Colorado Nature Photographer / Author | Steven W. Krull
Renowned nature photographer and author advocating for the preservation of wildlife
I love this time of year in the canyon. Young wildlife is past the newborn stage and are just now experiencing the joy of their new legs and wings. Young osprey are especially excited about their newfound powers and unlike their more mature parents, they spend much of their day in flight. They don't realize it yet, but their games are preparing them for a 4000 mile journey that will begin in about a month.
A sure sign of the advancing season is the arrival of juvenile osprey to the canyon. Each spring our osprey nesting pair returns to mate and raise a new family of chicks. They travel thousands of miles from their winter vacation to meet at the same nest and greet their lifelong partner for the joyous event. As August nears, their young gain stength and skill and finally take flight in a burst of energy, hope and a bit courage too I imagine.
It was supposed to be a regular photo trip to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge. However as it has been so many times this summer, photography in the Refuge was a stunning failure. Birds we have seen in abundance the last few summers are strangely absent. The coyotes were sleeping and the bison nowhere to be found. That's when it began... our short road trip was extended.
I know my July newsletter is a bit late, in fact tomorrow will be August. 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 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!
May was a great month for wildlife photography in the Pikes Peak region. Many birds have returned to the Pikes Peak region, including mountain blue birds, many species of sparrow, hummingbirds, swallows and much more. We are still looking forward to the return of the snowy egret, which we have yet to spot this season.
Finally getting to my May newsletter, after a month of hard work on my new substack account. May has been an exciting month, with the end of the long Colorado winter, and the return of many species of birds to the high country rivers and lakes.
May finds us on the precipice of an unimaginable ecological catastrophe. Mining, ranching and hunting interests have aligned with the new administration in an all out blitz to strip away all reasonable environmental and species protections. The judiciary in it's zeal to oppose every trivial move Trump makes, is setting itself up to forfeit it's power on issues that actually matter.
This was a day that I have been eagerly awaiting for months. The osprey have completed their 4,000 mile journey across two continents, to arrive in my favorite Canyon some time this week.
My Heart Still Flutters when I'm driving through the canyon and I spot the stunning white head of a majestic bald eagle in a tree ahead. And it was no different on this weeks sunrise Photography Adventure with the Bald Eagles of Park County Colorado.
For the eighth year in a row, ever since I moved here in 2017, my buddy the rough legged hawk has returned to his winter hunting ground.
Colorado Nature Photographer / Author | Steven W. Krull 