Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
Temperatures below zero didn’t bother this pretty lady one bit. Usually when you see the bison playing around, it is the juveniles but this lady seemed to be enjoying the snow just as much as the young ones. The herd was on the move and had gotten a good ways ahead of her. As she ran to catch up, she bounced around, tossing her head and kicking her legs, putting on a nice little show. Have a fantastic, #TatankaTuesday!
This guy almost looks like he has a lot of gray hair. 😉 Taken on a bone-chilling morning last month with temperatures well below zero. Frost had formed on just about every surface, including the bison’s fur. While this guy didn’t mind that type of cold, I was a bit less than keen on it and thankful to be at least somewhat warm (and safe) within my truck.
Quite the scene this past Saturday at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. It was a crisp, cold morning with lingering snow on the ground. The critters were quite active and the scenery beautiful. As the full moon set above, a bison bull was on the move right toward me. Behind him, the Front Range and the Rocky Mountains. All-in-all, just about a perfect scene.
For #TBT, a fun pic from this past February that I haven’t shared.
This coyote was out on patrol across the snow-covered plains, looking for a meal. While it had no chance to take down a bison, it did scope them out and seem to contemplate the potential. The bison certainly knew as a loner the coyote wasn’t really a threat but they did take notice of it and kept an eye on it as it passed.
Kind of a fun scene showing the interaction between the two species. The coyote would, in fact, move on and antagonize a herd of deer which was pretty cool to watch. I’ll post a link in the comments to that series.
Just a hint of attitude to that look, something that is returning to the University of Colorado Boulder football program with the arrival of coach Deion Sanders. So, I’ll post this in honor of Colorado Buffaloes Football and Coach Prime. A blast of snow and record-setting cold were the highlights of the last couple of days here on the Colorado Front Range. While it wasn’t fit for man, the beast is built to take it. This handsome fellow with his fur coated in frost and snow was content to work his way across the frozen landscape yesterday.
Young bison gets the zoomies. So much fun to watch!
This yearling-ish bison was still hanging around with mom but at this age, not afraid to venture away. Mom had gotten a good ways ahead and he raced to catch up, bounding up and down as he did. The rambunctious young one zoomed right past her, circled around and bounded right back.
I don’t know if they do, but I suspect this would be a time a bison mom would roll her eyes. 😉
Oh yes! This is Colorado! Such a gorgeous scene on Sunday morning.
The sun was coming above the horizon casting its warm glow across the landscape. In the foreground, the bison herd was at ease, grazing on the grasses of the Great Plains. In the distance, the Flatirons near Boulder and beyond that, the snow-capped Rocky Mountains.
I snapped the requisite pictures and then just sat, soaking in the scene and being grateful to witness it.
Well this was a bit of a surprise for Tatanka Tuesday! A new “red dog” has been born to the herd of bison at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
While it isn’t entirely unusual to see one born late in the year, most are born in the spring and early summer. Those born earlier this year have already seen their coats transition to the typical dark brown of bison. This one probably wasn’t more than a couple of weeks old so it really stood out with that red coat. Plus, of course, it was the smallest – and cutest – of the entire herd.
It is a bit of a tough time of year to arrive in the world as winter has started to set in but here in Colorado, the season isn’t too extreme so it likely will be just fine.
This massive bison bull not only was a messy eater, but got no respect with a starling opting to muss up that nice hairdo. 😉
Kind of a fun bit of interaction to watch this past weekend. The big guy was happily grazing in the chilly morning air and a flock of starlings decided to hitch a ride with as many as a dozen of them riding on the bison’s back at a time.
Smaller birds oftentimes flock to bison and deer like this, feeding on the insects in the animal’s fur and taking advantage of the seeds and grasses that the mammals kick free.
Yup, you probably don’t want to be in this big boy’s way when he decides to walk through. 😉
Kind of a fun, different angle of this big bison bull. Ideally, as a photographer, you like to be eye level with your subject but that isn’t usually possible when photographing the bison at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.
Understandably, you have to remain in your vehicle and when shooting from a truck like mine, you are usually looking at least somewhat down at your subject. When I captured this shot a few weeks ago, the bull was coming up a hill toward the side of the road allowing for the perception that was down low and at the same level as him. That makes for a pretty cool capture.
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