Who’s the peeking out from behind the bush?
Well it’s just little old me a Sandhill crane.
Reluctantly, this beautiful rusty red crane eventually moved from behind the bush. She preened and foraged and allowed us a few photos on a late summer afternoon.
Red Rocks Lake National Wildlife Refuge, 2018.
When I think of an American Robin foraging the picture that comes to mind is a Robin head down focused and ready to pull a wiggling worm form the grass.
This day flies were buzzing about above the river and the Robin was keen to get into the act of flycatchin’.
He would swoop down out of a tree across the the river and grab flies landing either back on a branch or in this case a log along the river back. He looked quite skilled at catching his prey and I will forever have a changed picture of a Robins foraging habits.
This Magpie was just spending some time hanging out on a picnic tale and allowed us to get unusually close. There must have been hidden treasures close at hand which gave us a nice opportunity to take a quick portrait for Magpie Monday.
We seemed to have settled into a very late fall like weather pattern as of late with sunshine appearing mid-morning then giving way to cloudy afternoon skies. We spotted this good looking Red Tailed Hawk on one of those cloudy afternoons perched on the remnants of a very fall looking tree.
The flies were abundant that afternoon and so were the flycatchers.
This little flycatcher took a second to rest and pose with his catch. Good work as there were families to feed.
This Yellow Headed Blackbird saw us out taking photos one afternoon and asked for a portrait to hang above the family nest. I was glad to oblige his request.
This little guy surprised us by flying down and landing right in front of us while we were walking in a dimly lit forest. We are not sure if it is a Western or Eastern Screech Owl as both are commonly seen in our area and we only got a couple of photos before he flew off further into the woods. A nice little surprise on a summer afternoon.
Missouri Headwaters State Park, MT is where the three major tributaries of the Missouri river; the Gallatin, the Jefferson and the Madison come together and form the Missouri river proper. The Missouri Headwaters area is a geographical focal point and was important to early Native Americans trappers, traders and settlers. Coveting the regions bountiful resources, the Flathead, Bannock and Shoshoni Indians competed for control of this area, as did the trappers and settlers who followed.
Lewis and Clark passed by the Missouri headwaters on both ways of their voyage of discovery in 1805 and then again in 1806. In his journal documenting the expedition Meriwether Lewis wrote the country opens suddenly to extensive and beautiful plains and meadows that appear to be surrounded in every direction with distant and lofty mountains.
From the wet river bottom to the dry bluffs above each slightly different ecosystem was bursting with life the day we visited.
A fine way to spend a summers morning.
A Great Blue Heron with periscope up and at the ready.
Middle August, the songbirds have quieted down, the waterfowl are molting, grass is drying and going to seed. The forest seem quite as we walked around the lake yet to our surprise we encountered this Lesser Yellowlegs. Hard to believe the waders and shorebirds are already migrating south and summer slipping into fall.
nature has no boss 
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