Well, it is going to be tough to top this on any of my photo trips this weekend. I came across this gorgeous Bald Eagle just a couple of miles from home on my way from work this afternoon. It obliged me with some great poses and an absolutely fantastic flyby. It actually surprised me with its launch and the fact it came right toward me – had a hard time keeping up. Taken in Adams County, Colorado open space.
Bald Eagle flies and dines on fish for Freedom Friday
Another set of images from the ‘hotspot’ in northeastern Colorado I have been spending time at the last couple of weekends.
As the Bald Eagles in this area aren’t used to people, they can be quite skittish. Instead of trying to follow them all over the place, I decided I would try letting them come to me. I staked out a spot among a bunch of trees that they seemed to favor and waited, camera at the ready. As you can tell, it worked quite well.
This particular adult had just snagged a fish from the lake and flew into a tree nearby giving me some nice shots of it carrying its meal. I then did my best stealth approach to where it landed and got some decent pics of it chowing down. The tree was quite dense so there was a lot of branches between it and I but it was a lot of fun to witness.
Scroll down to view the complete sequence.
Coming soon to the Great Plains – Burrowing Owls
With any luck we should be seeing these along the Colorado Front Range in the next couple of weeks or so. These little guys are probably by second favorite seasonal bird here – but not far behind my first. They are supremely entertaining to watch, especially the young ones when they emerge.
This wide-eyed lady was keeping watch over her brood last June, soon after they made their first public appearance.
Hoo hoo dares to intrude on my domain?
I finally managed to find dad! Mom has been sitting on a local nest for a couple weeks now but, as usual, spotting the Great Horned Owl dad was proving to be elusive. It seems like we play this game every spring but once I find him the first time, he re-realizes that I am no threat.
On Sunday I set out with the intent of finding the guy, searching hard in his favorite stand of trees. I was having no luck and had just about given up when he made the mistake of taking flight from where he was hidden.
Having given away his location I was then able to find him easily and while he may have been annoyed with me, he was quite tolerant and we spent a good bit of time together. I’m looking forward to continuing to document him and his family in the coming months.
Red-winged Blackbird sings the song of spring
The seasons are changing and one sure sign is the singing of these common birds. These birds can be found across much of North America. Here in Colorado they are very common on the plains, usually found near spots with water. Their very distinctive call almost guarantees you will hear them before you see them.
The males, like this one here, are black and have the gorgeous red / orange / yellow accents. Females are brown and quite plain looking. This guy was hanging out near a pond in Thornton, Colorado a couple of days ago making a lot of noise.
Photographer inadvertently startles juvenile Bald Eagle
It isn’t too often you surprise a Bald Eagle – or any other kind of wildlife for that matter. They are keenly aware of their surroundings and their senses extraordinary.
It appears though that I managed to catch this young one unawares. I was working my way through a stand of trees, not being particularly quiet, when I see this juvenile Bald Eagle gazing off in the distance.
I snap a picture or two and then it suddenly became aware of my presence and that seemed to startle it. The poor young one couldn’t get out of there fast enough, hitting itself in the face with a branch as it leapt into the air.
I was surprised by its reaction and not able to zoom out enough to full capture its wings as I assumed it knew I was there and would be able to predict when it was going to take flight. It was a bit amusing but I did feel bad as startling it certainly was not my intent.
Scroll down to view the complete sequence.
Coming soon – Osprey
The one bird I am probably looking most forward to returning this spring is this majestic, large hawk.
Osprey are incredibly entertaining to watch and surprisingly tolerant of people making them great for watching and photographing. Some were spotted this past weekend north of the Denver area, a bit earlier than normal.
Looking back, it appears the last couple of years I captured my first images of them during the first week of April. They spend their winters on the coasts of Mexico and South America so have a pretty long journey to make to get to their summer homes.
This particular female was fishing near Longmont, Colorado back in August.
Frozen snow makes for tough digging for Coyote?
Having just woken up from a post-dawn nap, this pretty lady appeared to be looking for a meal. Her keen ears had picked up the sound of something under the snow but getting to it proved to be problematic.
A very cold night had frozen the top layer (notice how she is walking on top) and getting underneath was not easy. She pawed at it, even tried gnawing at it, all to no avail. In the end she decided it was too much work and moved on to find her breakfast elsewhere.
Taken at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado on January 16, 2016.
Coyotes are amazingly adaptable animals and have not been greatly impacted by human expansion. Here in the area I live, this has resulted in some human – coyote conflicts, mainly with the coyotes attacking domestic pets. They range across North America and some have even been seen into Central America and Panama.
Bull plays hide and seek for Moose Monday
You wouldn’t think that a 1,000 pound animal would be hard to spot but as you can see, in a thick, lush forest, it could be difficult.
Last July a friend and I headed up to Arapaho National Forest with the hopes of seeing these massive creatures for the first time of the year. Only one was around and he didn’t stay for long.
We were not seeing any initially then we see him emerge from the forest’s edge and gradually graze his way out into the open as this image shows. Not 15 seconds before you would have never seen him – and we didn’t.
Robins squabble – or perhaps were just getting frisky
I don’t normally train my camera on little birds as they tend to be so darned skittish plus I don’t usually even know what they are. This time however was a bit different in that American Robins are easily identified. This pair was flittering about in a tree Saturday, chasing each other incessantly. Pretty tough to stay framed on one of them, let alone two. Not sure if they were mad at each other or perhaps was part of a mating ritual. Either way, it was kind of fun to watch.