Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
A throwback to the end of May when this pretty mare, her foal and two other horses paid a visit to this watering hole in Sand Wash Basin. She was kind enough to step gently into the water, barely raising a ripple, allowing for a nice reflection to be cast as she started drinking. The water wasn’t calm like this for long as her friends soon joined and then another band came along and chased them off entirely.
These guys are just so cool and have such a unique look to them. I’ve only been able to photograph them a handful of times, twice in the wild and twice at photoshoots.
This particularly one is owned by Nature’s Educators and is named Caliban. Almost exactly one year ago today I took part in a raptor photoshoot in which it was one of the featured birds. It was extraordinarily well trained giving me tons of poses and some beautiful flight shots.
These guys are quite common but they are rarely seen usually staying tucked away during the day in dense tree cover, tree cavities and yes, barns.
This will probably illicit some, “Oh, gross!” type comments but it is kind of neat. I spotted these two (look close) spiders on the side of our house recently.
Initially they were separate and I was photographing the bigger of the two. Suddenly, the big one lept at the second and, well, it was clear its intentions were less than kind.
Yeah, definitely a bit of ick-factor to the shots but also kind of cool. 😉
Taken a couple weeks ago, a bit early for “prime time” fall foliage but still a pretty view from Horseshoe Park.
A fun few images for Wapiti Wednesday.
Away from the main action of the rut in the meadow below, these two younger bulls had a little battle of their own in the forest above. Somewhat young and not quite ready to challenge the big boys, their hormones were raging just the same and they decided to take it out on each other.
For a good half hour they went back and forth, locking antlers and pushing and shoving each other. While maybe not quite as impressive as the bigger bulls, these guys clearly showed that in a year or so, they will be ready and in their prime to battle for supremacy – and the ladies.
A nice close-up of this guy for Moose Monday. A lot of folks don’t fully appreciate how dangerous these big creatures of the forest can be. They may seem like slow and lumbering beasts but they can move extraordinarily fast when they want and are highly unpredictable.
During the rut, the males have hormones raging and are very irritable. Females, like any good mother, will not hesitate to protect their young. You certainly do not want to find yourself in a situation where an 800-pound moose is trying to stomp you!
As for this fellow, he was lazily grazing on willows in the Colorado high country early last month. While it is a close-up, I maintained a respectful distance, have a powerful zoom lens and the image is cropped a good bit.
A fun, surprise encounter with this beautiful lady. I had some time to kill recently so decided to walk around an open space area I had never been to before. It was a good thing I had my camera with me because soon I spotted this hawk, gliding over the terrain, clearly looking for a meal.
Most of the time, she had her head down, scanning the ground but for a bit she picked her head up giving me this nice capture. In fact, I ended up with a very nice series of her, one of the best I have ever gotten of a harrier.
You’ll find Harriers across much of North America, Europe and Asia depending on the season. Here we call them Northern Harriers but in other spots on the globe they are known as Hen Harriers, Harrier Hawks or Marsh Hawks.
On one of the days last weekend I bypassed the usual action of the elk rut and instead headed to the high altitude tundra. While there, much to my surprise, I happened across this handsome fellow.
Normally by now these guys have moved to lower altitudes in search of the ladies and preparing for their own rut. He apparently preferred the cooler environs up high. That was fine with me as it had been quite a while since I photographed any bighorn and he looked quite nice lying of the fall-colored tundra.
This little one seemed to have finished its winter preparations as it didn’t spend any time gathering, instead choosing to simply find a spot out of the wind at 12,000+ feet altitude (not an easy task).
I had yet to photograph any of these tiny creatures this year so Saturday I made it my mission to do so. The wind was miserable and while it wasn’t terribly cold, it was enough to keep me shivering, largely due to me forgetting gloves. 😀
Thankfully, the little pika took mercy on me and would pose occasionally, giving me some nice shots before retreating to the warmth of the car and a return to warmer, lower altitudes.
Taken on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park.
I had asked this handsome fellow to give me a nice portrait. Sigh. Everyone’s a comedian. 😉
Had a fantastic weekend in Rocky Mountain National Park, taking in the sights and of course enjoying the wildlife. The elk rut is in full swing with the bulls doing their best to keep their harems.
This particular fellow was alone and on the move, looking for cows. Not long after this image was taken, he disappeared into the forest only to emerge a few minutes later chasing a cow. Persistence pays off I guess.
