I know my July newsletter is a bit late, in fact tomorrow will be August already. Summer photography is a struggle for me, the sunrise is way too early, all the good wildlife locations are crowded with tourists, and the animals make themselves scarce. However in just the last few days, beautiful song birds have returned to my usual hikng location, and the pelicans have reappeared at Manitou Lake. Stay tuned to my blog though, on the 1st of August we will be visiting the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Area in search of burrowing owls and snowy egret!
One of my all time favorite birds has returned to Grouse Mountain, the western tanager. These colorful birds are relatively sociable, and their colors are amazing. When I saw this little fellow perched on the rock, I turned the mode dial on my Canon R7 to C3, where I have saved my bird settings, and started shooting at 20 frames per second. After a short burst, I checked my screen, and was pleased with this capture.
I hoped to catch the bird in flight with wings spread, so I waited patiently for a few minutes, watching carefully for signs that the bird was ready for launch. Fortunately I was prepared when the moment came, and I captured this sequence:
Not quite as colorful, but just as fascinating is this little vesper sparrow. I am continually surprised by the variety of sparrows I see on my mountain. There are vesper sparrows, chipping sparrows, song sparrows, and I imagine many more. Until I started identifying them with the Merlin Bird app from Cornell University, I assumed there was just one type of little brown sparrow. The app is free and you can connect it to your ebird account to save your sightings automatically!
I went out again yesterday in search of the western tanagers, but was instead greeted by a rather large contingent of mountan bluebirds behaving rather strangely. There was a good breeze on the summit, and the bluebirds were hopping out of the grass and floating in the wind to keep and eye on me. My R7 did a fabulous job of keeping them in focus with eye recognition and subject tracking activated.
Birds weren’t the only critters out enjoying the sunshine. This little chipmunk came out to keep a wary eye on me while I captured his portrait in the deep forest grass.
I also spotted a little house wren who was none too pleased to find this baby red squirrel checking out their nesting area. I wastched in amazement as the little bird fluttered around the completely unfazed squirrel, who was more interested in my camera than the busy bird.
I did eventually see a western tanager, but my picture of him didn’t compare to the color and action of the ones from the day before.
Last week Kevin and I visted Manitou Lake to check on the pelicans, who obliged us with a good show.
In addition to the pelicans, we were entertained by an energetic song sparrow, chipmunks , deer.and a great blue heron or two.
How to Support My Work
Many of the images you see in my blog posts are also available as prints and gifts on my website. Prints are available on beautiful glossy metal and acrylic sheets ready for hanging, stretched canvas, and traditonal matting and framing. You choose the matte and the frame online! Cool gifts and household items are also available with one of my images, including coffee mugs, t-shirts, battery chargers, phone cases, tapestry and much much more!
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Help Endangered Wildlife
If you are concerned about endangered wildlife in the western United States, please consider purchasing my series of historical fiction wildlife novels, as told through my group of fascinating fictional characters. In the first of the series, Spirit of the Wolf, you will learn the story of the most famous Yellowstone wolf of all time. Thundering Hooves tells the exciting story of Picasso, the famous stallion who ruled over the Colorado Sand Wash Basin for over two decades.
Steven W. Krull is a renowned photographer and author who has been photographing and writing of the beauty and wildlife of the Colorado Rocky Mountains for over two decades. Please visit his website at S.W. Krull Imaging to view his work, including thousands of prints for sale, stock images for commercial use, and his library of published books.
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Colorado Photographer / Author / Wildlife Advocate | Steven W. Krull 