Potter Marsh

On my way home from the Conservation Center on Saturday, I went past Potter Marsh.  It is a wetlands area on the south side of Anchorage- great for bird watching and some wildlife viewing.  It was way crowded on Saturday afternoon, so I decided to come back on Sunday morning before church to have the best shot at getting some wildlife pictures. 

My new roommate wanted to come with me until I explained I would leave at 6am and stay at the park until church- she didn't think hanging out in the marsh for 4 hours sounded fun.  So I went solo.

The park was empty when I got there- always a good sign if you want to see moose!  The first thing I saw (besides seagulls which DON'T count) was an adolescent bald eagle. 

Once he matures, this eagle will get develop his white head and dark body, but he's still a bit young (and definitely not yet grown to his full size).  I was able to get quite close to this eagle- until another person at the park came too close too loudly and tried to chat with me- scaring the eagle away.  A word to the wise- if I'm about 15 feet away from a massive bird of prey- don't try to talk to me!  I had to work hard to get that close! 

After my eagle was scared off, I walked down to the other end of the marsh.  The trees are denser there and it would be a prime place to see a moose.  It was still early- and relatively quiet (except for my eagle-scarring buddy) and I ended up running into a couple who had spotted a moose calf alone in the grass.  All you could see were the ears twitching.  I sat down to wait- the couple got bored and left.  I was on a boardwalk several feet above the marsh so I wasn't too worried about Mama Moose finding me- and squashing me.  After a while, the baby got up.  Mama never showed up before I had to leave for church, but I know where I'm coming back to for some moose watching!  Plus I saw a massive Bald Eagle nest in the trees over there and saw a mature bald eagle at a distance. 

Definitely got a new favorite park in Anchorage!  Only a couple hundred more to visit! There are actually supposed to be some awesome parks closer to my house- but with the salmon running, they are also prime bear country so I'm keeping my distance for now.  I'd love to see a bear- just not alone, in a park with just my camera to defend myself!