Category: Uncategorized

Spider Web

I admit to having horrible arachnophobia. Ever since I can remember spiders have terrified me. I almost get physically ill when having to confront them. I am aware of all of the positives of spiders and what they contribute I just don’t want to see them. I run a string of trail cameras to capture deer, coyotes and anything else I can see in my ongoing interest of the natural world. I enjoy the date and time stamp aspect of the photos which adds to my knowledge of animal movements and habits. Imagine my surprise on capturing a large spider building it’s web in front of one of my cameras one night. Ever wondered how long it takes to build the web? I now have the answer – around 4 hours from start to finish. I am grateful that by the time I came by to take the memory disc out of the camera; web and spider were long gone.

Just starting to weave the web.

Thirty ,minutes in and a pretty good start and outline.

At one hour the web is taking shape.

After 3 hours the web is almost complete. Just finishing touches left.

Started at 11:00 PM and appears to be complete at around 3:00 AM. Now it sits in the center and waits for it’s prey. Yuck! 😉

Jewels of the Garden

Hummingbird Feeding on Red Agastache

Hummingbirds are called the Jewels of the Garden or Jewels of the sky. It is easy to see why. As they flit through the colorful flowers the sun catches their brilliant, iridescent feathers giving them a gem like appearance.

Hummingbird and Pink Agastache

These birds are some of my favorite photo subjects. I have turned my backyard into a hummingbird, or pollinator garden as I have written about in the past. I love being able to hang out in my own space, no driving, complete privacy and unlimited time to devote to these tiny subjects.

Pollinator Heaven in Pink

I don’t know what impacted my flowers this year, but I have very few great photos of the Hummers with beautiful flowers. This is one I like. The flowers seemed to be stressed by the heat and bloomed early and faded fast. I still had a good showing of birds but just not the number of pretty flower and bird opportunities I’ve had in the past.

Hummingbird with Faded Monarda

Common Yellowthroats

Female Yellowthroat with Dragonfly

I was fortunate to find a nesting pair of Yellowthroats earlier this summer. They were busy feeding their young ones and the number of dragonflies that were consumed was staggering!

Male Yellowthroat

The males are more colorful with a bandit like mask of black across the eyes. More dragonflies in his beak for the nestlings.

Feeding Interaction between the Couple

I was happy to capture this interaction between the male and female while they were feeding their young.

I Like Big Bucks and I Cannot Lie…

Pronghorn are perhaps the the most beautiful animals in North America. Their speed, their grace and their exotic markings, make them one of my most sought after photography subjects. The Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge produces many fine examples of pronghorn bucks.

In September and October the Pronghorn look their best. I have taken photos of them in Spring and early Summer and they can look a little unkempt. At this time of year their coats are prime, their horns are all shined up and both the bucks and does look beautiful to my eye.

This is also the best time of the year to get close to these speedy and elusive animals. They are focused on females and forget their usual caution. They can hear the camera clicking away and will look at my blind but soon they are chasing the girls and fighting with the boys.

This handsome guy was my favorite this season. He is clearly in his prime and at the top of his game. Just stunning to watch. I hope he passes his amazing genetics on to many this year.

This fella is still impressive but probably a little older and does not have quite the panache the younger buck has. His horns were in better shape a few years ago but he is still an impressive specimen.

Pronghorn

Pronghorn Buck Making his Moves During the Rut.

Autumn may be officially a few weeks off but the first week of September and the Pronghorn rut starting, signals the start of fall on the sagebrush steppe. Cooler weather, less smoke and more photography opportunities with wildlife are motivation to get out. I was able to make a trip to the Sheldon Antelope Refuge this week and the Pronghorn put on a great show.

Two Trophy Bucks Fight for the Opportunity to Pass on Their Genes.

Lots of skirmishing and some epic battles took place between dominate bucks. Most of fights are quick and dirty over before they start with smaller bucks running off before they engage. I witnessed the longest bout I have ever seen. It lasted for over 5 minutes. The bucks horns may have become hooked as it looked like they couldn’t break away. One buck received a nasty gash below his eye and is lucky not to have lost it.

Buck Sporting a Nasty Wound Following a Fight

The thick part of the horn jutting out below the points are called cutters. The damage they can inflict in a fight is evident in this photograph.

To Early for Babies

I haven’t been taking photos of wild horses for some time. Honestly, they can be a little boring depending on the time of year. We are approaching the best time to photograph them in my opinion as it is getting close to foaling time and that means lots of cute babies and fighting stallions.

Still in Their Winter Coats

These Stallions let their bands get too close too each other going to water so I saw some action.

Getting Warmed Up
Full Tilt

I saw lots of pregnant mares and I think I was about two weeks too early so will be checking on the herds the next few weeks. It was great to see so many colorful pintos and paints out there this year.

Band of Brothers

I was fortunate to run into this handsome herd of Mule Deer bucks just as they were leaving a field in the early morning. It isn’t often you see this many horned ones together and it was a joy to watch and photography them for about an hour before I had to move on.

Mule Deer

These fellows got over their alarm at my presence fairly quickly and it was interesting to watch their interactions at my leisure.

Four Point and Three Point

Western count, this is a nice four point and three point hanging out.

Alert

King Stag

This guy was definitely the biggest buck and the most wary. He dived into the tall brush and hid for a good little while until he decided I wasn’t a threat. He ran out an joined the rest of the herd and allowed me to get a few good shots. He has some pretty gnarly eye guards. Classic four point Mule Deer Buck.

Mix of Bucks and Does
In Motion
Play Fighting

These bucks did a little bit of play fighting while I watched. I was hoping they would knock their horns off it being March and time for them to be dropping their antlers. No such luck.

Bald Eagles

February and March are prime months for seeing Bald Eagles as they migrate through the high desert. They follow the flocks of snow geese, tundra swans and numerous ducks that fly through the area on their way back north.

Bald Eagle in Flight
Bloody Feet

I like to photograph and record nature with realism. Birds of prey have to eat and that is messy. Eagles cull the weak and sick birds from the flocks. They fly over large rafts of snow geese scaring them into panicked flight. They pick the ones off the water that are too weak to fly or are struggling. Nothing goes to waste. Ravens follow the eagles and clean up any scraps.

Old Stage Stop in Central Nevada

I’ve been spending a lot of time this summer in the center of the state as I have a cow elk tag and a mule deer buck tag in units that are in that area. I have been combining scouting with site seeing and have ticked off some places I have wanted to visit and explore for a long time.

One of those places is an old stage stop located in a remote canyon down a very dusty road. At times I had to four wheel drive it to get through the powdery dust that was as deep and treacherous as a snowfall.

Stage Stop Cabin

So this had to have been built before the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. It has to be at least 155 years old. It is still in great condition due to the solid rock construction. It sports a dirt floor and elaborate chimney. It would be pretty tight quarters. I rode in one of those authentic stagecoaches up in Virginia City a few summers ago. Very uncomfortable ride! I can’t imagine bumping along all day in one of those and then “resting” here!

There was an old stone corral as well but it was hard to photograph. I also took photos of some wild horses, golden eagle and a cooperative Western Meadowlark.

Western Meadowlark
Wild Grullo Mare and Foal
Golden Eagle