My photo outing yesterday was a bit of a dud but this little burrowing owl at least gave me something worthwhile to close it out. I checked many of the spots I historically see them and only this one had signs of life. It was, as you can see, quite cautious, opting to stick its head up only enough to keep watch on the photographer. While it didn’t want to give me any action shots, it did make for a fun capture.
American pika takes the time to smell the flowers
Well, probably not. More likely it was just being a bit choosy about what it was going to eat for its next meal or what was going to get stashed away in its home. Taken back in July 2022 on a beautiful but chilly morning above timberline in the Colorado high country. It will be a couple more months before the roads to those areas are clear and allow access but I am looking forward to it!
Bald eagle sounds the alarm: It’s Freedom Friday!
Hang in there – the weekend is almost here as this handsome fellow proclaims the news. Taken last month on a visit to my local bald eagle nest, the male was not a happy camper. An intruder had dared to encroach on its territory, and he was making sure they knew it was time to leave. Bald eagles are generally sociable – except during nesting season. His mate had just started sitting on their eggs and protecting them and providing for them becomes his sole focus.
Bighorn sheep ram puts its best face forward
A fun, goofy look from this normally handsome fellow. It kind of reminds me of trying to take nice pictures of my kids but all they would want to do is goof around and make faces. 😀
Taken last fall when I was spending the morning with these rugged creatures in the foothills. This big buy was quite vocal, bleating continuously as he came down the road. I was hoping to catch some head-to-head action but the boys were content on this day to just get along and graze lazily.
Gold, blue and fog on the Colorado plains
A pretty scene from this past weekend. Light fog was hovering above the water of the pond giving everything a soft feel. The sun was just coming up over the horizon casting the landscape in shades of gold and above, well, that typical gorgeous Colorado blue sky.
Red tailed hawk makes a hasty escape
One of those moments as a photographer I call ‘spray and pray.’ 😉
I happened across this gorgeous hawk as it was perched in a tree, keeping watch. It seemed quite relaxed with my presence so I was zoomed in, getting some really nice closeups. Out of the blue, it took flight, launching right at me catching me entirely off guard. Hastily, I squeezed my camera’s trigger and tried to zoom out quickly to catch the action.
In the end, I only got two usable shots out of a sequence of 20+. Annoying for sure but, at least got a good one out of the deal.
First burrowing owl of the season arrives
I figured I would be seeing this little guys soon and yesterday was my first of the season. It was a long, long ways off so the pics aren’t that great but I am excited to know they are arriving.
As you can see, the resident prairie dog was not as happy to see the summertime resident return. It seemed to desperately want to challenge the squatter but seemed to decide it was best not to tangle with the talons. The owl was quite content with its new home and largely ignored the objections of the homeowner.
Mama hunkered down on the nest
As regular viewers of my page know, I oftentimes share less than great pics because of the story behind them. Clearly that is the case with this cruddy one. 😀
My friend and I spent two and a half hours at my favorite bald eagle nest yesterday morning, growing more and more concerned. There was no sign of mom and dad was content to hang out about a quarter mile away, watching from a distance. We finally gave up and decided to head out a different direction, looking back as went but still not seeing her.
On our return we kept watch and from a long way away, thought maybe, just perhaps, we were finally seeing something in the nest. Sure enough, there was just a bit of her white head and her yellow beak! It only appeared briefly but she was indeed in the nest, presumably still incubating. Thank goodness!
Those eggs should be hatching this week and if all goes well, activity at the nest will pick up as they work to feed the little ones. It is clear that this year, they have built up the “front” of the nest preventing a view into it and the nest bowl is on the back side. That will certainly prove limiting and might prevent getting a look at the bobbleheads for a few weeks until they get bigger. That is frustrating but I am glad that for now, all appears to be okay.
The second picture is dad, from his perch south of the nest. He was quite content to hang out over the trail, watching the walkers and bikers go by.
Great horned owl standing watch
Another picture of the male from this local nest. Here, he finally gets a break from the kestrels that had been pestering him but he is wide-eyed keeping an eye out for his tormentors. The kestrels have a nest in a nearby stand of trees and don’t really care for the big owls being around. However, both have lived in the same spots for years so while there is sometimes tension, they tolerate each other for the most part. Kind of like how humans are oftentimes with neighbors. 😉
Clouds and powerlines lead to the rising sun
A fine way to start my St Patrick’s Day photo drive this past Sunday. I was initially planning on hitting up a different spot to capture the show but soon realized the sun is still a bit too far south this time of year to make that location work well. So, I hurried on, moving to a backup spot, panicked that I was not going to make it in time. Thankfully, the traffic lights were on my side, and I was able to capture the beautiful scene.
I liked the quasi leading lines of the power lines and the clouds, both leading right to the spot on the horizon where the sun would pop up a few minutes later. Of course the colors were nothing short of outstanding as well. Have a great weekend, everyone!