Tony's Takes Photography

Wildlife, landscape and weather photography

Blue sky Bald Eagle flyby

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A Bald Eagle with its wings high flies through the clear, blue Colorado skies. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Bald Eagle with its wings high flies through the clear, blue Colorado skies. (© Tony’s Takes)

It is Freedom Friday and today let’s go with this absolutely fantastic creature against those deep, blue Colorado skies. Taken a few weeks ago in Estes Park.

Bald eagles have been a spiritual symbol of Native Americans for hundreds of years. There were variations between tribes as to the eagles’ symbolism but for most it generally represented bravery, wisdom, strength and courage. It was believed that the eagles carried prayers to the Great Spirit.

I don’t know that I could disagree with their beliefs about these majestic raptors.

Mountain Goat kid in the early morning light

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A Mountain Goat kid enjoys the warmth of the rising sun on Mount Evans in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Mountain Goat kid enjoys the warmth of the rising sun on Mount Evans in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Such a cute little one, eh? Taken back in July, this kid was hanging out near the top of Mount Evans in Colorado with the rest of the herd. The sun had just crested the horizon and it turned its head just right to allow the soft light to hit it perfectly.

I probably won’t get to see another one of these beautiful creatures until the spring but at least I have lots of pics and memories of this past season with them.

Mountain Goats are actually not native to the Centennial State. They were brought here over six transplant operations from 1948 to 1972 as game animals and tourist attractions. Those 50 or so Mountain Goats grew to numbers in the thousands today.

“These are MY ladies”

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A massive elk bull keeps close watch as he guards his harem. (© Tony’s Takes)
A massive elk bull keeps close watch as he guards his harem. (© Tony’s Takes)

“These are MY ladies.” A massive Elk bull casts a stern look toward any that would dare to poach from his harem. 😉 This guy was indeed quite impressive and had himself a nice harem of a dozen cows. Three other bulls were nearby, only one of which could even be considered a contender, but my money would be on this guy for sure.

Beware that which lurks in the swamp

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An American Alligator does its best to stay low and hidden in the headwaters to the Florida Everglades. (© Tony’s Takes)
An American Alligator does its best to stay low and hidden in the headwaters to the Florida Everglades. (© Tony’s Takes)

This pretty lady was doing her best to hide from us during our air boat ride in central Florida back in June. It clearly did not work.

Our boat driver was awesome and gave me all the time I needed to get my pics of the Alligators we came across. In this case, I laid down on my belly to get as low of an angle as possible. I definitely was not going to hop in the water with her so that had to do. Ha!

Bison bulls go head to head for Tatanka Tuesday

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A pair of Bison bulls battle head to head at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. (© Tony’s Takes)
A pair of Bison bulls battle head to head at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. (© Tony’s Takes)

The recent cool weather here along the Colorado Front Range seemed to please the Bison. This past weekend they were extraordinarily active with lots of running and a few battles. Here, two of the big boys go at it with one almost knocking another down. The action was a good ways off and the cruddy, overcast skies did me no favors in terms of photo quality but the action sure was fun to see.

A pair of Bison bulls battle head to head at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. (© Tony’s Takes)
A pair of Bison bulls battle head to head at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. (© Tony’s Takes)
A pair of Bison bulls battle head to head at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. (© Tony’s Takes)
A pair of Bison bulls battle head to head at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. (© Tony’s Takes)

Great Egret nabs a small meal

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A Great Egret grabs a shad from a pond in northern Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Great Egret grabs a shad from a pond in northern Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Came across this series of pics I captured back in April but hadn’t shared. This Great Egret was hanging out in a small pond and nabbing these little fish with relative ease. We don’t usually seem these birds here so it was a lot of fun to not only see one but also get some pics of one.

A Great Egret grabs a shad from a pond in northern Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Great Egret grabs a shad from a pond in northern Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Great Egret grabs a shad from a pond in northern Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A Great Egret grabs a shad from a pond in northern Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

Black and white aspen

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Aspen tree trunks in black and white. (© Tony’s Takes)
Aspen tree trunks in black and white. (© Tony’s Takes)

Continuing to sort through pics from the past year and found this one. In color, it was, quite frankly, unimpressive. A change to black and white gives it some interest I think. Kind of like it. Taken in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.

Long Eared Owls in the thick of it

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A pair of Long Eared Owls hangs out in thick bushes in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A pair of Long Eared Owls hangs out in thick bushes in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

As I prep for my end of year photo projects (calendars, books, etc), I am going back and sorting through images taken over the past 10 months or so. This morning I came across this one from back in February that I had not shared with you.

These were two of four Long Eared Owls that wintered in a nearby state park. I was not as fortunate as some photographers and never got a truly clear shot of them. Nevertheless, they sure were fun to see.

These medium-sized owls are found across North America, year-round in the western United States and Canada but only in the winter east of the Rockies and in Mexico. Like most owls, they are nocturnal and during the winter, as I witnessed, will oftentimes roost communally.

Burrowing Owl gets serious

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A male Burrowing Owl casts a serious gaze near Denver International Airport. (© Tony’s Takes)
A male Burrowing Owl casts a serious gaze near Denver International Airport. (© Tony’s Takes)

Going back to the beginning of July for this image of a male Burrowing Owl near Denver International Airport. It seemed pretty clear the guy didn’t really appreciate having a camera pointed at him. 😉

A friend had turned me onto a spot that had a number of families of these cool little dudes hanging out and while I didn’t get to spend much time with them, I did have fun when I did.

In Colorado, Burrowing Owls are here during the spring and summer. By now, most, if not all, have started their migration south to warmer environs for the winter. I will be anxiously awaiting their return.

This image is available here.

Daytime waning gibbous moon

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A daytime waning gibbous moon as seen from Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)
A daytime waning gibbous moon as seen from Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. (© Tony’s Takes)

A random capture from this past weekend in the Rocky Mountains. I was actually watching some nearby creatures when I looked around and saw the moon, crystal clear and looming above. I couldn’t resist swinging by tripod head around and snapping a few captures.