Boy oh Boy where has this year gone? Time just seems to be going faster and faster each year. With that said though this year has been filled full of amazing encounters, learning experiences and some new friends made along the way. This is the time where I show case what I feel are my Top 12 (because I couldn’t narrow it down to 10) images of the year and these images are not solely based on image quality but often based on the experience as a whole. This year I will also be showing the images more or less in the order they were taken; meaning I will start from last January and work my way through the year showing you my best. Even though I will list them 1 to 12 its doesn’t mean that is how I rank them…ok ok enough with this talking lets dive in

1. The beginning of the year started off with an experience I never thought would happen. Upon until 2019 I had the opportunity to photography a Red Fox and a Cross Fox but I had yet to even see a Silver Fox (and yes I know they are all Red Foxes). So when I got word of a Silver Fox hunting along the hill side at Signal Hill you bet I made my way there in a flash. For the next couple months many of us were treated to not only a Silver Fox but a Red Fox hunting voles along the cliffs. It was truly magical to watch them go about their morning hunts. One particular morning the forecast was calling for heavy snow and wind; the perfect conditions to capture something unique with the foxes. The snow falling from the sky was so thick it made it difficult for the auto focus system to lock on to the subject but I was so happy when I saw this in the back of my camera

2. As I mentioned above I was not only treated to the stunning Silver Fox but it was in company of a Red Fox. I have photographed a few Red Foxes over the years but on this particular morning the conditions were magical. After a quick play fight with the Silver Fox the Red Fox walked to the edge of the hill side and sat watching as the Silver Fox continued on its hunt. The back side of the hills below were still shaded giving a nice blue hue as the orange fur of the fox light up with golden tones from the early morning sun. I named this image Fire & Ice

3. On a cool morning in February my Father in-law and I headed out over the hills and into the back-country of Terrenceville, Newfoundland in search of Rock Ptarmigan. These hardy and well camouflaged birds are very hard to find; after nearly 5 hours of searching on skidoo and foot we had only spotted one for a brief moment during a snow squall. As we made our way home out of the corner of my eye I spotted a group of 5 among some jagged snow covered rocks. For the next 20 mins I got my best ever looks at this beautiful species.

4. Heading into the spring season I was very excited to dive deep into Song Bird Photography which for those of you that follow me know that it has not been a type of photography I had enjoyed in the past. But this year I was armed with my Nikon D850 and ready to embrace the high ISO images and capture these tiny beauties. One of the first Warblers I wanted to finally capture a good image of was the Yellow-rumped Warbler and by the end of the Song Bird season I was actually treated to some amazing looks at this beautiful bird. Here is one of my first images of this species I captured this year

5. Another target bird during the Song Bird season was the Common Yellowthroat which is a difficult species to find on the Avalon. This year I was actually lucky to come across a few pairs in various locations but it was tough to capture great images of them. I did manage a few and this one in particular I really like

6. This Savannah Sparrow image is probably one of the more unique images I have captured this year. The morning sun reflected off the surface of an object at the edge of a pond where I was photographing which lined up perfectly with this perch the bird was using. The reflection made it appear as if the sun was actually rising behind the bird yet if you look closely the bird is being front light by the warm sun.

7. This past year has been filled with amazing Fox encounters and though I have shared two images already of foxes I can’t leave this one out. This young kit was part of a family of Red Foxes I photographed at Cape St. Mary’s Ecological Reserve. It was truly amazing to watch this family of foxes thrive on the sub-arctic tundra (it doesn’t hurt when you have a buffet of thousands of seabirds at your door step)

8. Each and every year my father in-law and I head out on this fishing boat to look for Bald Eagles that nest along the cliffs of Terrenceville. It is always such a treat to see these master of the skies and attempt to capture some unique images of them (which is so hard to do since there a probably billions of images of them out there). When I spotted this particular Eagle sitting on this lichen covered rock and the colors in the cliff face I just knew I wanted to capture a more environmental shot.

9. Probably one of the species I look forward to photography the most each year are the Woodland Caribou of Terrenceville, NL. Over the years I have had some truly magical moments with these creatures and this year was no exception. Two large bulls allowed me to walk within a very short distance of them and sit on a large slab of rock with them as they rested. The two allowed me to spend 2 hours with them as they rested, feed and roamed the open tundra. Though the lighting conditions were not great I did manage a few images I liked including this portrait…it will be a memory I will not soon forget

10. This past Fall was truly magical for waterfowl for me. The lighting conditions and colors around the various ponds/lakes that I photography at were perfect. I was able to capture many of our commonly seen species in some truly perfect conditions allowing me to create some of my best waterfowl images to date. I will start things off with this Gadwall shot as this has been an image I wanted for some time now. This particular duck is rare to Newfoundland but this individual(we are assuming is the same ducks) has been around for a couple of years now. I love hearing its unique call and always wanted to capture him mid call and well I finally did

11. Wigeon are a favorite species of mine and I look forward to photographing them each and every year. I typically photography them at a near by pond but this year the majority of the wigeon seemed to have enjoyed their time at a lake near the city. Which I didn’t mind as this lake allows me to get my lens only inches off the water without actually have to get in the water myself. This American Wigeon just finished preening and decided to do a wing flap which lucky for me he was facing the right direction(which rarely happens trust me)

12. On this particular morning the conditions were perfect and the fall colors at their prime. Among the flock of American Wigeon where a few Eurasian Wigeon and this male decided to glide right past me and into the perfect reflection of fall colors.

Well that wraps things up and even though I could have shared a few more I will end this post here.

I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. I want to thank each and every one of you for all your support this past year. I am looking forward to what 2020 has in store and I cant wait to share it all with you.