Tony | Tony's Takes Photography

Stunner of a sunrise over a half-frozen lake

January 22, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

A brilliant sunrise of orange, red and blue over a frozen lake on the Colorado plains. (© Tony’s Takes)

I am always raving about the amazing sunrises we see here on the Colorado plains. More often than not, they are impressive.

This past Saturday morning, I could tell the show was going to be a good one so I headed to one of my favorite sunrise spots at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado. It was a beautiful, long-lasting show.

At the start, the horizon glowed orange and above, the clouds were red and accented by purple and blue behind them. Throw in the ice on the half-frozen lake below and the glow on it and, well, it was pretty darned nice.

Squirrel hangs out up high

January 21, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

A squirrel hangs out in a tree in Thornton, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

So, I just learned it is National Squirrel Appreciation Day. Go figure. I never knew there was such a thing! Certainly I would hate to not give the little bushy-tailed creatures their due so here you go.

This one was hanging out in a local open space not far from where I live back in October. Normally I wouldn’t have bothered taking pics of it but it did look pretty cute up there

Head on and close up with a big mule deer buck

January 20, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Closeup of a mule deer buck head on. (© Tony’s Takes)

One from last month that I forgot to share previously.

This big boy was hanging out near the road and seemed quite curious about the photographer in the truck. That gave me a nice opportunity to get some full frame close-ups of him as he watched me from 20 feet away. Once I bored him, he turned sideways give me a nice profile look as well.

This buck was definitely one of the larger ones in the area and I am sure he had a fine time during the rut. 😉

Closeup profile of a mule deer buck. (© Tony’s Takes)

American kestrel on the hunt

January 19, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

A female American kestrel hunts the plains of Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Check out this pretty lady! I happened across her yesterday as she hunted a field, hovering for long periods of time over perspective prey.

Kestrels are usually pretty skittish but this one didn’t seem to mind me one bit and let me spend a good bit of time photographing her. Occasionally she would plunge into the brush after some form of prey but each time would come back empty-handed and resume her hunt.

She gave me some of the best flight shots I have ever captured of a kestrel which had me pretty excited.

American kestrels are quite common. Here in Colorado you will oftentimes find them perched on poles and wires, keeping watch on the ground below. They are North Americas smallest falcon but don’t let their size fool you. They are just as effective of a predator and just as vicious as any raptor.

Fantastic morning view on the Colorado plains

January 18, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Lenticular clouds and a beautiful sky above the Colorado plains. (© Tony’s Takes)

After what was an absolutely amazing sunrise, the clouds put on a gorgeous show to the northwest. Low to the horizon and well off in the distance, lenticular clouds hovered over the terrain. High and closer the clouds were no less impressive. That big one in the middle reminds me of a blimp. Underneath it all was of course those gorgeous Rocky Mountains.

Bald eagles enjoy a sunrise on the ice

January 18, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

Bald eagles hang out on the ice during a beautiful sunrise on the plains. (© Tony’s Takes)

A cold start to this day back in December but these raptors didn’t mind. They opted to take in a gorgeous sunrise while sitting on the ice of a frozen lake. It was a pretty cool scene and it was hard to decide what to focus on – the eagles or the show on the sky above. This capture gets both.

“Mama, what big teeth you have!”

January 17, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

A red fox kit checks out its mother's mouth while she yawns. (© Tony’s Takes) — A red fox kit checks out its mother’s mouth while she yawns. (© Tony’s Takes)

A red fox kit checks out its mama’s mouth when she yawns.

An image of a couple of the members of a local fox family that I took back at the end of May. The four kits were particularly rambunctious this evening, bounding around, wrestling and exploring.

The vixen was keeping her distance, undoubtedly weary of trying to keep track of them. One of the kits though was not about to let her rest and came running over to ensure she was paying attention. A

Taken in Adams County, Colorado.

Female bald eagle gets ready to make the grab

January 17, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

A female bald eagle prepares to break off a stick to add to her nest. (© Tony’s Takes)

A fun capture from back in November when I visited a nest under construction.

The pair was hanging out at their perspective home with the male pretty much doing nothing and the female going around gathering sticks. Here, right after launch, she extends her legs and prepares to use her talons to break off a stick.

She wasn’t successful, in fact she totally missed the branch, but I love the action it conveys and of course the look at those meat hook talons.

American pika strikes a pose

January 16, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

An American pika near the top of Mount Evans in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

One for Throwback Thursday going to this past September. This was on my last visit of the season to Mount Evans, just before they closed the road for the winter. Up until then, I hadn’t done a very good job documenting these little high altitude creatures for the year but that changed on this day.

This pika in particular turned out to be quite a willing photo subject. I had staked out a spot on a rock in the talus field, patiently waiting for one of the little guys to pop out. Before long, it appeared and paid little attention to me.

Here, it hopped up on a rock not 20 feet away, taking a break from gathering food for the coming change of seasons. These little guys are highly entertaining and almost always in motion. When they stop, you better be ready to take the picture.

Big bull shows off its smile for Wapiti Wednesday

January 15, 2020 by Tony Leave a Comment

A massive elk bull uses the flemen response to get a good whiff of the air. (© Tony’s Takes)

Well, this massive elk bull was not really smiling but actually taking a big whiff of the air.

This image was captured mid-September in Rocky Mountain National Park at the height of the annual rut. Hormones were raging and the bulls were fighting for dominance. The bull was guarding a nice sized harem of cows and calves.

Ungulates like elk and some other mammals do what is called the flehmen response. They lift their lips and open their mouths to take in more of a scent, just as you or I do when taking a big whiff of something.