Photo of the Day

I didn't see much on my last kayak outing. Just before heading home I spotted a Bald Eagle in the tree where I've seen one before. But it was mostly hidden in the branches and I couldn't get a good photograph. I was looking for the raccoons on the beach when I noticed a bird swoop down and grab something from the water. It was completely silent so I didn't think of kingfisher right away. Usually they're heard before seen. But when it landed on a branch I could see that's what it was. They tend to be very skittish so I immediately stopped paddling and moved slowly as I got my camera. Luckily the wind was behind me and I drifted towards it slowly enough that it wasn't bothered. That first perch was quite cluttered but it flew down and grabbed another fish and this time it landed on a more open spot. Kingfishers are hard to photograph so I was happy to get a decent shot. (This is a female, unlike most birds, they are more colorful than the males.)

Road Trip 6 - Upper Coffeepot

Upper Coffeepot is a nice little campground just outside the western edge of Yellowstone. After spending the day driving through the busy national park, it's a quiet spot to stop. Both times we've been here there have been lots of white pelicans a short walk up the river. The pelicans were on the other side of the river so they were calm about us observing them. Of course, I took a ton of photographs of them.

I assume the pelicans (and the people) are there because of the fish in the river. But later in the day when we saw them they were just relaxing, preening, bathing, and sleeping.

There were enough of them that there were usually a few flying in or out so I got to practice photographing them in flight.

When they land they "ski" in on their feet.

Later in the evening the gulls (Ring-billed?) were skimming the water and grabbing something - I assume small fish.

Some kind of flying insect was hatching in large numbers. I suspect they were the same as this one I found on the ground - some kind of mayfly, maybe a March Brown. Thank goodness they don't bite!

There were so many of them they made photography a challenge at times.

Speaking of insects, this interesting one landed on our picnic table. I think it's a Ribbed Pine Borer, a kind of long-horned beetle, although it doesn't have especially long antennae.

We also had a few chipmunks visit us.

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Road Trip 5 - Yellowstone

I've been home for a while, but I'm still going through photos from our road trip (in between taking and posting new ones). From Five Springs we went to Cody, spent the night, and then the next day drove across Yellowstone Park. National parks, especially popular ones like this, are way too crowded these days but they still have scenery and animals so it's worth a bit of a visit. We don't even attempt to stay overnight. I didn't take a lot of photos this time since we didn't see anything too exciting. (last time we saw a mother grizzly and cubs) We did see a couple of bears but they were so far in the distance they were just brown dots.

Of course, there's always water to photograph.

We were walking beside some rapids in the river and I was surprised to see a group of Harlequin ducks quite close to the trail.

At one point we were driving near a river and I thought I saw a Bald Eagle. It turned out to be a stick with a white patch on it. But this Savannah Sparrow posed briefly for us.

Our last stop in the park was at Artists Point to see Yellowstone Falls and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.

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Cooper's Hawk

As I went out the door to go running a bird flew up and into a nearby tree. It was larger than the usual sparrows. I thought it might be flicker. Looking up into the tree I finally spotted a Cooper's Hawk. I rushed back into the house and got my camera and telephoto lens. Unsurprisingly, it was gone by the time I got back outside. I took my camera back in the house and again went out to run. Scanning the trees one last time I spotted it in a different nearby tree. Back in the house, get my camera, and this time it was still there. It stands out in the photos but in reality it was hard to spot in the shady tree.

After lots of photos I took my camera back in the house and yet again left to go running. But as I walked away I saw that there was a clearer view from the other side of the tree. So back to get the camera once more. If the neighbors were watching they probably wondered what the heck I was doing. But I think this last photo is my favorite.

And yes, I finally did get out for my run!

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Kayaking

There was lots to see on a recent kayak outing. There were harbor seals around but they weren't out sunning on the rocks today. Instead they kept popping up beside me, having a look, and then disappearing again. Too quick to photograph but nice to see them close up.

Four or five deer were standing on the shore and I stopped to watch them. To my surprise, one by one they jumped in the water and swam over to the island. I knew they could swim, but this island seemed an odd choice - it's mostly bare rock with meager grass on the top.

It took some climbing ability for them to get up the steep rocky side of the island.

Just after seeing the deer the big group of otters appeared. It's always hard to count a group in the water when they're constantly diving and popping back up. It's only when they emerge on land that you can see them all at once.

And then to top it off, as I paddled away from the otters I noticed something on the shore. It was a really low tide and that's when the raccoons seem to come out to search for food, presumably crabs?

Even at a fair distance, not moving, in my kayak, it was still a little suspicious of me and it soon left. But just after it left, another one arrived.

It's always a bit of a challenge using a long telephoto from a bobbing kayak and trying to track a moving subject. But if you take enough shots with any luck some of them turn out.

All in all it was a fun outing. I'll close with an abstract shot of backlit kelp.

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Road Trip 5

One of the things I like about Five Springs (apart from the lack of people!) is the variety of landscapes in the area, from the Big Horn mountains (rising to over 13,000 ft) to the desert and canyons below.

We stopped for lunch one day beside the Big Horn river. After lunch I wandered around with my camera. The first thing I found was that there was a lot of prickly pear cactus, and it was all blooming. I'm used to seeing occasional prickly pear cactus flowers but I don't think I've seen a whole area blooming at once like this.

The flowers are quite pretty up close.

There were a few other flowers around. I think this is Locoweed.

The bank beside the river showed interesting layers of sedimentary rock.

At the bottom of the bank I came across this lizard which took off at an amazingly high speed. I froze and watched where it stopped. I then approached very slowly and it stayed where it was. I think it's a Common Sagebrush Lizard.

A bit later Shelley spotted another lizard. It also made an initial run for it and then froze in place. It turned out to be a Short-horned Lizard (aka a horned or horny toad, even though it's not a toad at all). They are also found in southern Saskatchewan (endangered) although I don't think I ever spotted one there.

Driving by, I noticed a trail head sign on an unmarked gravel side road. We went to investigate and found it was a new trail to Rainbow Canyon. From the Five Springs campground you can see there are some badlands down below but we didn't know how to get to them. The first thing I spotted along the trail were Sego Lilies. (the state flower of Utah) I love the details of the flowers.

The colors and patterns of Rainbow Canyon itself were quite impressive.

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