We are ready for the Black Bear Field Course tomorrow, and so are neighbors and the bears. Just after dawn, Samantha’s cubs were in white pines outside the window. They descended and regrouped with Samantha
Samantha and her cubs at the base of three white pines in good view from the third floor deck. The picture of the one at the base of a white pine shows it shedding its brownish cub fur and growing in the usual black fur like its mother’s. The face is shed out and black while most of the rest of its body is still brown.
Community feeders sent pictures showing what we could expect at their places. Both were of RC. One shows her with her 3 cubs and the other shows her resting her bulk on a smooth rock.
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| Samanthas cubs | ||
Herring gulls flew over a lot today, hoping for bologna. The grocery store gave us a box of beef fat to see if it will attract eagles and vultures. Bears are aplenty and staying out of trouble.
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| RC and cubs | RC resting | Herring gull |
A Lily Fan added some good information that I thought would be of interest about the halo around the sun in the video last night. He wrote: "I think that the sun dog in the video isn’t a sun dog or at least doesn't show a sun dog. In the photo it’s a halo (22 degrees) around the sun through ice crystals. (Through liquid water droplets like in rainbows and fogbows the blue/violet band would appear closest to the sun. Through ice crystals the red band appears closest to the sun.) Sun dogs are really bright spots (mock suns) on the left and/or right sides of a halo/partial halo through ice crystals. Sun dog and moon dog photos http://www.atoptics.co.uk/halo/dogim0.htm "
Much appreciated. Thank you!
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center