Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
When you weigh close to 2,000 pounds and standing almost six feet tall, finding a good hiding place on the Great Plains is not easy. For you and I, tall, thick grass would easily conceal us but for these guys, it isn’t quite so easy. 😉
This was kind of a fun, different view of our national mammal. This big boy was lying down in the grass, peering just over the top of the grass right at me. I imagined him saying to himself, “If I don’t move, he won’t be able to spot me.”
Another couple captures of this pretty lady and her fox kits for Mother’s Day.
They are definitely getting to the age where she isn’t going to allow this for long. For the time being, she took the role of a providing mother in fine fashion, standing until all three had their fill. Once they did, they were back to raising a ruckus and wearing the poor lady out. 😉
These fox kits have the right idea in this very fitting image for Mother’s Day.
Whether in the animal kingdom or among us humans, moms are absolutely crucial to their children. They are the glue that holds the family together, a loving and generous provider and protector.
It was good timing that I got to photograph this family recently and witness how this beautiful vixen interacted with her young. She brought them food, played with them and provided some nice, quiet moments like this when two of the kits came to snuggle up to her.
We wish her and all other mom’s out there a very happy Mother’s Day! Thank you for all you do!
As I mentioned earlier this week, I had a great visit with my favorite wildlife family last weekend. I got glimpses of the two eaglets and the parents were quite active.
Early on, mom brought in a fish for the young ones. Later, not to be outdone, dad brought one too and his was a far more substantial meal. That’s a good-sized fish!
You will note, however, that some bites have been taken out of the middle of the fish and he is wearing the bloody evidence on his beak. Clearly he is smart enough to realize he isn’t likely to get much to eat once the kiddos get a hold of it. 😀
I gave a sneak peek earlier this week of my visit with this fox family and have to say, this is probably one of my favorites of the hundreds of pics I took.
This little cutie took a break from the rowdy play session it and its siblings were having, sitting off to the side and just relaxing a bit. As a plane flew over, it turned its gaze skyward, seeming quite contemplative it its look. I dunno. Just something about the image that I like a lot.
Have a fantastic Fox Friday and weekend, everyone!
One of those lucky finds. A couple of weeks ago I was scouting some area open spaces looking for foxes when I spotted this nest.
At the time, I could see one owlet with mama in it. This past weekend I went by again and saw two golden eyes peering over the rim. It seems like there might be another owlet in front of the one but I can’t tell for sure.
After snapping some pics of the little one I said, “I wonder where mama is?” Well, as it turns out she was perched in the tree directly above where I stopped my truck.
Well, normally I would have to reach into the archives this time of year for a pic for Wapiti Wednesday but not today. This past weekend, while hiking along the South Platte River north of Denver I saw something that you normally would never associate with the area – an elk!
As I am walking along, I see a large mammal ahead and initially dismissed it as a deer. A second glance told me no, this was way bigger than a deer. As the sun wasn’t entirely up yet, light was at a premium but pointing my lens I realized what it really was. Awesome!
Of course, she turned tail and headed off but I pursued for probably about a mile up river, giving her a wide berth so as not to make her go too far too fast. I only managed a few captures in low light but what a treat to see!
This area is about 15 miles from the furthest east spot in the foothills you would normally see them. It certainly had to cross a LOT of suburbia to get to this spot.
I finally had the opportunity to go in and check on my local bald eagles and their eaglets, my first visit in a few weeks. The parents were both around and provided some cool shots which I will share in the future but for now, let’s focus on the little ones.
The images are heavily cropped and kind of grainy due to the distance I maintain to ensure not to disturb the eagles. You will notice quite a stark difference in their development with one looking far larger than the other. This is somewhat troubling and does have me a bit concerned.
Bald eagle eggs typically hatch three days apart. While that three-day head start doesn’t seem like much, it can make a big difference as these little guys grow fast. The older eaglets take advantage with their bigger size and bully their siblings for the majority of the food and parents’ attention. This results in differences in their development as the younger one just gets further and further behind.
These little ones are about six weeks old and while the older one looks that age, the younger one looks closer to being at 3 to 4 weeks old in development. I worry the littler one is struggling and fear it has a tough road ahead to survive.
On the plus side, during my observation the older eaglet fed itself while I did see dad feed the little one so it does appear to be getting some help. It’ll be a couple more weeks before I can check on them again but in the meantime I will be pulling for the little one!
This time of year we continue to welcome back the birds that head south for the winter. Yesterday I saw many of these “snow birds” including these beautiful snowy egrets.
You would be hard pressed to find a prettier bird than these. Their gorgeous white plumage and yellow eyes and feet really set them apart.
The feathers of snowy egrets were actually highly sought after in the 1800s for use in hats and other clothing. They were quite valuable and this resulted in the bird’s populations plummeting. Thankfully, conservation efforts have put an end to that and their populations have recovered.
Oh my goodness! Check out these two cuties! I decided I couldn’t wait until Fox Friday to share at least one image from my photo session yesterday with this family.
I learned about this den last year but never went to it as I had closer alternatives. This year, as I have struggled to find any dens, I decided it was worth the drive.
As many as 11 kits have been seen in this spot although I only saw three plus mama and a nanny. That was okay though as they put on quite a show with the kits playing being the highlight.
Here, one kit was gnawing on what appeared to be a rabbit’s foot, oblivious to the danger behind it. The second kit very stealthily approached and pounced on the other’s back, setting off a big chase. So much fun to watch and so stinking cute!
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