Monica Americana Photography

Monica Americana Photography documenting memories
(and whales)
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Happy Earth Day 🌎Turns out “helping with conservation” sometimes looks likefinding the one and only box turtle of the da...
04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day 🌎

Turns out “helping with conservation” sometimes looks like
finding the one and only box turtle of the day…
and getting way too excited about it.

And noticing the tiny things like a little snake most people would walk right past.

Citizen science is one of the coolest ways to get involved in conservation, real data, real impact, and a chance to actually contribute to understanding the ecosystems around you.

You might’ve heard me talk about citizen science if you came on a boat with me when I was a marine naturalist, using resources like to track humpbacks.

You don’t need to be a researcher.
You just need curiosity…
and a willingness to slow down and pay attention.

Small moments like this are where it starts.

Note: this was done under permits and with trained supervision. Wildlife was handled briefly, safely, and released exactly where it was found.

See you next time, from the wild. 🌿





Happy Earth Day 🌎Turns out helping with conservation sometimes looks likefinding the one and only box turtle of the day…...
04/22/2026

Happy Earth Day 🌎

Turns out helping with conservation sometimes looks like
finding the one and only box turtle of the day…
and getting way too excited about it.

And noticing the tiny things, like a little snake most people would walk right past.

Citizen science is one of the coolest ways to get involved in conservation real data, real impact, and a chance to actually contribute to understanding the ecosystems around you. You might’ve heard me talk about citizen science before if you came on a whale watching boat with me when I worked as a marine naturalist, using a resource from to track individual humpback whales.

You don’t need to be a researcher.
You just need curiosity…
and a willingness to slow down and pay attention.

Small moments like this are where it starts.

Note: this was done under permits and with trained supervision. Wildlife was handled briefly, safely, and released exactly where it was found.

See you next time, from the wild. 🌿

04/09/2026

Stillness is part of the strategy.

Alligators don’t chase often, they wait.
Built for ambush, they rely on patience, timing, and efficiency to survive.

Moments like this can look calm… but they’re anything but inactive.

In ecosystems like this, every movement matters, even when you don’t see it.

See you next time, from the wild. 🐊





04/01/2026

Spanish moss is one of those plants that feels like a whole personality.

But the name? Slightly misleading.

It’s not Spanish… and it’s not even moss.

The name came from French explorers, who thought it looked like the long beards of Spanish conquistadors (okay).

But Indigenous communities had a much better name for it: “tree hair.”

Which, yeah. That’s exactly what this is.

It’s actually an air plant, meaning it doesn’t take anything from the trees it grows on. It just uses them for structure, pulling moisture and nutrients from the air and rain instead.

And while it’s just… vibing up there, it’s also creating habitat—shelter for insects, birds, and small wildlife tucked into all those strands.

The more time I spend in ecosystems that aren’t my own, the more I think about how names shape what we notice, and how much knowledge existed long before things were renamed.

As someone who grew up on the West Coast, being here is a reminder to stay curious, stay respectful, and pay attention to what’s already been understood for a long time.

See you next time, from the wild. 🌿





03/25/2026

Today is Manatee Appreciation Day.

Manatees are often described as gentle giants—and it’s true. Slow-moving, curious, and peaceful, they spend most of their lives grazing on seagrass and navigating warm coastal waters and freshwater springs.

But that same gentle nature also makes them vulnerable.

Manatees rely on warm water habitats to survive colder temperatures, which means places like Florida’s natural springs are critical for their survival. They also face ongoing threats from boat strikes, habitat loss, water pollution, and declining seagrass beds.

Conservation efforts have helped protect manatees over time, but their future still depends on protecting the ecosystems they rely on.

If you love manatees, here are a few ways to help:

• Follow slow speed zones when boating
• Give manatees space—never touch or chase
• Support clean water initiatives
• Reduce fertilizer and pollution runoff
• Protect seagrass habitats

Wildlife doesn’t need to be fast or fierce to matter.

Sometimes the most gentle species need the most protection.

See you next time, from the wild. 🐋





02/20/2026

Photographing owls has changed the way I move through wild spaces.

Great horned owls with their fierce silhouettes at dusk.
Barred owls watching quietly from deep forest edges.
Burrowing owls standing impossibly small against open grassland.
Short-eared owls floating low over marshes at golden hour.
Great gray owls moving like ghosts through space and shadow.

Each species carries its own story — and each one depends on habitat that is increasingly fragmented, disturbed, or misunderstood.

Great horned owls adapt well, but still rely on intact nesting sites and prey populations.
Barred owls are expanding their range, creating complex conservation challenges for native species in the Pacific Northwest.
Burrowing owls need protected grasslands and prairie dog ecosystems to survive.
Short-eared owls depend on healthy marshes and open fields.
Great gray owls require mature forests and meadow systems that are disappearing in many places.

Loving owls means loving the ecosystems that hold them.

If you want to help:

• Support habitat conservation and land trusts
• Advocate for grassland and wetland protection
• Keep your distance when photographing wildlife (I shoot with a telephoto lens snd my images are often heavily cropped)
• Respect closures and seasonal buffers

Ethical wildlife viewing isn’t optional — it’s part of conservation.

These birds are powerful, quiet, and deeply sensitive to disturbance. The best photograph is never worth stress to the animal.

See you next time, from the wild.





02/15/2026

While Keiko from Free W***y was my first love, gray whales hold a very special place in my heart.

When I was seven years old, I went through the training to become the youngest Whale Watching Spoken Here volunteer on the Oregon Coast — a program run through Oregon State Parks in partnership with Oregon State University’s Marine Mammal Institute.

My whole family was involved. And as the youngest child who absolutely required attention, there was no way I was letting them spend the day at the beach without me.

So I learned how to spot a blow before I could spell “migration.”
I learned how to tell strangers the difference between a dorsal fin and a fluke.
I learned that conservation starts with paying attention.

Seeing gray whales close to shore in Washington, close enough to feel the scale of them, felt like meeting an old friend again.

Whale interpretation?
I’ve been doing it as long as I could talk.

And if you love them too, here’s how you can help:

• Support responsible whale watching operators
• Reduce single-use plastics (microplastics end up in marine food webs)
• Advocate for quieter oceans and vessel slow zones
• Support coastal habitat protection
• Give wildlife space when viewing from shore

Conservation isn’t just for scientists.
It starts with noticing.

See you next time from the wild. 🐋

02/13/2026

Last year I finally checked the Everglades off my bucket list.

It felt nothing like the ecosystems I grew up with in the Pacific Northwest — flatter, hotter, quieter at first glance. But the more you watch, the more you realize everything here is working.

Gators holding still with purpose.
Birds hunting with precision.
Water shaping every decision.

Different doesn’t mean dangerous. It means deserving of respect.

See you next time from the wild.





02/10/2026

Meet the cutest fish at the .

The Pacific spiny lumpsucker may be small, spiky, and a little ridiculous—but it’s perfectly adapted for life in rough water, using specialized pelvic fins to cling to rocks when currents get intense.

Working in aquariums taught me that conservation isn’t just about the biggest or most charismatic animals. Sometimes it’s about the ones that quietly hold on.

I carry this one with me now (shoutout to !).

Conservation through curiosity.

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so much to be thankful for 🖤
11/27/2025

so much to be thankful for 🖤

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