Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
This beautiful canine found itself a bit surrounded by deer and a couple photographers – although the shutterbugs almost missed it.
As my friend and I walked along, looking for foxes and largely ignoring the deer, I looked down a berm and there was this beautiful coyote, looking right up at us. In a flash, it took off, wanting to put some distance between us. I managed a nice sequence of images as it ran off, bounding through the grass.
Well, if you ever wanted to make a deer fly, just have a coyote surprise it and run by. 😉
While photographing with a friend, I spotted this coyote standing below us down a hill, looking right up at us. No sooner did I spot it then it took off running on the opposite side of the drainage.
As I snapped pictures and it crested the other side, it surprised a white-tailed deer doe, sending the deer running scared. As you can tell though, the coyote was pretty oblivious to the deer’s presence, more interested in escaping the view of the shutterbugs. It made for a fun, unique capture for sure.
Somehow I think he would fair worse with this bison bull than taking on that little bird! 😀
I had a ton of fun watching this coyote as it patrolled the prairie this past weekend. More than once it walked right by the bison but they paid it no attention.
Certainly, one coyote poses no threat to a full-grown bison and I am sure the coyote knew better than to try anything. If there had been a pack of them, then I suspect the bison might have reacted differently. As is, the coyote was simply walking by and ended up on the opposite side of the road where it dined on a cache of some sort of meat it had stashed.
This pretty lady was quite the looker! A perfect coat and those beautiful green eyes really were amazing.
Taken a couple of months ago at a local open space, I spent a good hour with her as she went about her rounds. At one point she disappeared behind some thick, tall grass seeming to tire of the photographer following her. There was no place for her to really go though so I moved to where I thought she would appear and, sure enough, she stepped out giving me this fantastic pose.
This was a very fun bit of action to witness. Coyotes aren’t big enough to take down a full-size deer alone but that doesn’t mean they won’t test the waters, perhaps hoping to weed out a weak member of a herd.
As I watched, this coyote began stalking the herd, something the deer were very much aware of. As it grew closer, the deer gathered in a circle, no doubt a “strength in numbers” thought process. One deer then two more, separated and went out to confront the canine, more than once charging at it sending the coyote running. Eventually the coyote realized an easy meal was not to be had and moved on.
The whole interaction was fascinating to watch and a great example of the predator versus prey drama that plays out in nature. The images do fall under the category “content over quality” as these guys were a long ways off so the pics are heavily cropped and not the best quality. Nevertheless, I wanted to share the action as I captured it and it makes for a great story.
A very fun encounter with this absolutely gorgeous canid this past weekend.
The cold temps and fresh snow had the critters quite active, none more so than this one. It really seemed to be on a mission, moving at a quick pace while alternately sniffing the ground and sniffing the air.
For a half mile I was able to follow along, snapping a ridiculous number of pictures, made all the more cool by the fresh winter snow.
Leading up to when this picture was taken it had its nose stuck to the ground and walked toward the rise. It then lifted its head for a sniff of the air making for a fun shot with its snow-covered snout and chin and the early morning sun really lighting up those gorgeous eyes.
A fun, fleeting encounter with this handsome fellow and the lady he was very interested in. I was up in Boulder County, Colorado checking an open space area for photo subjects when I spotted the pair working their way through a prairie dog colony. While they would occasionally stop and sniff the holes, it was pretty clear this male was more interested in the female than eating. He stayed keenly focused on her, following her dutifully. He only briefly acknowledged my presence, giving me a nice glance as the sun topped the horizon.
Quite the scene yesterday and while the pictures aren’t very good, they tell a story of life, and death, in nature.
I had stopped to photograph a pair of bald eagles off in a distant tree and as I focused on them, movement below caught my attention. A bison had died and other creatures were taking full advantage of the meal.
The show was at least a quarter of a mile away so these images are rather poor quality and highly cropped but they are worth sharing. They depict a scene that is played out everywhere in nature every day and while it may not be pleasant to see, it is part of the proverbial circle of life.
The bison’s death, while sad, serves a purpose, giving a much-needed winter meal for many other creatures, helping to sustain them during the harshest of seasons on the Great Plains. The bison likely died of natural causes. Coyotes have been documented taking down calves, but a full grown bison like this would be too big of a target for them.
A girl’s gotta eat, right? For a coyote, that might mean digging up something you buried to save for later as was the case here.
I had spent a half hour or so tracking this pretty, green-eyed lady, snapping tons of pics. After a time, she seemed to set out on a mission, going right to this spot, pawing at the dirt and grass and pulling out the remainders of some old meal.
I have no idea what it was and it certainly did not look tasty to me but she seemed to enjoy it well enough. 😉 As she chomped on it, she gave me some great captures showing her sharp, white teeth.
One week ago I posted a not-so-great pic of a coyote I had recently spotted and lamented the fact that it had been nearly two years since I had a decent photo session with these canids. Well, the wildlife photography gods must have been listening and this week took mercy on me.
Following leads from Nextdoor and a sighting from a friend, Thursday after work I headed to one of my favorite local open spaces where a few of these suburban predators had been spotted recently. Initially I was not having much luck, having covered a lot of ground on foot with nothing to show for it.
I decided to give up but in leaving the area, took a street that runs along the open space and there she was! Quickly I hopped out and then tracked this green-eyed beauty for the next half hour as she patrolled the open space.
At one point, the nearby fire station rolled out trucks to a call and the sirens caused the coyote to howl, giving me some fun shots. You’ll be seeing more of this pretty lady as I took a ton of pics of her.
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