An absolutely fantastic weekend of picture taking for me. The primary focus was on Bald Eagles as it won’t be long and most will be heading north for the summer so I was wanting to concentrate my efforts there. This particular raptor was perched in a tree on the banks of Cherry Creek State Park’s lake. When it launched I was fortunate enough to capture an entire series of it including this one.
Food fight!
Certainly not a great quality image due to the distance but a fun one nevertheless. Although there weren’t a lot of them, the Bald Eagles at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado were quite active.
This gorgeous one had caught itself a nice sized fish and was desperately trying to find someplace quiet to enjoy its breakfast. A Red Tailed Hawk decided it wanted to share though and gave pursuit. I watched the pair tussle in the air with the smaller raptor trying to snag the fish.
It was ultimately unsuccessful and the eagle headed of to eat alone.
Watchful little falcon
I happened across this male American Kestrel and its mate yesterday. They clearly weren’t bothered by me and in fact seemed more curious about me than anything.
These birds are the smallest falcon in North America averaging about 8 inches long. Don’t let their size fool you though. They are as much of an effective predator and just as vicious as any raptor.
Taken in Broomfield, Colorado.
Regal Eagle portrait
On our way to take my mom to dinner last week we swung by an open space area near where she lives as she said she had seen a Bald Eagle there. Sure enough, there it was. It was extraordinarily tolerant to my presence. Although I blew the launch pics, I did manage some nice poses including this one. Taken in Westminster, Colorado.
Love is in the air for Freedom Friday
I imagined the male (left) telling the female, “Look into my eyes, my darling,” as these two lovebirds interacted recently.
This pair of Bald Eagles was busy putting the finishing touches on their nest and working hard to ensure some new occupants come along in a couple months. Hopefully she will soon be sitting on the nest.
Bald Eagles usually lay two eggs per clutch with each usually laid a couple days apart. Then there is a 35 day incubation period. Once they hatch, the eaglets will grow very quickly and by the time they are six weeks old they are nearly as big as their parents. Seven to 10 weeks after that, they will take their first flights. Assuming all goes well, it should be a lot of fun to witness and document.
Mule Deer doe enjoys a peaceful morning
With the sun having just popped up over the horizon, this doe was enjoying grazing through a field on a quiet Colorado morning. The low, soft sun gave some nice backlighting to this gentle creature.
Mule Deer are found across western North America with a wide range from the mountains to the Great Plains. You could of course guess that they get their name from their rather large, seemingly oversized ears.
Time to get out, junior!
Sometimes parents just have to give their kids a push to leave the nest and get them to go out on their own. This is even the case with Bald Eagles.
While observing this nest recently, last year’s fledgling returned to the site to visit its parents. Dad and Mom though, busy setting up home for what will hopefully be new arrivals in the coming months, didn’t seem too thrilled to have junior return. They chased the young one off a few times, making it clear it was time for the juvenile to make its own way in the world.
In this sequence of images, after giving junior an earful, mom takes the tough love approach and leaps at her offspring to chase it off. Dim, early lighting made for tough shooting and not the best of pictures but the interaction is pretty neat to see.
Back off, brother!
I have no idea what this behavior means but it appeared this Turkey tom didn’t like his friend getting so close.
I came across a good-sized rafter of 40 or so of these while taking a bit of a detour on my way home today. Unfortunately they were quite a ways out in the field and the images had to be cropped quite a bit. Taken in Adams County, Colorado.
Great Horned Owl settles in with the sunrise
After a long night out hunting and with the sun coming up over the horizon, this owl was ready for its morning nap. A couple weeks ago I posted a picture of this same owl in almost the exact same position but with snow covering the tree.
This image, taken just a few days later, shows much drier conditions. It does a good job highlighting just how well camouflaged these raptors are with their plumage so closely matching the tree.
Great Horned Owls have started to settle down on nests in the area. Unfortunately most of the nests I watched last year were either destroyed by the winter weather or remain unoccupied.
If anyone knows of any in the north Denver metro area, please let me know. I am need of finding some new ones to observe in the coming months.
American Pika poses
It’s been a while since I have posted a picture of these little ones and I am feeling spring fever beginning to set in and the desire to return to high altitude to see them.
American Pikas are hardy little animals living above treeline in places where the winters can be completely inhospitable to most animals.
This particular one was hanging out in the rarefied air at about 12,000 feet near the top of Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park back in September. It had been furiously gathering food and nesting material for the coming winter but took a break just long enough for me to snap a picture of it.