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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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Duncan Murrell - A Whale of a Time

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  • During the autumn the cotton tufts of cottongrass are dispersed by the wind and cover the surrounding vegetation like a shaggy dog shedding its fur on furniture.<br />
<br />
Wet meadow with common cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium) blowing in the wind in autumn, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska, USA.
    Alaska-vegetation19.jpg
  • Temperate rain forest bordering river flowing into Port Houghton, the mainland, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
The temperate rain forest of Southeast Alaska seems like such a dark impenetrable place, even along the banks of a river, like here at Port Houghton. The vegetation is often thick and impenetrable with spiky devil’s club, blueberry and salmon berry bushes, and the floor is littered with dead and decaying timber that further impedes progress through the forest. Usually the only way to get around the forest is by the animal trails that have been kept open by wild animals for thousands of years.
    vegetation-10.tif
  • Ponds created by beaver in temperate rain forest, Kadashan River, Chichagof Island, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
The Kadashan River on Chichagof Island, that flows into Tenakee Inlet, was my other favourite place for vegetation, particularly where there are many beaver dams, that serve to open up the forest and allow more light in.
    vegetation-16.tif
  • Alaska cotton grass blowing in the wind, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
During the autumn, the cotton grass would start to shed its wispy hairs, and they would scatter and disperse in the wind, and coat the surrounding vegetation with a temporary coat like an animal moulting.
    vegetation-7.tif
  • Port Houghton is a deep inlet on the mainland just to the north of Petersburg. It was one of my favourite peaceful retreats to find solitude in Southeast Alaska, and to enjoy and photograph the beautiful vegetation. It was my favourite place for vegetation because it has such an array of consummate displays of all the lowland, coastal vegetation habitats: flower meadows bursting with blooms and colours: muskeg resplendent with colour and minute detail, especially in the fall, dotted with inky ponds, and lichen and moss festooned dwarf trees: before the surrounding primary old growth temperate rain forest extends up the flanks of the surrounding mountains. Foraging bears frequent the meadows in the summer or dine on salmon in the rivers in the fall. At the head of the inlet there is a salt chuck  with a rock where harbour seals haul out.
    Alaska-vegetation1.jpg
  • Port Houghton is a deep inlet on the mainland just to the north of Petersburg. It was one of my favourite peaceful retreats to find solitude in Southeast Alaska, and to enjoy and photograph the beautiful vegetation. It was my favourite place for vegetation because it has such an array of consummate displays of all the lowland, coastal vegetation habitats: flower meadows bursting with blooms and colours: muskeg resplendent with colour and minute detail, especially in the fall, dotted with inky ponds, and lichen and moss festooned dwarf trees: before the surrounding primary old growth temperate rain forest extends up the flanks of the surrounding mountains. Foraging bears frequent the meadows in the summer or dine on salmon in the rivers in the fall. At the head of the inlet there is a salt chuck  with a rock where harbour seals haul out.
    Alaska-vegetation2.jpg
  • The effort to climb to the highest vantage points on the islands was well worth it for the stupendous views along the stark, dramatic coastline of the Baja Peninsula, although I quickly discovered how much caution was necessary to avoid being impaled or lacerated by the prickly vegetation. As a keen amateur botanists I was fascinated by the succulent and scrubby vegetation, so perfectly adapted to such an extreme environment with so little rainfall and almost constant desiccating saline sea breezes. There is a organ pipe cactus in the foreground and the amber flaking bark of a torote Colorado tree { F. Burseracea - Bursera microphylla ) can also be seen.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California10.jpg
  • Sparce vegetation on the coast of the Sierra de la Giganta in the Bahia de Loreto National Park, the Baja Peninsula and the Sea of Cortez, Mexico.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California7.jpg
  • With such sparse vegetation and the exposed geology, the sense of perspective, space and geological time is greatly enhanced. In the foreground is an elephant tree, one of the many plants perfectly adapted to surviving the extremely arid conditions prevalent in Baja. Standing water was virtually non-existent when I was there but the eroded streambeds created by the brief seasonal flash flooding were clearly evident.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California5.jpg
  • With such sparse vegetation and the exposed geology, the sense of perspective, space and geological time is greatly enhanced. In the foreground is an elephant tree, one of the many plants perfectly adapted to surviving the extremely arid conditions prevalent in Baja. Standing water was virtually non-existent when I was there but the eroded streambeds created by the brief seasonal flash flooding were clearly evident.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California6.jpg
  • I particularly used to enjoy photographing the lush vegetation at Port Houghton during the extended twilight in the summer. Using a tripod I took very long exposures of more than a minute, and the results were very atmospheric. As the light slowly faded the lighter features of the scene like the pastel green shade of the leaves of the rusty menziesia, and the usnea or old man's beard dripping from the trees, appeared to become luminous and suspended in the encroaching darkness, giving a ghostly life to the stunted trees.
