Monika Wieland Shields
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orcawatcher.bsky.social
Monika Wieland Shields
@orcawatcher.bsky.social
610 followers 300 following 1.8K posts
Killer whale researcher, author, and photographer 🐳
Hockey fan, bird-watcher, part-time crusader 🌟
San Juan Island, WA 🌅
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orcawatcher.bsky.social
Exploring the beauty of the shrubsteppe in eastern Washington
Clear blue sky and sunshine on a rocky cliff and a shrubsteppe prairie
October 1, 2026 at 5:09 AM
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September is still delivering as my favorite month in the Salish Sea 😎
A sunset on the west side of San Juan Island with calm, golden waters and towering pink clouds
September 27, 2026 at 3:03 PM
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Continuing with the different perspectives on September San Juan sunsets
The setting sun shining through the trees on a forest trail
September 9, 2026 at 2:41 PM
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Last night’s edition of “September sunsets”, complete with the Cattle Point lighthouse and a pass from first the T19s and then the T49As 🫶🏻

#salishsea
Dramatic sunset clouds over a grassy prairie and the Cattle Point Lighthouse on San Juan Island, Washington
September 8, 2026 at 2:53 PM
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Soaking up these September sunsets - made even better when there’s a chance of whales
A sunset off the west side of San Juan Island
September 6, 2026 at 4:30 PM
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My happy place 🌅
Lime Kiln Lighthouse at sunset
August 29, 2026 at 6:06 AM
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The first frame of a video I took with my phone 😱

These Pacific white-sided dolphins yesterday wanted to play! With each other, with orcas, with humpbacks, with us…
A leaping Pacific white-sided dolphin in the calm blue waters of Blackfish Sound, BC
August 13, 2026 at 4:17 AM
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All the blues of Johnstone Strait 💙🩵
Calm blue seas, dark blue mountains, and a blue sky
August 12, 2026 at 5:22 AM
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The Twin Islets in Queen Charlotte Strait, BC
Two rocky islands with coniferous trees on them in calm blue seas
August 11, 2026 at 4:08 AM
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A new perspective on a familiar place 🫶🏻
August 3, 2026 at 12:25 AM
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Summer evening vibes on San Juan Island, complete with unexpected orcas showing up for sunset 😍🌅
Collage of photos showing a sunset on the west side of San Juan Island, a s’more, and a picnic shelter
July 13, 2026 at 6:25 AM
orcawatcher.bsky.social
Somehow we have never watched fireworks from our boat before. We’re usually further away, so it was impressive to see and hear them up close!
A firework exploding over the Friday Harbor marina
July 5, 2026 at 5:03 PM
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A photo from one last evening of birding in interior B.C. before heading home today! 40 species in 2.5 hours including a lifer dusky grouse 🧡 It’s been an incredibly memorable trip; I’ll share more photos in the weeks ahead!

#roadtrip #beautifulbritishcolumbia #birdwatching
A wildflower gone to seed alongside a dirt road with grassy hills and blue skies in the background.
June 21, 2026 at 4:20 PM
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A black bear cub in northern BC this morning 🧸

#britishcolumbia #babyanimals
A black bear cub stands on its hind legs in front of some greenery
June 19, 2026 at 6:31 AM
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Wildflowers of the Yukon Territory 🌸🌼

#canada #subarctic #largerthanlife
A grid of nine images of different wildflowers photographed in the Yukon in June 2026
June 18, 2026 at 7:48 AM
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It doesn’t matter if you’re coastal or inland, summer scenics in the sub-Arctic region are always spectacular

#yukon
A cloud burst over mountains with boreal sweet-vetch in the foreground near Destruction Bay, Yukon Territories, Canada
June 16, 2026 at 3:24 AM
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Same mountains, different vibes - all taken from the same general location over the course of the week

#alaska
A series of five shots of the same mountain range in different lighting and weather conditions
June 14, 2026 at 2:13 AM
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“Alaska isn’t about who you were when you headed this way. It’s about who you become.” – Kristin Hannah
Mountains lit up by 11PM summer light in Alaska
June 13, 2026 at 7:38 AM
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Exit Glacier, viewed from where the glacier extended to in 2005

#alaska #climatechange
A receding glacier on a sunny day in Alaska
June 12, 2026 at 7:51 AM
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Success in the Gulf of Alaska today 😎

#killerwhales #orcas #whalesky
Three orcas surfacing side by side
June 10, 2026 at 7:33 AM
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A few shots from the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward today: horned puffin, painted anemone, and coho salmon
A horned puffin at the Alaska SeaLife Center A close up of a painted anemone in an aquarium Coho salmon in a tank surrounded by deep blue waters
June 9, 2026 at 7:42 AM
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A bustling black-legged kittiwake nesting colony at Cape Resurrection, Alaska
Black-legged kittiwakes sitting on nests on a rocky wall and flying to and from their nesting colony
June 8, 2026 at 8:03 AM
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It's a precarious life for a newborn mountain goat on the cliffs above Resurrection Bay! ⛰️🐐

#alaska
A mountain goat doe and kid traverse a steep, rocky cliff
June 7, 2026 at 6:07 AM
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Painting by natural light at 10 PM - a night owl of a girl could get used to this! 🦉🎨

#Alaska #LandOfTheMidnightSun #WatercolorPainting
Watercolor painting materials spread out on a desk in front of a sunlit window
June 6, 2026 at 7:17 AM
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I’ve been experiencing photo paralysis: such amazing scenery that I haven’t been able to choose which pictures to share, leading me to not share any 😅

I plan to change that starting today! At least one picture every day for the rest of the trip 🏔️

#alaska
Mountains and clouds reflecting in a flat calm lake east of Anchorage, Alaska
June 5, 2026 at 3:31 AM