Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
The morning after a snowstorm always seems to be a great time for wildlife viewing. The critters seem to revel in the cold and with the snow on the ground, it makes for some neat pictures.
This wily one was one of three coyotes hunting a field, looking for their breakfast. They looked gorgeous with their full winter coats and were far better prepared for the cold than I was. 😉
Taken at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge near Denver, Colorado.
The sun was just cresting the horizon when I saw five of these beautiful creatures walking through a field. Light was at a premium which made for tough shooting but the rising sun really lit up their coats nicely.
I actually had my camera trained on a different subject when I see some motion in the grass.Further investigation found Wile E Coyote on the move, destination unknown. It didn’t linger and didn’t want to give me a clearer view but it was fun to see him.
It is interesting how well Coyotes have adapted to human intrusion on their traditional grounds. Here on the Colorado Front Range, they can routinely be seen anywhere there is open space, even if right next to development. This has,of course, occasionally given rise to conflicts but generally, we exist peacefully with them.
This little lady was absolutely gorgeous with a perfect coat that matched the fall grasses of the Great Plains. Unfortunately, many of the coyotes in the area where this one lives suffer from mange but thankfully, she has been spared. On this morning last month, she was quite unaffected by myself and my friends that were happily snapping pictures of her. She ignored us, going about looking for breakfast and occasionally chasing a rabbit or prairie dog.
Sometimes you just get lucky and that was the case with this awesome wildlife encounter.
Some friends and I were going around the wildlife loop at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge and just not having much luck. One of my friends says she thinks she saw a Coyote running across a hill nearby.
As we start to turn to go investigate, on the opposite side of the vehicle we find this gorgeous young one not 20 yards away. It was on the hunt looking for breakfast and kept its nose to the ground trying to pick up a trail of a potential meal.
For 45 minutes we photographed this pretty lady as she patrolled the fields. Unfortunately for her, she came up empty handed on her hunt but she sure gave us some nice captures.
Someone must have been listening to my thoughts. I was driving through Upper Beaver Meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park this past weekend thinking that of all the times I had been there this season, I had yet to see one coyote. That is unusual as they are oftentimes found in this spot.
No sooner had I completed the thought than what do I see? Not one, not two, but four of them marching along the hillside. They were a good ways away and seemingly on a mission, moving quite quickly.
I managed a few captures of them and while not particularly great quality given the distance and poor light, it was a fun encounter. Here, one of them had hopped up on a large, downed tree and was using the higher vantage point to look around.
I was on my way back from a trip to near timberline yesterday, somewhat disappointed in my captures that I had gotten thus far. This pretty lady changed my luck. She ran across the road in front of me and I naturally expected her to continue on into the forest. Instead, she stopped about 20 feet away and stood and posed. Then, much to my surprise, she actually laid down, giving me another batch of shots. Taken in Roosevelt National Forest.
I ran into a far less famous relative of Road Runner’s nemesis this past weekend. 😉
Out for my wildlife drive, I had stopped next to a field out on the plains and was scanning the area for raptors that might be on the ground. Seeing none, I turned back to start to drive off and I see movement out of the corner of my eye. Lo and behold, there is this gorgeous Coyote right on the other side of the road.
With the clouds and snow light was at a premium and those big snowflakes made focusing difficult. I managed a couple decent shots of it though before it headed off the other direction.
Not a technically great picture but I kind of like it. With light snow falling on a cold winter’s morning, I happened across this handsome creature as it walked across a field. In the background, a very large power distribution station to feed the power hungry suburbs. Kind of a nice contrast of the open plains and the growing encroachment of humankind on the Coyote’s territory.
As you can tell, once it saw me, its focus changed from hunting for breakfast to the guy with the camera. It was pretty well concealed and I had to work to get even these half-way clear captures. Still fun to see these guys and am always amazed at how well they have adapted to urban and suburban encroachment on their territory.
