Wildlife, landscape and weather photography
A magpie snatches a little bit of a young bald eagle’s meal.
Taken a couple of weeks ago at Barr Lake State Park, Colorado State Parks. This young eagle had just caught itself a nice, feathery breakfast (perhaps a goose?). The easy meal did not go unnoticed by the magpie who sauntered right up and helped itself.
While clearly perturbed at the intrusion. the eagle let the little one have a bite without retribution.
“I will squash you like a bug, little Magpie!” 😀 This Bald Eagle didn’t really care too much for his roost-mate recently. A fun shot from a couple weeks ago at Cherry Creek State Park, Colorado.
Hope you all have a fantastic weekend – get out and see what you can find!
Kind of a fun picture I captured last week that was a very fun encounter. I was taking my daughter to ballet when we spotted a half dozen Turkey Vultures flying over and sitting in a vacant field. Thankfully I had my camera with me as usual so after I dropped her off, I returned and spent an hour photographing them.
They were splitting time between two rabbit carcasses, fending off the harassment of Magpies that wanted something to eat as well. I shot a ridiculous number of pictures of these guys as they were more than willing to let me get quite close while they focused on their meal.
Yes, I know Turkey Vultures are ugly but I think they are cool as heck. You will often spot them soaring high in the sky in large groups – appropriately called a ‘wake’ – looking for their next meal. They feed on carrion they find lying around dead like rabbits, prairie dogs and such and are believed to be able to smell the dead animals up to a mile away. Their role of garbage man helps to prevent the spread of disease from the carcasses.
This Red-tailed Hawk did not appreciate the two Magpies that were trying to steal its Prairie Dog meal. Certainly not a great picture as this happened way out in a field and I had to crop it considerably. Nevertheless, the interaction was fun to watch and the picture is a fun one. The hawk spread its wings and hovered over its meal alternating between taking bites and casting the evil eye toward the unwanted guests.
This Bald Eagle yesterday seemed a bit incredulous that a Magpie would dare to come so close. After work I was going to check out a rumored owl pair and decided to take the scenic route by a spot where I had previously seen eagles but up until now they were always too far off to get to. As luck would have it, the pair was in a stand of trees only about 20 yards from the road and they put on quite a show with numerous poses and two great flybys.
While I was there a very nice older gentleman that owns the property by which I was standing came out to see what I was taking pictures of. We chit-chatted for the longest time and when the eagles moved where I couldn’t see them, he let me go onto his property to get the angle I needed. Very kind of him. I’ll be printing some of the images I captured and drop them off for him.
Taken in Adams County, Colorado.
“Yeah, so I have a magpie picking at my butt. What about it?” 😉 A bit of a Friday funny for you. Not very good quality but it brought a smile to my face. Have a great weekend, everyone!
These members of the jay family are very common here across the western United States. They are quite pretty and colorful. Unfortunately their very dark head, shoulders and upper back make them a challenge to photograph and get a good exposure, especially when you are dealing with bright, white snow. This one didn’t turn out too bad.
“Go away, little bird!” This poor owl simply wanted to sit and relax but the magpie was refusing to share its tree. The interaction between the two was fun to watch with the smaller bird pestering the big one. Eventually the owl took off in search of a quieter, hassle-free, tree. Taken May 12, 2014 in Thornton, Colorado.
As you may have heard on the news, parts of Colorado were hit by a somewhat unusual May snowstorm yesterday. In its wake I figured I would go check on the local owl nest and see how the little ones were doing.
As it turns out, the three owlets weathered the storm (pun intended) just fine. While I was observing them I heard a commotion coming from a nearby tree and saw a lot of movement. On further inspection I see mama or daddy owl being hassled by a rather persistent magpie that did not appreciate the big bird’s presence.
I captured a few shots of them sniping at each other and then the owl took flight with the magpie chasing it. Captured a few shots of the chase. Unfortunately they didn’t come out as sharp as I would have liked but it was pretty cool to see nevertheless.
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