A very fun shot from the beginning of April when the owls first returned for the season. I previously shared an image from later in this encounter when the owl realized the rabbit was there and the two were face-to-face. This was taken a minute or so before that when the owl was so focused on me, it didn’t realize a curious cottontail had come to see what the ruckus was all about. It won’t be long and the burrowing owls will head south to their winter homes and I will definitely miss all the entertainment they provide.
“You said it was spring!”
These guys are quite common and found just about everywhere so I rarely photograph them but given this one’s less than pleasant demeanor about the weather, I figured I would take a shot. We saw a little bit of snow Friday night into Saturday morning and while we have had some hints of spring, we are still waiting for it to arrive in earnest. Hopefully we do get to enjoy the season and not just jump straight to the summer heat!
Burrowing owl reclaims its summer home from the Easter Bunny
There is nothing worse than returning from wintering in the south and finding a squatter has taken over your home!
A very fun scene to watch play out. The owl was hanging out at this burrow, calling to its mate. The noise grabbed the interest of the rabbit and it cautiously kept hopping closer and closer until the owl noticed it and took a defensive posture.
Most owls will do just as this little guy is doing – throw its wings out and forward and puff up to help make itself look more intimidating to a potential threat. Of course, with as small as burrowing owls are, it is tough to take them too seriously. The rabbit wasn’t too concerned and seemed to be a bit perplexed as to what the owl was so mad about.
I have been anxiously awaiting the return of the burrowing owls this year and today I finally saw my first of the season. Two separate pairs were spotted and I am sure more will be arriving in the coming weeks. This was just what I needed as I feel like I have been in a bit of a ‘photo funk’ of late, not getting any pics that inspired me or got me excited. This is definitely one of my personal favorite pics of burrowing owls that I have ever taken.
Hide and seek with Jack
I haven’t had much luck finding jackrabbits lately but this one at least gave me a fleeting opportunity recently. It had its ears tucked down and it was doing its best to conceal itself in some foliage. Judging from those wide eyes, it wasn’t too thrilled it had been spotted. 😉
Beautiful backlit white-tailed jackrabbit
It has been quite a while since I have seen one of these big-eared creatures. Recently I spotted this one hanging out in a farm’s yard. As you can tell, it was well aware that it was being watched but thankfully it hung around long enough for me to grab a few quick captures before it bounded off. I loved how the back-lighting really lit up those monstrous ears.
Bounding bunny heading toward the weekend
Well, I don’t know about you but I am very ready for the weekend to get here. It’s been a bit of a challenging week to say the least and I think this fast mover could be me heading into Friday. 😉
A bit of a #ThrowbackThursday for this image to this past June. This cool black-tailed jackrabbit was out in a field in northeastern Colorado but was none to keen on sitting and posing for pictures. That’s okay though because I was able to get a nice sequence of images as he bounded away.
Playing hide and seek with Jack
It has been a while since I have seen a jackrabbit but finally did again this past weekend. This one was not too keen to show itself but those big ears and bug-eyes stood out and made it relatively easy to spot.
There actually seems to be a little clan of them in this particular spot as I saw a few of them within a 100 yards of each other. Definitely will be keeping an eye out for them.
Flying rabbits!
Taken from a long ways away so not the greatest of pics but lots of fun to see. These cottontails were engaged in a bit of play yesterday, taking turns jumping while the other ran beneath it. At the time I wasn’t sure what it meant but it was kind of neat. Today I looked it up and apparently this is a courting ritual. Go figure!
Rabbit hunkers down, waits out the storm
I know I have been posting lots of pics with snowy creatures lately but with the weather we have been having here so far this month, that’s most of what I have captured with my camera. This little guy’s face reflects what many of us human’s here are feeling – enough with the snow and cold! 😀
Jill and Jack rabbit hang out on a cold winter’s day
It isn’t often that you can get jackrabbits to sit still for pictures but this past Sunday I had a pair that was quite cooperative. I was exploring a back country road following our most recent snowstorm and came across these two.
One stayed right next to the road and gave me some nice poses. The other opted to run off a little ways into the field but still within range of my camera.
Normally I only see jackrabbits during the summer but in recent weeks have managed a few wintertime encounters.
Technically jackrabbits aren’t rabbits at all –they are hares. While they look similar and are part of the same family, jackrabbits are much larger overall with longer ears and feet. These little speed demons can cover 30 feet horizontally in one leap and run at speeds up to 35 mph in short bursts.
That is probably why I normally only get pics of the rear end of them. 😉