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.
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. 😉
Red fox keeping watch from atop a log
I miss my foxy friends! Despite more than a half dozen attempts over the past six months, I have not had any luck spotting my local foxes. I am pretty sure they are still around judging by the scat and pawprints but they sure don’t want to play with me. So, for #ThrowbackThursday, let’s take a look at the end of last April.
It was a gorgeous spring morning and as if on cue, as the sun popped over the horizon, one of them came out to sun itself in one of their favorite spots. It seemed to suspect it was being watched and paused to look right at me. However, I was well-hidden and seeing no threat, it soon curled up on the log for a morning nap. I am hopeful that with warmer weather coming, they will make themselves available for photo sessions in the near future.
Bald eagle on patrol
Flipping through pictures last night, I came across this absolute gem I haven’t shared yet. Taken back in mid-January, I was on my way home from work and came across this beautiful lady and her mate. Perched on power poles along the South Platte River, it wasn’t a great scene but it was relatively warm and I had the time so I hiked in to have a look.
She was getting kind of antsy so I had a feeling she was going to leave and she did. But I have learned to wait when they do. Oftentimes they come back and while she went up the river a ways, sure enough, she did. Her eyes were focused on the river, apparently scouting for a meal. In doing so, she flew right at me giving me a great look at her as she looked below.
My friend, Patrick, laments the solid blue skies we oftentimes see here in Colorado as they don’t make for good backgrounds of birds in flight. I don’t disagree and on this shot, you can see how a few, distant clouds can really add to an image. This is a capture I really love.
Great blue heron comes in for a landing
While some of these big birds are around year-round, we most often see them during the warmer months. This past Sunday, there were a number of them gathered around a local pond, giving me some cool captures. Here, one, seemingly unaware of (or uncaring about) my presence, flies in and makes a landing. With their huge wings and long necks, these birds remind me of the long-extinct pterodactyl.
Signs of spring as pelicans return to the Colorado plains
You know the changing of the seasons is upon us when you see these massive birds arrive. I figured it would be any day now as it is usually mid-March when I first see them. Yesterday, I found about 10 of them at our county fairgrounds. They must have been tired from their migration as they didn’t do a whole lot of anything. Most just sat and relaxed. These four did, briefly, go for a swim but were a good ways away. Certainly there will be many more photo opportunities with them in the coming months.