Staff Member

I took this shot of a great blue heron a few days ago down at the ponds … it was a beautiful image but it needed a little quiet time added to the image

I got this shot of a drake Widgeon just touching down at Bubbling Ponds this afternoon; wings extended and flattened to reduce lifting forces and swinging them down and forward to use as air brakes which along with the friction of the water gets him down into the water and at a stop fast.

Sometimes you get lucky … you sense that the ducks are about to takeoff, raise the camera to your eye, nail a focus and maybe you get the initiation of the flight

Snack time ... nope, not another hawk eats quail shot or bobcat eats squirrel shot … just a simple squirrel in the peach tree out back having an afternoon snack mid-September of this year.

Ordinarily you will see ducks and other winged creatures come in for beautiful landings even in crowded conditions.

Two names ... … one bird … Sparrow Hawk or American Kestrel … both refer to our smallest falcon in North American.

Four forests ... one atmosphere ... and the one atmosphere is all we get and because of the well meaning efforts put into place by the Four Forests Restoration Initiative, overseen by Greater Flagstaff Forests Partnership and with a whole host of environmental organizations and agencies, we are coming to the moment when it must be acknowledged that more harm is being done than good.

Today was one of those absolutely beautiful days … woke up with the sound of rain drumming the roof of my warm cabin in the woods overlooking the Upper Eau Claire lake … a couple of rollovers and a decision to rest up from the effort of waking up. It was cold, rainy and windy … checked the weather channel app, so I knew.

Not all days are productive and there are days when I just shoot for the sake of shooting something … this hen dove is one such example.

In this place of golden silence as a great blue heron slips quietly across calm waters at sunset