The late rising winters sun mustered just enough power to cut through the morning clouds to give color to an American Bison on this somewhat overcast day. Roaming the sagebrush covered plateau was the order of the day for both man and Bison on a day that felt timeless in may ways.
Filling those cheek pouches to capacity was the task at hand and a task well accomplished.
This little Chipmunk definitely needs a full tank of fuel as well as a full larder to make it house to those far away spring days.
Light as air.
It’s the only explanation.
On a recent drive through grasslands close to home we encountered a nice sized herd of Pronghorn enjoying the morning sun. Looking at them looking back at us you could just feel their different expressions whispering a bit of that Pronghorn personality.
No dental work needed here.
Chubby cheeks!
Only one horn!
A Belted Kingfisher perches above the river soaking up a bit of morning light.
The Rough-Legged Hawk is a resident in our area during the winter months as they breed in the Arctic and migrate south to the Northern United States and Southern Canada for winter. We usually see them soaring and sometimes hovering in the air hunting in a similar fashion to the much smaller American Kestrel. It was nice to see this one sitting still for a bit so we could get a nice look as like many hawks identification if difficult and something we are not very confident in.
While the big guys with the full curls were somewhere up in the hills above these two teenage Bighorn Sheep descended the hills, made their way through the sage brush, and then headed our direction across the grasslands below. A bit wary, yet curious, they confidently approached little by little.
They had a bit of gleam in their eyes and a look that somehow said they might be looking for trouble.
A couple teenagers with time on their hands and on the prowl.
As they inched by us we each kept our distance and you could certainly see the different personalities reflected in the way they looked us over. The first gave us a head on glance and stood for awhile the second a sideways looks as he steadily marched on through.
Hey what’s this?
The world dusted in snow.
To wake up and find the world anew.
It is always a bit shocking to see a Golden Eagle perched up high on a power pole. From some distance away you can notice those broad shoulders and instantly identify them. They are just so darn large.
We are lucky to always have a few Golden Eagles living nearby especially in the non-breeding season. Especially when the weather is mild like it has been so far this winter.
Golden eagles typically hunt small mammals including rabbits, ground squirrels, marmots and prairie dogs. Golden eagles are found from sea level to higher mountain regions but typically regions of open space such as grasslands, desert and high steppe regions. This Eagle was perched upon a power pole overlooking a large expanse of winter farmland waiting for the next meals to appear.
Usually the locals fly away before we even get the camera pointed out the car window but this day we were lucky as this Eagle allowed us a nice long look and several photos as well.
Reference:
Katzner, T. E., M. N. Kochert, K. Steenhof, C. L. McIntyre, E. H. Craig, and T. A. Miller (2020). Golden Eagle(Aquila chrysaetos), version 2.0. In Birds of the World (P. G. Rodewald and B. K. Keeney, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.goleag.02
Starting out on foot on a trail we would usually be cross country skiing at this time of year. Needless to say that while the mountain tops are indeed covered in snow things below are still bone dry. Nonetheless it was a nice hike as that harsh and contrasty solstice light provided just enough warmth to keep us marching along.
Big views of distant peaks and a canyon where the Yellowstone river flows.
Dry grass and a rock lined ridge pointed the way as a late morning start quickly dissolved into afternoon.
Long shadows on a short day as we wound are way back home.
Bone dry but we hope that all changes soon.
nature has no boss 
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