This cute little one was quite fascinated with the guy on his hands and knees pointing a camera at it. The back-lighting was a challenge but helped to illuminate the soft down covering the little Canada Goose. ?
Gosling overwhelms with cuteness
Everyone say, “Awwwww!” These little ones were not the primary target for today’s photo shoot but I couldn’t resist and took a ton of pics of them. They were milling around with their parents alternating between eating and resting. This particular little one seemed more interested in the ‘rest’ part. 😉 Taken at the Boulder County Fairgrounds in Longmont, Colorado.
“Clear the landing area! Make room for one more!”
A Canada goose comes in for a landing on a very, very crowded lake at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge on Sunday. Much of the lake was frozen over so there were hundreds of geese all crowded into what little bit of open water there was. Steam rose from the water in the bone-chilling single digit air temperatures helping to soften the image and give it a nice feel.
Golden geese take flight at sunrise
A gaggle of Canada geese take flight in Colorado. The sheer numbers of these birds here in the winter are astounding and as a result a lot of folks here don’t particularly care for them. I typically ignore them but when a bunch get going, it is fun to watch.
Gaggle of geese take flight as bald eagle causes panic
This past Friday there were hundreds of geese on Lower Derby Lake at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. Also there enjoying the beautiful morning were at least 19 bald eagles who were standing on the ice and intermittently going fishing in the parts of the lake that weren’t frozen.
The geese were keeping their distance from the raptors, certainly a smart move. However one of the eagles decided to do a low flyover of the gaggle and that was all it took to send the passive geese fleeing into the air. This images captures the flock as it takes off. Notice the 11 or so bald eagles on the ice as well.
View more pictures from that day at the Arsenal below the image.
Breakfast is served: Osprey enjoys a meal of fish
My plan was to find some bald eagles in northern Colorado where I had luck last weekend. Today they were more elusive and nowhere to be found so I found a few other subjects including a hungry osprey.
The goslings, great blue heron and red-winged blackbird are quite common in Colorado this time of year. The heron, as usual, proved to be the most difficult to get close to and as usual, I ended up with only a parting shot.
The osprey is the male of a pair that nests at the Boulder County Fairgrounds. She was sitting on her eggs while he had the opportunity to roam around. He flew off soon after I arrived but returned with his breakfast – a fish. It was fun watching him eat but I do wish he had cooperated for some good flight shots.
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Soft and fluffy
Up in Longmont (Colorado) today looking for bald eagles and while I had no luck with them, I did find a much smaller bird to take pictures of. My daughter says it looks ‘soft and fluffy’ and I reckon indeed this gosling does. 😉
Canada goose silhouetted at sunset
Photo opportunities just present themselves and the subjects oftentimes aren’t what you are looking for. Such was the case with this image.
I was at Metzger Farm in Broomfield, Colorado take pictures of a blue heron rookery. Unfortunately the images of the herons I took were underwhelming but sunset provided other opportunities.
While taking pictures of the gorgeous sunset to the west, this Canada goose came swimming across the rippled surface of a pond. It was perfectly backlit and the water was reflecting the orange sky above.
Photos © Tony’s Takes. Images are available for purchase as a print or for digital use. Please don’t steal, my prices aren’t particularly expensive. For more information contact me here.
Osprey, great blue heron and geese
My usual Saturday morning photo shoot took me back to Longmont, Colorado to check out the osprey again. As before, they were very compliant and provided some great shots – including many of them enjoying a sushi breakfast.
Making a guest appearance was a family of Canada geese and their newly hatched goslings as well as a great blue heron.
As you view the photos below, you will see the last nine photos are a sequence where one of the osprey has twine on its talons. It was very interesting to watch. I was focusing on one sitting on a pole when its mate came flying over.
It had some twine stuck to its claw and seemed pretty upset about it. It took back off and started dragging its claws in the water and then even did a belly skid in an attempt to get it off. It is pretty interesting to see. Glad it worked out.
Please disregard the poor quality of that series of images – it all happened so fast I didn’t have a chance to adjust the exposure on the fly.
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Photos © Tony’s Takes. Images are available for purchase as a print or for digital use. Please don’t steal, my prices aren’t particularly expensive. For more information contact me here.
A good day for a swim with the family
A very mild day along the Colorado Front Range today made for a great day for outdoor activities. In Longmont these Canada geese were taking their freshly hatched little ones for a swim.
Photos © Tony’s Takes. Images are available for purchase as a print or for digital use. Please don’t steal, my prices aren’t particularly expensive. For more information contact me here.