Two days ago we found this coyote exploring along the Antelope Island causeway. We watched it gnaw on a duck or shorebird carcass (possibly falcon leftovers, based on past experience) and then it continued to look for something, almost anything, to eat. When it reached the end of a rocky spit jutting out into the Great Salt Lake it entertained us with some interesting behavior.
Many in the birding world don’t like Brown-headed Cowbirds much, for reasons that have been bandied about for years. But I have no problem with them, especially when one of them quite unexpectedly pops up into one of my images in a rather dramatic way.
One afternoon on our latest Montana trip we decided to do a little “sploring” (as we call it) and investigate some country new to us so we spent several hours cruising the back roads on the south side of the Centennial Mountains. We found a beautiful mountain valley very close to the continental divide that provided a variety of habitats but few birds.
But it did give me my best photographic opportunity ever with a Montana coyote.
Last week we drove up to the top of Bountiful Peak in the Wasatch Mountains via Skyline Drive. The 25 mile (not including the side roads we took) loop road between Bountiful and Farmington is gravel, winding and narrow but the views of the valley below from elevations up to 9200 feet are spectacular and the wildlife and bird possibilities beckoned us. We mostly struck out with birds but had a great time with a momma moose and her calf at the edge of some ponds.
Late last week we encountered two coyotes walking east along the north side of the Antelope Island Causeway. One was a very light-colored adult and the other a slightly darker and smaller youngster. This summer has been a mighty survival struggle for the island’s coyotes – the vole populations crashed and the extreme heat and drought have taken their toll. These two actually seemed forlorn and destitute in both posture and demeanor as they walked the shore of the causeway. But they did show me several interesting behaviors that I was able to photograph.
Earlier this month we encountered an unusual male Pronghorn on Antelope Island. Close inspection through our lenses revealed something that caught our attention – this animal had two strange-looking projections apparently growing out of the top of its muzzle. .
When we leave one of our favorite Montana camping spots for the long drive home it means almost 30 miles of extremely dusty dirt/gravel roads through prime bird and wildlife habitat before we hit pavement. We nearly always leave at sunrise in case there are photo opportunities on the way out – typically those opportunities include raptors on posts, poles or in flight, songbirds, elk, deer, pronghorn – even badgers.
If the roads are good (as they are this year) that drive takes at least an hour when I’m pulling my camping trailer but if we find wildlife, as we often do, it can take two hours or more. And believe me, photographing wildlife while you’re pulling a trailer is a bit of a challenge.
On our last trip to southwest Montana a few weeks ago we encountered a doe pronghorn and her twin fawns. This is cold, high country and fawning season had just begun so other than these two we saw very few fawns, even though pronghorn numbers were high.
I’ll try to avoid the word “cute” throughout this post but it won’t be easy.
The vast majority of my posts are about birds as they are the primary goal of my photography. But I also love other wildlife, including mammals, and when I run across something interesting during my bird forays I try to photograph them. Such was the case two days ago.
These weasels are occasional cannibals which I’ve documented in two previous posts: “Long-tailed Weasel – Efficient Hunter and Cannibal” and “A Cannibalistic Long-tailed Weasel”.
This post is a potpourri of photos from last week’s Montana trip. I’ll include shots of mammals and scenery so there will be no common theme that runs through all the images other than the trip itself. Travelogues are not my forte and some of these images aren’t of the highest quality but they illustrate some interesting behaviors that I wanted to share.
At 5:30 yesterday morning Mia and I almost decided to stay home rather than make the hour-long drive to Antelope Island because the area up north looked to be socked in with clouds (the “Farmington Curse” I’ve mentioned before) but after we picked up our traditional “shooting breakfast” (chocolate donuts) we chose to take our chances and go anyway – a choice I’m glad we made.
Last week we spent a few days camping and exploring Utah’s west desert. A herd of Mule Deer composed of over a dozen animals hung around the general vicinity of our campsite for most of the time we were there. They still had most of their winter coat so they were scruffy and sun-bleached but they displayed a couple of interesting behaviors that I was able to photograph.
Last fall I drove up just as this scenario was playing out. This guy was a biker (bicycle) who had laid his bike down on the road and approached this bison much too closely on foot to get a few photos with his point and shoot. I just knew bad stuff was going to happen so I quickly aimed my camera just as the bison charged this bozo.
I’m primarily a bird photographer but when I’m in the field I do see other types of wildlife and I’m not hesitant to photograph them in the least.
