Up Close and Personal

Definitely got Up Close and Personal with the wildlife of Jefferson Lake Colorado yesterday! I’ve seen a couple golden eagles in my time as a wildlife photographer, but have never gotten close enough to one for a really good picture. It’s a really bad idea to get close to moose, and great blue herons are not likely to ever let you get close.

A Crazy Blue Heron

Usually blue herons will fly away the instant they even think they have been spotted. However on our first pass through the canyon we found this brave fellow standing on a log just on the other side of the river. Kevin and I carefully exited the car and stealthily raised our cameras in hope of getting a couple shots off before he flew.

However, he didn’t fly, not on the first pass, the second pass or even the third pass. He was comfortable on his log and he wasn’t about to move! Later on we discovered our intrepid bird isn’t even afraid of moose. We stood by in disbelief as the giant bird strode right past a big moose cow. She gave him a sideways glance, and then let him pass. It was the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen!

A Patient Eagle

We didn’t see any moose on our first couple of passes along the river so we decided to go look for hawks. Much to our surprise we came across this golden eagle staring down at us. Once again we carefully got out of the car hoping for a couple of captures before he flew away.

One again we were surprised by a giant bird that could care less what we were doing. We watched for a long time hoping to catch the majestic raptor in flight, but he didn’t budge. But I was able to get the closest golden eagle portrait I could have ever imagined!

Face to Face with a Moose

Shortly after the moose / heron encounter, she crossed the road and headed back up to her home on the mountain.  We got back in the car and headed upstream and discovered that the she moose was lingering by the road, eating some aspen leaves.

I leaned my camera out the window and once again captured an image I had never imagined in my wildest dreams! She looked at me from her position high in the trees but didn’t seem to care that I was pointing a big white object at her.  She kept right on eating until after we finally departed.

Closeup of a Blue Heron

On our way back downstream we noticed that the heron was still on the shore where the moose had been. We stopped and quietly approached and once again were in the presence of a great bird that seemed to like cameras. This is obviously the closest I’ve ever been to a great blue heron!