There are a couple of these cool birds that hang out in a pond near my house. These birds spend summers here in Colorado for their breeding season. I love their unusual plumage and they are kind of fun to watch as they dip their bills in the water grabbing food. Apparently they can be quite aggressive toward predators and have been known to strike harriers and ravens.
“That’s no prairie dog!”
It had been more than a year since I last saw North America’s most endangered mammal, the black-footed ferret. This past Saturday morning, I had a very brief but very fun encounter.
As I was driving along, I saw its white and black face pop up out of a burrow. I initially dismissed it as a prairie dog but then my brain started yelling, “That is not a prairie dog!”
I came to a stop, backed up slowly and the little guy gave me a few quick poses before disappearing into its home. The visit was brief but I was ecstatic to have been given the opportunity to see such a rare creature again.
Once thought extinct, conservation and captive breeding programs run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have allowed small populations of the black-footed ferret to return to the wild. It is heartening to see such dedicated efforts being taken to right a wrong.
Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.
If you are interested in owning a copy of this cute little dude (or dudette), I have it available in my online store. You can select everything from just a standard paper print to one with framing to metal prints. At checkout, if you use discount code FZPNMB, it will take 50% off my markup on whatever you choose.
Big, bad, bull in a cloud of dust
It is Tatanka Tuesday!
This past weekend the bison were doing their best to get rid of the remnants of their winter coats and rolling in the dirt creating huge clouds of dust.
It was fun to watch but unfortunately this was occurring straight into the sun which made getting a decent exposure tough.
A conversion to black and white helps I think and adds a good bit of drama.
These massive animals were hunted to the brink of extinction in the 1700s and 1800s with as few as 750 reported by 1890. Through conservation, numbers have since rebounded with about 500,000 now living on public and private lands. This particular big guy was at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
If you are interested in owning a copy of this image, I have it available in my online store. You can select everything from just a standard paper print to one with framing to metal prints. At checkout, if you use discount code FZPNMB, it will take 50% off my markup on whatever you choose.
Rattlesnake comes out on the losing end of a battle
A graphic image but nature is like that sometimes.
I happened across this guy writhing around on the ground and had a hard time figuring out what its issue was until it turned its head just right. It appeared something – a raptor or other predator – took a nasty bite out of it.
It was certainly not long for this world. It wasn’t a particularly big snake, maybe 3 1/2 feet long or so.
Dad the protector
A few images of this handsome fellow in northern Colorado.
His mate had a bit of an injury to one of her legs so he made sure to stay close and keep an eye on her and their kits. This of course included keeping watch on the photographer.
Just like any dad, his primary role seemed to be as a guardian but he still made time to play with the kids.
This is my eighth Father’s Day without my dad and while the pain has eased with time, it is the holidays, the birthdays and the anniversaries that are the hardest. I only hope that I am half the man my dad was and am as good of a father to my kids as he was to me and my siblings. Miss you, Pa!
The odd couple
A great egret and American white pelican share a pond and fish together. The pelican was actually annoying the egret greatly as their fishing styles are quite different.
Pelicans swim along constantly, dipping their bills and straining the water out to retrieve a catch. Great egrets are far more precise, holding motionless and then suddenly darting their head in the water and grabbing a snack.
Every time the egret would get something, the pelican would come over to check it out, ruining the egret’s technique.
Pronghorn buck gets his closeup
A short, fun encounter with this handsome fellow last weekend near Eleven Mile State Park in Colorado.
I happened across him and a few does near the lake and was pleasantly surprised that they didn’t take off running like they normally do. Instead, they walked right by me, not 20 feet away.
I reckon being near a state park, they have gotten pretty used to people and are more tolerant of us pesky humans than other pronghorn in more remote areas
Pretty posing mountain bluebird
I kind of missed the boat last month when these colorful birds migrated through the Denver area and never managed a good shot of them. This past weekend, a trip to the Colorado high country helped to make up for that.
There were quite a few around and they were extraordinarily patient, far more so than I usually experience with them. This particular one had staked out a perch on a nice boulder next to Eleven Mile Reservoir.
Starry skies over Eleven Mile State Park – and a few too many clouds
I visited this awesome Colorado park this past weekend for the first time since I was probably only thigh-high to an adult. It was a great visit getting away from the city and signifies the start of my camping season in earnest.
One of my big goals for the weekend was Milky Way photography. Well, Mother Nature had other plans. I set my alarm, crawled out of the warm comfort of my sleeping bag at 3:00am, emerged to 38 degrees and… Clouds! Being a sailor, you can imagine I used a few “colorful metaphors.” 😀
Nevertheless, I was awake so figured I might as well snap some pics. In between the cirrus clouds you could get a hint of the brilliant display of stars that you can see once you get away from population and lights.
I didn’t get the images I wanted but I did appreciate the quiet and solitude standing on the shoreline of the lake without another person in sight.
Fox kit pins its sibling
I tend to think scenes like this between siblings are played out among humans as well. 😉
These two, rambunctious kits spent an evening a couple weeks ago chasing each other around. It makes for good practice for when they are older and have to hunt on their own. After a while, one definitely got the upper hand, pinning down its sibling.
I imagine at that point the one on bottom went and whined to mom about being picked on. Haha!