Many mornings as I sip my coffee, I try to think of locations where I might find new adventure and capture amazing scenes that I haven’t yet experienced. Most of the time nothing comes to mind, and I just head out to my nearby trail for some exercise. However, I’m also often astonished at the surprising experiences I encounter there.
There were a few little birds on the summit, but I was unsuccessful in capturing an image of any of them. Smoke from the fires filled the Arkansas River Valley, so there was no view to capture from the overlook. I resigned myself to just enjoying a nice hike on the trail when I spotted this trio of mule deer does coming up the backside of the mountain in my direction. They spotted me right away, but kept walking in my direction anyway.
Then much to my surprise, their ears perked up and they began trotting directly toward me, instead of veering off to the protection of the dense pine forest just a few yards to the south. Eventually they got so close that I was unable to capture all three of them in the same frame.
Finally, when they were so close that I could only focus on one of the little band of does, one stopped and stared for a few moments, with a beautiful scene of pine trees and yellow flowers in the background.
Suddenly in unison, all three decided they had seen enough of photographers for one day, and galloped a few yards toward the forest. This young doe though, took the opportunity to stretch her legs in a romp around the open meadow, before joining the others at the edge of the forest.
Then as quickly as it began, the amazing show was all over. The little band of does stopped at the edge of the forest to graze on mountain grass while keeping a wary eye upon me. I didn’t want to bother them any more, so I continued on my way down the moutnainside with joy in my heart for such an amazing encounter on my sometimes mundane trail.
My day was not done though. The birds were much more socialble on the return trip, and I was able to stop and observe a few that I don’t normally see. Af first I thought they were vesper sparrows, the ones I normally see hopping about. It wasn’t until I brought them up on the computer that I was able to see the unusal markings and colors. The little yellow bird turned out to be a green-tailed towhee, and the sparrow a chipping sparrow and not a vesper. The mountain bluebirds of course seem quite accustomed to me, and put on a good show!
Then to round out my excellent adventure, a tiny bull snake greeted me from the edge of the trail. At first I thought the little guy might be dead, but a closer look revealed a tiny tongue warning me to stay away.
If you would like to learn more about my adventures with wildlife in the Colorado Rockies, please consider visiting my published
books page, where you can find and purchase a beautiful and informative photo book, or my series of wildlife novels.
Many of the images used in my blog posts are also available on my website as prints and gifts, which can be ordered to your specifications, framed, and delivered directly to your door!
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 