    Alaska-vegetation12.jpg
  • Although the temperate rain forest of Southeast Alaska is evergreen there is never any shortage of beautiful autumnal colours in the understory vegetation such as the blueberry bushes and the sphagnum moss and miniature plants of the muskeg.
    Alaska-vegetation13.jpg
  • Many parts of Port Houghton were like a magical fairyland, where only the smallest and lightest of footprints would be permissible to preserve the delicate beauty. It is quite clear from the vegetation that it a particularly wet place that receives maximum amounts of localised rainfall. The trees were the mossiest that I saw anywhere in Southeast Alaska. This was my most successful plant entry into the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year Competition, reaching the final stage of judging.
    Alaska-vegetation9.jpg
  • Many parts of Port Houghton were like a magical fairyland, where only the smallest and lightest of footprints would be permissible to preserve the delicate beauty. It is quite clear from the vegetation that it a particularly wet place that receives maximum amounts of localised rainfall. The trees were the mossiest that I saw anywhere in Southeast Alaska.<br />
Wet meadow with common cottongrass (Eriophorum angustifolium), western hemlock trees (Tsuga heterophylla) festooned with moss and usnea (Usnea longissima), and false azalea (Menziesia ferruginea) and western skunk cabbage (Lysichiton americanus).
    Alaska-vegetation19-2.jpg
  • Muskeg is an acidic soil type common in Arctic and boreal areas, although it is found in other northern climates as well. Muskeg is approximately synonymous with bogland, but "muskeg" is the standard term in Western Canada and Alaska, while 'bog' is common elsewhere. The term became common in these areas because it is of Cree origin; maskek meaning low-lying marsh.<br />
Muskeg consists of dead plants in various states of decomposition (as peat), ranging from fairly intact sphagnum moss, to sedge peat, to highly decomposed humus. Pieces of wood can make up five to 15 percent of the peat soil. Muskeg tends to have a water table near the surface. The sphagnum moss forming it can hold 15 to 30 times its own weight in water, allowing the spongy wet muskeg to form on sloping ground.Muskeg forms because permafrost, clay or bedrock prevents water drainage. The water from rain and snow collects, forming permanently waterlogged vegetation and stagnant pools. Muskeg is wet, acidic, and relatively infertile, which prevents large trees from growing, although stunted lodgepole pine, cottonwood, some species of willow, and Black Spruce are typically found in these habitats. It needs two conditions to develop: abundant rain and cool summers. A dead plant that falls on dry soil is normally attacked by bacteria and fungi and quickly rots. If the same plant lands in water or on saturated soil, it decomposes differently. Less oxygen is available under water, so aerobic bacteria and fungi fail to colonize the submerged debris effectively. In addition, cool temperatures retard bacterial and fungal growth. This causes slow decomposition, and thus the plant debris gradually accumulates to form peat and eventually muskeg. Depending on the underlying topography of the land, muskeg can reach depths greater than 30 metres (100 ft).
    Alaska-vegetation17.jpg
  • Walking around the muskeg is quite hazardous because there are deep black ponds often vegetated with water plants like this great yellow pond-lily scattered amongst the strange landscape of stunted trees and shrubs, and mounds of sphagnum moss.
    Alaska-vegetation22.jpg
  • Dying trees around a pond created by beaver, Mitkof Island, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
Beaver can completely transform a forested landscape. They can create new habitats that can be exploited by other animals.
    vegetation-17.tif
  • Waterfall and large Alaska cottonwood tree in the autumn, Stikine River, the mainland, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
If I wasn’t kayaking at sea looking for humpback whales then the Stikine River was my favourite place to be. What an amazing, breathtaking river that is, that provides a valuable natural highway for wild animals from the interior and opens out onto  a spectacular river delta. When I remember Alaska, it is somewhere that I always return to in my dreams, to feel the vastness of open vistas that Alaska provides.
    vegetation-15.tif
  • Birch and other deciduous trees near Haines, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
Although much of the Tongass national Forest is made up of conifers like western hemlock, Sitka spruce, red and yellow cedar, there are plenty of deciduous trees, particularly in wide open river valleys.
