This guy was making sure no one violated the rules. 😉
Bison breath on a cold Colorado morning
Kind of a different, fun capture. I have a vision in my mind for a similar, better shot but have yet to get it. This is the closest I have come. The bison were east of me, into the rising sun and with temperatures in the teens, their breath was creating clouds of vapor. I underexposed the shot leaving little more than a silhouette of these impressive creatures of the plains.
“I will squash you like a bug, little Magpie!”
“I will squash you like a bug, little Magpie!” 😀 This Bald Eagle didn’t really care too much for his roost-mate recently. A fun shot from a couple weeks ago at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado.
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend – get out and see what you can find!
Bald Eagle makes an aggressive departure for Freedom Friday
Certainly I take tons of pics of these awesome birds but I am really liking this capture. Taken last month, this particular eagle has proven to be quite tolerant of my intrusions on its hunting grounds. It ignores me when I am around, simply keeping watch and waiting for an opportunity to grab a meal as if I wasn’t there.
On this day, it gave me tons of cool poses then became bored and decided it was time to seek out a new perch. As it departed, its massive wings grabbed at the air, sending it onward at breakneck speed. This shot, with its wings forward and lit by the morning sun, came out quite nice I think.
I have one more of my 2019 Bald Eagle calendars on hand and ready to ship immediately. Should I run out, I can always order more. Order one here.
A very patient Prairie Falcon
It’s been a while since I had gotten decent pics of these awesome, little raptors. In recent weeks I had seen quite a few but was not having much luck getting pics. Then, last week, I happened across this gorgeous specimen as it hung out on a pole keeping watch on a nearby field.
It was quite willing to pose for pictures for me and in fact, was too patient. I sat and waited and waited and waited for it to take flight but it never did, choosing to sit and watch me. With winter here, I am hopeful I will get some changes at flight shots soon.
Golden Eagle dines on rabbit
I haven’t had much luck finding any of these massive raptors in recent months so when I happened across this one recently, I was very happy.
It was a long ways out in a fenced off field but I took advantage of the opportunity to grab some pics as it ate breakfast. The eagle had snagged itself a rabbit and was enjoying the meal while the Magpies hung out, hoping for leftovers.
Once it was done, it briefly landed in a nearby tree giving me my best shot of the series. Otherwise, the images weren’t all that great but it was well worth the time to stop and watch.
Snow Geese take to the skies of Colorado
I don’t know that I have ever seen so many of these gorgeous, white geese as I have this year. Most of the state, save for the southeastern part, only sees them during migration. Unlike the ever-present Canada Goose, these are less common here. In recent weeks I have seen many large groups of them flying overhead and hanging out at area lakes.
Playing peek-a-boo with a 1,000 pound Moose bull
Certainly that isn’t really what was going on here but when it was happening, it seemed like it. This big guy was grazing on willows, regularly dipping his head down and completely out of sight. He would then pop his head back up, giving a look at me to see if I was still there watching him.
This was a very fun encounter, particularly since he was one of four bulls in the area at the time thus giving me a ton of photo ops.
Taken on August 1 in the Sulfur Ranger District of Arapaho National Forest.
A lot of eyes on the photographer
My photo excursion didn’t quite go as planned yesterday with the lake I had chosen to go to being totally frozen over. Instead, I explored some back roads and that actually turned out pretty good.
I came across this big herd of Pronghorn, probably the biggest I have seen. There are 22 in this picture but it only shows about a third of the ones that were there. As is typical for these wary creatures, they didn’t hang around long and were soon running away but it was fun to see them.
Rough-legged Hawk head on
My first quality pics of of the season for these largely winter visitors to Colorado’s plains. This gorgeous raptor was patrolling the fields near Denver International Airport and I raced to keep up.
Suddenly it took a turn right toward me so I slammed the brakes and started shooting, capturing this image just as it flew overhead. Judging by the look on its face, it was watching me as much as I was it.
Rough Legged Hawks spend their summers in the Arctic where they mate and then spend winters in southern Canada and the lower 48.