of North America but actually refers to what the image is of - a lion on a mountain! We came across this beautiful looking and pregnant lioness on a kopje in Tanzania’s Northern Serengeti. As mentioned previously, (see Kopje Queen)…
Whale Channel Sunset
Here we are looking west towards the opening of ’Whale Channel’ on the BC coast. As you head north out of McKay Breach, even on the ferry to Prince Rupert, just before you get to the village of Hartley Bay, off to your left is Whale Channel, which eventually leads to Hecate Strait. It is…
Bateleur
Here’s a mean looking eagle and he’s only a juvenile! This young bird of prey, probably around 5 years old, is a Bateleur (Terathopius ecaudatus) and whilst in Tanzania last year I was fortunate to spot him and on a couple of occasions a pair of smart looking adults (see Tz Raptors) also. Bateleur’s are…
Playful Cubs
Here we see two sibling lion cubs playfully wrestling just before sunset. The timing was perfect as the light gives them a soft golden glow and the look in the eye of the cub facing the camera just seems to reach out to you. Also, note that the claws are retracted when playing like this…
Blue Berg
Here we can see what it’s like up alongside a fairly large iceberg and see how this one has a rather ‘inviting’, almost church like, entrance to an inner ice-cave that leaves you forever wondering what may have lay within! We didn’t see any of this size in the spring of 2024 - iceberg sightings…
A Spanish Festoon!
Here’s a rather colourful 'first sighting' shot from a recent field trip to Europe - the Spanish Festoon Butterfly (Zerynthia rumina). As the name suggests this butterfly is endemic of Spain and it’s Iberian neighbour Portugal, where I came across this one, although they are sometimes spotted in North Africa too. These rather colourful insects…
A Green-leaf Bonnet
Here we see a fall shot of a young female grizzly bear searching a BC river system looking for salmon. It was so tempting to remove it, but I decided to leave her with the green-leaf bonnet that she had remaining on her head after coming out from the nearby forest. Needless to say, she…
Cuckoos
Cuckoos always seemed to manage to avoid me growing up in England. I would hear them, especially in the spring, but I never managed to spot one. However, whilst in Tanzania last year I did manage to spot three different species of cuckoo, the Black and White Cuckoo, also known as the Pied or Jacobin…
Male Lion
I did come across two or three different adult male lions during my time in Tanzania, but far fewer compared to the number of females and female prides. Lions like to hunt at night and during the day the males were definitely more elusive than the females and often headed for shade and peace and…
Brown Snake Eagle
Here’s another one of the several spectacular species of raptor I managed to see whilst in Tanzania last year - the Brown Snake Eagle (Circaetus cinereus). As their name suggests, they have a preference for snakes which they will snatch up after waiting patiently on a high perch, but they will also eat other small…
Male Rufous 2
I miss seeing these little guys and I used to see and photograph them quite regularly, so it’s hard to believe we haven’t featured one on here since 2020! This is a male rufous hummingbird and these tiny birds would often start arriving in our garden in BC from late March having undertaken a long…
Pearly Whites
It seems that for this portrait this grizzly bear was showing us his ‘pearly whites’, but really he was just chewing some sedge. Not heard much these days, but the term ‘pearly whites’ is an old English term referring to teeth, which dates back to a time when good, ‘pearl’ white teeth, were seen as…
Sausage Tree
Here we have the oddly named ‘Sausage Tree’ (Kigelia africana). This tree, which can reach a height of around 20 metres, is a popular source of shade for wildlife on hot days. However, if you ever find yourself underneath one be careful of falling fruits - at around 13kg they can hurt! The long sausage…
Out For A Paddle
You’d be forgiven if on first glance you thought this was a black bear, especially considering how dark and wet this grizzly bear's coat is. But this splendid looking guy was paddling along a creek looking for salmon on the Alaska/British Columbia border when I spied him early one September morning. He looks like he’s…
Termite Mound
