Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
As my daughter and I headed home after an evening watching owls, I looked in the rear view to see a beautiful scene unfolding. We quickly pulled over at a local open space park and ran to get ourselves into position to capture the show.
The orange sunset colored the waters of the pond and above, dramatic clouds topped things off. In between the sun just dropping below those gorgeous, snow-capped Rocky Mountains. Definitely a great way to end the day!
What could be more fun than sneaking up behind your mom and nibbling on her ear? 😉 That is exactly what this cute red fox kit a couple nights ago. A tip from a follower of my page (thank you!) led me to this den right near where I live in the midst of suburbia.
On the first night of viewing, I captured this series and some other nice ones of mom and one other kit. On the second night, mom was out and one kit made a very brief appearance. Last night, no one appeared.
It is almost a certainty that the vixen moved the den, something they do to evade potential predators. My time with them was fleeting but it sure was a lot of fun while it lasted and makes for some nice #FoxFriday pics.
Check out this pair of cuties!
This is from an absolutely fantastic great horned owl nest not far from where I live. I don’t know for a fact but I suspect the parents are the same ones I have been watching for a few years now.
They originally took over a traditional stick nest from some red tailed hawks. Last year, the hawks evicted the owls and now this year the owls took up residence nearby in this tree cavity. It is an absolutely beautiful spot for pics and out of sight of prying eyes that don’t know it is there.
Judging by their size, these little owlets will likely be hopping out of the nest and climbing the surrounding trees any day now. I of course am not looking forward to that as they then become much harder to find and photograph.
Winter on the Great Plains can be pretty harsh. The cold and snow create conditions inhospitable for us bipedal creatures. The American bison though has lived and thrived here for thousands of years and are certainly built to handle it.
After a snowstorm last month, this cow at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal was covered in snow and while she can handle it, I don’t expect she enjoyed it much.
It used to be we called these buffalo but that actually was incorrect. While they are part of the same family that includes the European and African buffalo, the bison is its own, distinct species.
It is believed they were called buffalo by early North American explorers due to their resemblance to the Old-World species. Native Americans call them Tatanka, a Lakota word that translated means “bull buffalo.”
He may not look like much to you and I but I bet those hens think he is absolutely to die for.
I happened across a rafter of these cool birds recently and while they didn’t care to get close, I managed a few decent shots.
Old Benjamin Franklin thought the turkey would make a fine national emblem writing to his daughter, “For the truth, the Turkey is in comparison a much more respectable bird, and withal a true original native of America… He is besides, though a little vain and silly, a bird of courage, and would not hesitate to attack a grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his farm yard with a red coat on.”
I’m not sure about you, but I think we came up with a better choice.
With the sun just barely peeking over the horizon, this gorgeous eagle was returning to its roost with a very small breakfast. If you look close, you can see the tiny fish it had snagged.
This image was taken back in the middle of February when a couple dozen of our national emblem was hanging out at a series of ponds along the South Platte River north of Denver, Colorado. They were only there for a few days but it was absolutely awesome to get to spend time with them.
I’m not one to get all crazy with the Earth Day stuff but I do believe we need to be good stewards of the land and the creatures we share the planet with.
It was humans that nearly drove this magnificant creature into extinction and that serves to highlight how irresponsible action on our part can have wide-ranging effects. Conversely, when we realized what we were doing, we changed course and now bald eagles are thriving and a prime example of success in conservation.
We owe it to them and our children to be responsible guardians of this planet.
My goodness it has been an absolute treat to watch and document this great horned owl family this spring.
This is the second year I have known about the nest and supposedly the fourth year for the parents in this spot. Despite being heavily trafficked, they thrive in the environment and all the humans around provide the benefit of keeping predators away.
This past Thursday, the evening light was perfect at times and the owls were very active. A squirrel made the mistake of getting too close to the nest and mom leaped into action, chasing the offender away.
Afterwards, she hopped to the nest and spent some quality time with the kids. There are in fact three owlets although only two are visible in this image.
It doesn’t get a lot better than this. An unseasonably warm spring day and enjoying the early morning with a walk with Mother Nature. She put on a nice little show for me with beautiful colors that were accented by reflections on a quiet pond in Adams County, Colorado. I hope you enjoyed the view where you were at!
From last weekend. I staked out this spot for four hours hoping to see some rumored kits. No such luck. The only thing I got were these shots right after sunrise as a thick fog settled in. Naturally, as soon as the fog cleared, the fox moved out and disappeared. Still made for some neat shots in a way.
I haven’t had much of a chance to photograph these cool guys yet this year but got a few shots this past weekend. With light snow falling and light at a premium, I managed a decent shot of this double-crested #cormorant as it took flight across the waters of a pond.
