From two weeks ago today in the wake of a light snowfall that had fallen the night before. It was a cold and clear morning and a perfect one to spend at my favorite wildlife refuge. The big boy had yet to rise for the morning judging by the snow on his coat, instead opting to just lay under a bare tree. Off in the distance, a snow-covered mountain dominated the horizon. The sun was just starting to illuminate the landscape and all of the elements made for a pretty scene.
A pretty pair of pronghorn does
Yesterday I had to head to Cheyenne for work and as always, I was hoping to get a chance to photograph some of these speed demons on the drive back. Initially the ones I were seeing were too far for quality captures and I was losing hope. Finally, I came across a bachelorette herd of eight giving me the opportunity I wanted.
There were no bucks with them which was kind of annoying, but I was happy nevertheless. For a time, this pair stood apart from the others and as you can tell, they were well aware of my presence.
Of course, with eyesight equivalent to 10X binoculars and a 300-degree field of view, there isn’t usually much chance of you sneaking up on them. The ladies were curious initially but soon decided to run off as they are known to do.
Regal bald eagle shows off
Oh yeah, this guy was all that and a bag of chips to say the least! 😀
This is the male at my favorite bald eagle nest, puffing his chest out and letting us know he is large and in charge. He normally isn’t one to make himself so readily available for portrait work, preferring to play the tough guardian and keeping his distance. Sunday, much to my surprise, he opted to hang out right over the trail, surveying his domain and looking down on those pesky humans as they went by.
This will be the seventh year of me watching this nest and I can’t begin to describe how much enjoyment I have gotten out of it. To have witnessed the triumphs and tragedies over that time is something I treasure.
Prairie falcon returns to its perch
This little guy / gal was having a nice, quiet morning, just sitting and enjoying the sun and watching folks drive by. That is, until a hawk decided it wanted to play. I was watching the falcon when, out of nowhere, a ferruginous hawk flew in and knowing it was outmatched and outsized, the falcon departed. While I missed getting pics of that bit of action, thankfully for me, the falcon simply went for a quick tour and came right back, giving me a nice sequence of light shots including this one.
Downy woodpecker pecking wood
A fun, chance encounter with this cute red head this past weekend so let’s call it #WoodpeckerWednesday. As my friend and I were walking into an area open space, we heard the noise of a woodpecker at work and sure enough, this one was right nearby, going to work looking for a meal. You can even see debris flying in a few of the pictures as it went head-to-head with the tree branches. Kind of a fun encounter and proof that I do sometimes take pictures of ‘little birds.’
There’s a new mama in the house!
A long shot, heavily cropped and not the greatest quality but one that made me happier than most that I have taken. I have been watching this nest for several years and in November of 2022, tragedy struck when the female died from the bird flu. I was the one to find her and it was a devastating discovery.
Since then, it appeared a new female was sometimes around but there was no nesting last year and recent visits showed no activity. I was resigned that the nest was a failure. Sunday morning a friend and I hiked in at sunrise for a look and it appeared I was right, no activity to be seen.
We waited a bit and started to hike out. We got about a quarter mile away and I turned for a final look and lo and behold, a white head! We just couldn’t see her from our initial angle! This was the first view of her from a long ways away.
While I ended up with far better pics of her and her mate when he returned, this will be my favorite from the day. With incubation apparently underway, it will be about 35 days until hatching. Then, months of growth before the little ones take flight. A lot can go wrong in that time but for now, I am renewed with hope.
Dark morph ferruginous hawk ‘wears the weather’ in the early morning
Can you tell it snowed? 😉
Taken yesterday morning, this cool raptor was hanging out on a fence. I assume it had been there all night long and just hadn’t shaken off the snow that had fallen. As you can see, it didn’t seem too thrilled with Mother Nature’s gift of snow and the 5-degree temperature.
Ferruginous hawks are quite common on the plains in the winter. The dark morph variety, however, are a good bit rarer and it is always a treat to see one. This particular hawk has spent all winter hanging out in the same area but usually in spots that prevent decent captures. Yesterday it was more obliging.
“You think sitting in this snow is fun?”
Yeah, this guy didn’t look too happy although I am not sure if it was the weather that made him mad or the photographer that was taking his picture.
This handsome fellow and his bride have made their home in a spot at a pretty popular area. The nest they use seems to alternate between the red-tailed hawks that built it and these owls. She has been sitting on the nest for more than a week and he, of course, is lingering nearby, tending to his bride’s needs.
Unlike in previous years, he has made himself available for pictures a few times lately including this time last Saturday during a snowfall. He initially was well-hidden to the right, outside the frame, but opted to walk up the branch drawing my attention and allowing me to see him.
Big bald eagle up close across a beautiful blue sky
Thanks to Mother Nature, a lot of the pics I have shared lately have been a bit ‘gray’ so here is one that is a whole lot brighter.
Taken on New Years Day when my outing had been less than stellar – up until this point. I had taken virtually no pics all morning when I happened across a gorgeous pair of eagles hanging out. I blew the female’s launch but the male, he was much more obliging, giving me a great sequence of pics, including this one when he was quite close – as you can tell.
Yup, I’ll take all of these shots I can get!
White-tail deer bucks spar in the snow
The rut is over but, well, boys will be boys, and they want to play and show off for the ladies no matter the season. With light snow falling this past Saturday morning, the critters were quite active, making for some fun scenes. These two fellows were a good ways back in a stand of trees but as they pushed and shoved each other, I could get a clear shot here and there. Since I hadn’t really captured much action during the rut, it was nice to get some after the fact.