Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park Estes Park, Colorado USA

Landscape and wildlife prints of the Rocky Mountain West

Moraine Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado

A bull elk strolls by a large boulder.

Fall in the Rockies brings the Elk Rut, bulls work tirelessly to gather their harems and defend them against other suitors. The fall of 2023 was exciting even though we did not see the large numbers in the herds this year, but we did see plenty of healthy animals and even calves with faint remnants of their spots.

An elk cow looks up to check on the humans as she browses the grasses in the meadow.
An elk calf dances through the grass, it's spots still barely visible.
A bull elk poses in front of a pine tree, in Upper Beaver Meadows, Rocky Mountin National Park, Colorado.

Probably my favorite day of shooting in 2023.

This handsome guy was steadily following a small herd of cows, never letting them get too far away.

Upper Beaver Meadows, Rocky Mountain National Park

Each spring the Sandhill Cranes migrate north, passing through the great Central Flyway of North America. Some travelling as far as Canada and even Siberia. Moving over the same migration paths used for tens of thousands of years. The stubble fields of Northern Colorado attract a few small flocks, but head to West central Nebraska to see these creatures in massive numbers! There is nothing like seeing a liftoff of 100,000 birds or more at once. We make several trips each year out to the Platte River in Nebraska to photograph these birds during their migration.

Sandhill cranes forage in the grass fields of central Nebraska during a stop on their spring migration.
Always on the lookout, a couple of sandhill cranes keep watch as a group forages through the grass.
Always a good time for a wing stretch.
A mature Bald Eagle perches in a cottonwood tree.
A pair of Bald Eagles perch on a cell tower arm, quite comfortable of man-made structures in their surroundings.

It is always a treat to see Bald Eagles, either perched in a cottonwood tree or using a cell tower for a lookout point. It is exciting when we locate a new nest and are encouraged that the population is growing in our area.

An adult Osprey looks over a shoulder while perched on a wooden power pole top.
A line of trees reaching up to try and catch the first morning sun rays spilling through the cold winter clouds.
Baby goslings out for a morning swim.
W white bloom with reds just emerging, July 4th fireworks.
A male broad-tailed hummingbird perches on a fiber cord.

Near or far there is always an image to capture, remember- the best camera to use is the one that you have with you!

All kinds of fun stuff is out there and we try to capture some of it.

Two goslings walk along a rocky lawn edge, near a building wall where they ere soaking up the sun and warmth.
Gold predominates this burst, July 4th fireworks.
A snowy egret fishes in the shallow water
Sprague Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park, Colorado USA

Sprague Lake

Rocky Mountain National Park

Colorado