    vegetation-14.tif
  • Skunk cabbage, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
The skunk cabbage is probably the definitive understory plant of the Southeast Alaskan rain forest along with devil’s club. Its musky smell permeates the darkest, wettest corners of the forest and its giant shiny leaves seem to belong to prehistoric times.
    vegetation-9.tif
  • “Muskeg” pond, pond in sphagnum bog, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska.<br />
<br />
The “muskeg” or sphagnum bogs were interspersed with black ponds with many water plants. The surrounding sphagnum bogs were are a Lilliputian world of miniaturized plants, like the vivid red of the nagoon berry visible in this photo, that only bears one berry; but it as big, sweet and succulent as a perfect raspberry and was always one of my favourite berries to search for.
    vegetation-8.tif
  • Flower meadow, Port Houghton inlet on the mainland, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
There were extensive grassy meadows in Port Houghton and amongst the lush greenery there were oases of colour like this, brimming with different colour variations of Indian paint brush, northern white orchid, silverweed, Indian rice and northern lupins. It was a resplendent sight that always lifted the generally pervasive gloom of Southeast Alaska.
    vegetation-2.tif
  • Wet meadow with rusty menzesia and moss and lichen festooned dwarf trees, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
I loved taking photos during the extended periods of Alaskan twilight when the colours deepened, and the lighter, pastel shades of green of the moss, lichens and the rusty menzesia shrub visible in this photo, seemed to be left hanging in the encroaching darkness like ethereal wraiths. The stunted trees appeared to be animated by their clothing of lichens and moss dripping from their trunks and branches. They were magical places that seemed to come alive as the light faded.
    vegetation-12.tif
  • Wet meadow with Alaska cotton grass and dwarf trees, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
I loved the wet meadows and “muskeg”, sphagnum bogs, at Port Houghton. I was almost afraid to walk across them because they seemed so fragile underfoot. This was a magical place to me where only the soft, gentle, footsteps of fairies could be permissible.
    vegetation-11.tif
  • Tongass National Forest, temperate rain forest, Chichagof Island, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
This is a definitive view of the Southeastern Alaska temperate rain forest; you can almost hear the ravens calling from high up on a massy branch. Southeast Alaska is a place that is defined by rain, lots of it, and at any time of the year. Sometimes it doesn’t stop raining for weeks and you can count the days of summer on one hand. If the sun breaks through the pervading clouds then the warmth releases misty serpents that weave their way across the branches and evaporate into the sunshine. It can be a dark and shadowed land but the mercurial interplay between light and water is always there, if you are prepared to wait…..
    vegetation-13.tif
  • Sphagnum moss changing colour in autumn with dwarf blueberry, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
The lush, thick, spongy sphagnum bogs became a colourful delight of edible colour during the autumn; I never expected to see moss change to such vivid shades of red and pink, like a soft, spongy dessert beneath my feet.
    vegetation-5.tif
  • Colourful grass and false lily-of-the-valley in wet meadow bordering the forest, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
I was particularly fascinated by all of the different species of wild grasses in Southeast Alaska because in my own country, England, so many of the native wild grasses have been displaced by the all-consuming modern agricultural practices.<br />
This was one of my favourite species because the pink colour change in autumn perfectly complimented the colour transformation of the surrounding sphagnum bogs. I always called this “the Party Photo”, because the colourful grass seems to be erupting from the ground like party poppers.
    vegetation-6.tif
  • Flower meadow, Port Houghton inlet on the mainland, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
There were extensive grassy meadows in Port Houghton and amongst the lush greenery there were oases of colour like this, brimming with different colour variations of Indian paint brush, northern white orchid, silverweed, Indian rice and northern lupins. It was a resplendent sight that always lifted the generally pervasive gloom of Southeast Alaska.
    vegetation-3.tif
  • Sphagnum moss changing colour in autumn with dwarf blueberry, Port Houghton, Southeast Alaska, USA.<br />
<br />
The lush, thick, spongy sphagnum bogs became a colourful delight of edible colour during the autumn; I never expected to see moss change to such vivid shades of red and pink, like a soft, spongy dessert beneath my feet. The miniature forest beneath my feet was also resplendent with the vivid colours of other plants, like the burning red stems of this bog blueberry plant.
    vegetation-4.tif
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  • Amber Mountain National Park, a prominent volcanic massif in the north of the country, is the oldest protected area in Madagascar, and is known for its waterfalls and crater lakes, and is one of the most biologically diverse places in all of Madagascar with 75 species of birds, 25 of mammals, 59 species of reptiles, and ???? species of frogs.<br />
Although it is so accessible and supposedly Madagascar’s most visited natural attraction I was fortunate enough to be there when it was almost empty. The prominent view sites for the park’s waterfalls are really breathtaking. The night walks were very rewarding, especially for an abundance of frog species. The icing on the cake of a very rewarding trip there was discovering a beautiful leaf-tailed gecko on the tree that my hammock was attached to. I discovered it in the middle of the night when I got up to relieve myself. I had trekked far and wide in the hope of finding more of those amazing, elusive creatures and one blessed me with a personal visit in the dead of night.
