I knew owls regurgitated undigested parts of their meals – bones, teeth, claws, feathers, etc – some hours after a meal. As it turns out, Bald Eagles and some other raptors do this as well, something I didn’t know until I captured this series of images this past weekend. Go figure! It is kind of gross but also interesting and unusual, something I have never seen pictures of before.
Someone get that kid a Kleenex
Parents know the frustration of dealing with young kids and their runny noses. You tell them over and over to blow their nose and yet their sleeve and hands seem to be the go to solution for them. What is a Bison calf to do when in a similar situation? For them the tongue appears to work as well as a human child’s sleeve. Have a great day, everyone!
Lenticular clouds glow at sunset. To say the show in the sky yesterday evening was amazing doesn’t do…
To say the show in the sky yesterday evening was amazing doesn’t do it justice. While a beautiful sunset unfolded to the west, my eye was drawn to the north where these fantastic lenticular clouds had formed. The glow from the sunset bathed them in orange and when set against the brilliant, blue Colorado sky… Well, it was magical!
Also known by their scientific name of altocumulus standing lenticularis, these clouds are not entirely unusual in Colorado on the Front Range during the winter. Strong jet winds force moist air to be pushed up by the rugged terrain of the adjacent Rocky Mountains. This creates a wave-like pattern of air flow that condenses at high altitudes (usually around 20,000 feet).
Bull Moose casts a serious glance at the photographer
We recently sat down and mapped our summer camping trips and were sure to include a couple to the location where we can find these gorgeous creatures.
Moose are such impressive animals and while they are usually calm and gentle, they can quickly turn aggressive to defend their young or during the annual rut when the bulls’ hormones are raging. In the case of this particular bull, he tolerated my presence but not much more than that, as mating season was approaching. He slowly grazed on the willows, rarely taking his eyes off of me – or me it.
Moose are the largest member of the deer family although the sub-species we have here in Colorado, the Shiras moose, are the smallest of moose sub-species. That however does not mean they are truly small. They can stand six feet tall at the shoulder and weigh up to 1,200 pounds!
You cannot begin to appreciate their size until you are up close with one. Taken in September 2015 in Arapaho National Forest, Colorado.
Red Tailed Hawk waits out the fog and frost
Chilly temperatures, frost and thick fog yesterday morning had activity on the plains at a standstill. Driving around, if something was more than 30 feet from my truck I wasn’t going to see it.
Wildlife as well was hampered by the conditions with raptors staying put on their perches, waiting for the weather to clear. As things finally started to break, I came across this hawk huddled up on an old, rusted out windmill. The muted colors caused by the drab conditions make this image work for me.
Bald Eagle starts my day in fabulous fashion, Broncos make it perfect
The day didn’t start out so great with thick fog enveloping northeastern Colorado. I waited to leave the house until things looked to be clearing only to find the fog lingering at my destination.
This eagle and another were seemingly grounded by the weather so they and I waited for almost two hours for clear skies. When those gorgeous blue Colorado skies did emerge, the Bald Eagles put on one heck of a show.
This is one of dozens of cool images I captured today but it would not have been a great day were it not for the Denver Broncos defeating The Pittsburgh Steelers. The victory capped off a great day! Bring on the New England Patriots!
Bald Eagle enjoys the catch of the day
A fun day yesterday at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado. Most photographers had gathered in the usual hot spots but I wasn’t seeing much happening there so ventured out to less traveled locations. That turned out to be a wise decision as I found a location where a few eagles had gathered with no one else around.
This Bald Eagle snatched a fish from one of the few open spots of water and gave me a couple of nice flybys, showcasing its catch, then landed nearby to dine.
A very pretty predator
A female Coyote relaxes in the early morning but was always well aware of what was happening around her. Taken back in March at Cherry Creek State Park, this beautiful lady and her mate were out for a stroll.
I was pleasantly surprised that while wary, neither was disturbed by my proximity and allowed me to spend 45 minutes observing them and taking pictures. It was definitely one of those magical wildlife moments that makes me love being out there exploring.
I’ll be heading back to Cherry Creek this morning for the first time of the season although I don’t expect I will have this kind of luck again. 😉
A fine way to close out Freedom Friday and the workweek!
After work today I took to one of my standard routes near Denver International Airport. Activity was pretty low at first and I was getting discouraged but patience paid off in a big way.
Despite temperatures near freezing and winds gusting to 30+ mph, the eagles suddenly decided it was time to play. I managed a number of nice images from them. Tough to pick a favorite but this must be one of the top from the day. The eagle and the sky are just about perfect!
Have a great weekend, everyone!?
Make some noise! It’s Friday!
A very vocal pair of Bald Eagles last month in Thornton, Colorado. Have a great weekend, everyone.