Mound-building Termites - not the most lovable of critters, especially if they’re in your property, but out in the wild like the Tanzanian savannah, you have to admire their ingenuity and architecture. These termite mounds can take several years to construct and reach over four metres in height, but they serve their colonies (which may…
A Caper White
The African Caper White (Belenois aurota aurota) is a fairly common mid-sized butterfly found in southern and eastern Africa with similar cousins found across the Middle-east and into India. Colloquially it may go by any one of several names such as the pioneer white or the brown-veined white. Towards the end of summer, thousands can…
A Mother’s Eye
Standing on the side of a river, fishing for salmon, this black bear momma looks up and casts her eye on the surroundings, no doubt a safety check in case of other bears. Soon after she was back scanning the river for fish before taking another ducking in the hope of catching a pink. All…
Puffin March
It is so intriguing watching these little guys beavering around whilst they are ashore for the nesting season. When they’re on the march from one spot to another like this they just look so determined, in a rush and focused on what they are doing and where they are going. The Atlantic Puffin comes ashore…
Lake Natron
This shot, featuring two Great White Pelicans (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and a flock of Lesser Flamingos (Phoeniconaias minor) was taken just after sunrise at Lake Natron in Northern Tanzania. A little over 1,000 square kilometres in size and only three metres deep, Lake Natron is a unique ‘alkaline lake’ sitting at around 600 metres above sea…
Supper With A Star
Here we see one of the ‘Star’ sisters chowing down on some still fresh Lyngby’s sedge. Even though this picture was take some ten years after I first encountered the Star sisters and their mum - the Queen of the Khutz - they are still quite easily recognized thanks to the unique markings on their…
Top and Tail
Humpbacks - one of the worlds most observed and impressive whales. Here we get to see a top and tail view of two of the leviathans in a northern British Columbia inlet. One just surfacing with its impressive blow glistening in the sun, whilst the second, what looks to be a youngster, is just making…
Cave Bear!
Well, this obviously isn’t a ‘real’ cave bear, but a young black bear emerging from his small cave were he liked to head for to eat his salmon in safety, you can just see some remains in the cave behind him. Real ‘cave bears’ (Ursus spelaeus), long since extinct, were probably at least twice the…
Fisher’s Lovebirds
The Fisher’s Lovebird (Agapornis fischeri) is a small, colourful parrot that was originally to be found in Southern Kenya and Tanzania, but nowadays there are occasional sightings across Southern Europe and the Middle East - primarily thought to be from escaped or released captive birds. They do have a similar looking cousin, the ‘Yellow-collared lovebird’ but…
The Toe-biter!
I saw this guy one evening whilst out looking for osprey. It was about fifty or sixty metres away across a gravel area and at first I thought it was just a leaf blowing in the wind. However, closer inspection and this ‘Giant Water Bug’ (Lethocerus americanus) was revealed. I couldn’t get over the size…
Sad Looking Momma
Here we see a rather sad and very wet looking momma grizzly bear - who also had two wet and hungry cubs of the year with her out along the BC coast. For the preceding 24 hours the area had been absolutely drenched with a torrential downpour and the nearby river was close to bursting…
Eurasian Bee-eater
The Eurasian Bee-eater (Merops apiaster) is the most widely dispersed member of the bee-eater family (there are around 25), ranging from Portugal eastwards to western China and from parts of Denmark south through Africa to South Africa, including occasional sightings in the UK. I had a very brief encounter with this guy whilst in Tanzania…
Ma’o
Ma’o is the idyllic Hawaiian name for the colourful ‘Hawaiian cotton’ (Gossypium tomentosum) plant which is found on all the main islands of Hawaii, but funnily enough not on the island of ‘Hawaii’ itself. A beautiful bright yellow flower when in bloom, the Ma’o is a true native wild cotton plant that can grow upwards…
Leopard Prowl
Here’s another shot of the beautiful feline seen in the original ‘Leopard’ post from last April. On this occasion she had stood up from her resting position to turn around before laying back down as seen in the earlier post. Whilst doing so, she spotted a bird on a nearby branch and adopted this impressive…