    Kayaking-Madagascar-journey48.jpg
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  • Beavers open up the dark dense forests with their dams and ponds, creating a different habitat for other plants and animals to thrive in.
    Alaska-vegetation20.jpg
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  • I loved the almost anthropomorphic forms of some of the cacti. When you are so used to being around either coniferous or deciduous trees, it’s like being in a dreamland or wonderland with such alien plant forms, and of course many of the cacti are much much bigger than you would expect to find in your local garden centre.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California15.jpg
  • Because of the permanently blue skies and maximum visibility the sense of scale and perspective were amazing. I only experienced clouds and rain on one day in the five months that I was there.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California80.jpg
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  • There are extensive grass meadows at the head of the inlet beyond the mud flats, and then again at the head of the salt chuck. Dotted around the expanse of green grass there are concentrated oases  of plants in bloom like this. One large patch past the salt chuck bristled with a profusion of white bog orchids: more than I have seen anywhere else before.
    Alaska-vegetation3.jpg
  • There are extensive grass meadows at the head of the inlet beyond the mud flats, and then again at the head of the salt chuck. Dotted around the expanse of green grass there are concentrated oases  of plants in bloom like this. One large patch past the salt chuck bristled with a profusion of white bog orchids: more than I have seen anywhere else before.
    Alaska-vegetation8.jpg
  • This is the only reptile or amphibian that I ever encountered in Southeast Alaska. Where there are roads many newly transformed baby toads can be seen hopping across, especially during wet weather.
    Alaska-boreal-toad1.jpg
  • Skunk cabbage is the definitive plant of the damp Southeast Alaskan terrain. It's large leaves and thick stems can be found anywhere where the ground is saturated enough both inside the forest and outside. Apart from its prominent appearance its distinctive musky smell is a prevalent feature in and around the forest. The distinctive odor attracts its pollinators, scavenging flies and beetles. The plant grows from rhizomes that measure 30 cm or longer, and 2.5 to 5 cm in diameter. The leaves are the largest of any native plant in the region, 50–135 cm long and 30–80 cm wide when mature. Its flowers are produced in a spadix contained within a large, bright yellow or yellowish green spathe 30–40 cm tall; it is among the first flowers to appear in spring.While some consider the plant to be a weed, its roots are food for bears, who eat it after hibernating as a laxative or cathartic. The plant was used by indigenous people as medicine for burns and injuries, and for food in times of famine, when almost all parts were eaten.
    Alaska-vegetation23.jpg
  • A sweeping panoramic view at the southern end of the island looking towards a chain of small skerries, that I paddled out to explore. I was camped on the other side of the rocks in the foreground on a grassy ledge overlooking a rocky cove. The cliffs on either side of the last fragment of the island were quite high and very precipitous. This is where I had my next dramatic viewing of basking sharks, because they were swimming very close to the base of the cliff so I was able to look directly down on them, and get a very good impression of their massive size. Once again it was one of those wildlife encounters that is so vividly etched in my memory forever. From my lofty viewpoint I could watch them swimming towards the island and then follow the base of the cliffs as they were feeding.
    Kayaking-West-Coast-Scotland22.jpg
  • This beautiful view is along the cliffs at the southwest end of the island with the offshore skerries and Atlantic Ocean in the distance. I also watched basking sharks from that side of the island and saw some dolphins just offshore. It was one of my favourite palces to watch the fulmars demonstrating their aerial skills. This was the windward side of the island facing the turbulence and swells of the open ocean, and a magnificent location to look down at the waves crashing forcefully against the rocks below. There was the occasional boat that visited the island during the time that I stayed there but most of the time I had it to myself, and it gave me a wonderful feeling of coastal maritime solitude that I have rarely, if ever, experienced in the UK. I could have stayed there for at least another month but there were still other islands to visit and explore on this trip.
