Just a random capture from this past Sunday of our only natural satellite. I know folks love the full moon shots but captures when it is waning or waxing do a better job showing off the detail and the craters due to the shadows.
Brown bear cubs hanging out on the river
These triplets were following along with their mom while she was fishing Moraine Creek in National Park Service Katmai National Park and Preserve, Alaska.
The sow would go into the river to catch her meals and the three would dutifully stay ashore and wait for her to return. Normally they were wise and stayed hidden in the grass but a few times we got a good look at them.
They were so darned cute but I never could get all three to look at me at once and they always seemed to be on the wrong side of the light. Nevertheless, it was a lot of fun to be able to see cubs of the year.
Sunrise stuns for a short time
On this day this past weekend, I was in no particular rush to head out on my photo excursion. Clouds promised to keep the light dim and they looked to be pretty solid so I wasn’t expecting much in the way of a good sunrise to capture.
As I was driving, I started to see some faint hints of color and then more and then more. I put the pedal to the metal and raced to the closest spot that would provide a decent view. The show didn’t last but a few minutes before everything faded to the gray I was expecting but, while it did last, well, as you can see it was a mighty fine view.
Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.
Gyrfalcon gets its portrait taken
What an absolutely beautiful raptor and one that we don’t see here in Colorado.
You might be able to guess from its bright, white plumage that these falcons are from the north and you would be right. They typically reside in the alpine tundra of Canada and Alaska but do sometimes venture down into southern Canada and on rare occasion, the northern tier of the contiguous United States.
They are in fact the largest falcon in the world and like many of its cousins, tends to prey on other birds. Some are a white morph variety like this pretty lady but many more come in shades of gray and brown.
This is a captive bird that I photographed at a recent event. On this day she was being a bit temperamental and not too willing to pose so I only managed a couple quick captures.
The birds!
Kind of like from the Alfred Hitchcock movie, I came across this insanely massive flock of geese this past weekend on the plains of Colorado. From end to end, it had to have stretched for more than a quarter mile.
If you want to try counting them, feel free, but I just know there was a LOT of them. 😉
The majority of them were likely Canada geese which we see a lot of here in the winter, unfortunately too many. They become overwhelming at times, particularly when they take up residence in urban and suburban parks.
White-tailed deer buck tries trees for camouflage
This guy is one of the bigger white-tails at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado. He is very handsome and yesterday gave me some nice captures. This one I liked the best with the framing of the trees as he kept watch on the folks passing by.
White tailed deer are found across much of North America, through Central America and the northern parts of South America. They are the smallest deer in North America and capable of speeds up to 30mph and able to leap as high as 10 feet and as far as 30 feet in a single bound.
Mountain goat kid portrait
Kind of hard not to say, “Awww” when you look at that face!
The mountain goat kids are always a big highlight of the spring and summer and always entertaining to photograph. They spend much of their time bounding around and playing with each other but every now and then they settle down. When they do, you can get some nice portraits of the little ones, like this capture.
Taken back on July 4th, it had just finished a rousing session of play with another kid. Taken on Mount Evans in Colorado.
Regal bald eagle strikes a pose for Freedom Friday
Now this is one beautiful lady! She was one of the most perfect eagles I have ever seen – the pose, the look, the plumage. Wow! Throw in those incredible, deep blue Colorado skies in the background and she is perfect.
Taken last weekend, her and her mate had staked out a spot on a warm day at an osprey stand in Weld County. With the summertime residents south for the winter, the eagles decided they would take it over for the colder months.
She was incredibly patient, giving me tons of poses and never once cared about my presence. You can tell how relaxed she was by the fact she was standing on one foot. Raptors oftentimes do that when they are comfortable.
Great horned owl focuses on the landing
Such impressive creatures and extraordinarily efficient hunters. You can easily imagine a poor rabbit below being terrified as this creature of the night descends on it. 😉
While I find and photograph these owls often in the wild, this particular one is a captive bird, owned by Nature’s Educators. The photoshoot with it allowed me to get some cool shots that are very hard to come by in the wild.
One thing that struck me about this particular bird originally from the Midwest was the darker plumage as compared to the ones I find on the Front Range in Colorado. Their plumage can vary based on geography, likely a result of local adaptations to the environment. Nature’s colors here in Colorado are quite muted and less vibrant and our #owls reflect that.
American bison bull in stark black and white
I always say that there is something about these icons of the American West that begs to have them viewed in black and white. It just always seems so fitting.
This big guy was wearing a coat of white from the snowstorm this past Sunday night. The rising sun behind him provided somewhat harsh backlighting so I cranked up the highlights for this image.
It used to be we called these buffalo but that actually was incorrect. While they are part of the same family that includes the European and African buffalo, the Bison is its own, distinct species.
It is believed they were called #buffalo by early North American explorers due to their resemblance to the Old-World species. Native Americans call them Tatanka, a Lakota word that translated means “bull buffalo.”