    Kayaking-West-Coast-Scotland24.jpg
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  • Borneo-Gunung-Mulu-rainforest3.tif
  • Palawan-underground-river11.tif
  • Kayaking-Madagascar-vegetation10.jpg
  • Kayaking- Gulf-of-California86.jpg
  • I loved the almost anthropomorphic forms of some of the cacti. When you are so used to being around either coniferous or deciduous trees, it’s like being in a botanical dreamland or wonderland with such alien plant forms, and of course many of the cacti are much much bigger than you would expect to find in your local garden centre.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California17.jpg
  • On my return journey from Isla Catalina to Isla Monserrat I had a very unexpected encounter. I was making great headway with a good following wind when suddenly a very tall tail fin appeared alongside me; my first thought was that it was the dorsal fin of a swordfish. I looked down into the water beneath me and its identity was immediately confirmed when I saw what looked like a giant checkerboard beneath me. Only one large sea creature has markings like that: it was a whale shark that had apparently come to the surface to investigate me. It wasn’t the right season for whale sharks so it was completely unexpected. As it was my first ever encounter with the largest fish in the ocean I implored it to swim with me for a while but it promptly dived out of view.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California87.jpg
  • After spending so much time under the full glare of the sun under permanently cloudy skies I became very brown. Fortunately my skin tans very quickly. When I was a young boy spending nearly every day at the beach during the summer holidays I became so dark that people were asking my parents if they had adopted me from India. Isla Monserrat and Isla Catalina were the farthest offshore islands that I paddled out to.
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  • There are extensive grass meadows at the head of the inlet beyond the mud flats, and then again at the head of the salt chuck. Dotted around the expanse of green grass there are concentrated oases  of plants in bloom like this. One large patch past the salt chuck bristled with a profusion of white bog orchids: more than I have seen anywhere else before.
    Alaska-vegetation32.jpg
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  • I always called this my party picture because the coloured grass reminds me of party poppers or fireworks.
    Alaska-vegetation14.jpg
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  • The sphagnum moss is so thick in places in the muskeg, and often beautiful shades of red and pink. Walking on it is like walking on snow because you leave such deep footprints as it springs beneath your feet. I didn't like to leave too many ugly footprints in such a pristine miniaturised environment of dwarf plants. The muskeg always invites closer inspection to discover the variety of berry-producing plants at ground level.
    Alaska-vegetation18.jpg
  • Another view at the southern end of the island. I used to love walking in this direction, down the tussocky slope, with that beautiful seascape before me, and the chain of offshore skerries drawing my eyes out to the distant horizon and beyond. Although I greatly regretted not being able to return to my beloved Southeast Alaska there was more than adequate compensation with views like that, and a reminder that I can find a lot of inspiration from the natural world a lot closer to home.
    Kayaking-West-Coast-Scotland23.jpg
  • A patch of wild celery on the northwest side of Isle of Lunga looking northwards towards the offshore skerries.
    Kayaking-West-Coast-Scotland19.jpg
  • Borneo-Gunung-Mulu-rainforest12.jpg
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  • I loved the almost anthropomorphic forms of some of the cacti. When you are so used to being around either coniferous or deciduous trees, it’s like being in a botanical dreamland or wonderland with such alien plant forms, and of course many of the cacti are much much bigger than you would expect to find in your local garden centre.
    Kayaking- Gulf-of-California16.jpg
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  • The Jesuit missionary Ciamente Guillen founded Mission Dolores in 1721 on the coast of the Baja Peninsula about midway between Loreto and La Paz. There was a natural spring near the ruins hence the lush greenery; a very rare sight on my trip.
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  • The town of Loreto is a regular staging post for commercial kayaking tour groups. I enjoyed mixing with some of them but farther down the coast I was I was shocked by the territorialism of some of the kayaking tour leaders. I encountered a dispute between two “rival” American tour groups that each laid claim to a nearby beach to camp on. The beautiful “unclaimed” beach that I gratefully accepted to camp on was evidently less desirable. The next day I stopped at an empty beach to stretch my legs when one of the groups that was involved in the dispute came into view and their leader paddled towards me. I greeted him politely as always and he promptly retorted by just asking me where I was heading. I told him that I was just heading south, to which he curtly replied, ‘I just wanted to let you know that we’ll be camping at the next beach, OK.” I didn’t take it as an invitation to join them for a campfire dinner or to share kayaking stories; I had no desire to detract from their wilderness experience or pollute their airspace with smoke from my campfire. The commercial kayaking groups don’t venture very far south of Loreto so it wasn’t long before I had left that bewildering attitude behind me and could embrace the infinite solitude that Baja had to offer.
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