Grain and Friends

I was out taking a cruise and I saw this Whitetail Deer in a field of barley. At first, I thought she was laying down. Not so. She was standing on her tip toes trying to get a look at the stranger pointing a camera. 

She looked around, at times almost disappearing.

When she went to alert and walked, her tail followed her over the grain. It looked weird to see a caboose following.

Finally, I was able to get a full deer shot just to prove she was upright.

There were also some Sandhill Cranes. I guess they were waiting for the grain to ripen. I feel sorry for the farmers this year. We have had so much rain it is impossible to get on the fields. What hay that has been cut has been rained on daily.

 Then there were a few Magpies doing their thing, mainly squawking at the intrusion.

Tough Getting Out

After having 2 1/2 weeks of frigid cold, like daytime highs of -30C, it has been difficult to get any photography done. The area has also seen the coldest February in 40 years according to the weatherman. I just love Global Warming! It makes me feel warm and fuzzy. No, that's ice crystals forming under my skin.

 Photography has consisted of watching the birds through the kitchen window . The Red polls are all fluffed up and are eating me out of sunflower seeds.

I get 5 or 6 Pine Grosbeaks at least twice a day at the feeder

 The Red Polls don't seem to mind the cold. How they don't freeze solid I cant quite figure out

I did find this Whitetail while out on a drive. She seems to be doing well and looking as if she might be slightly pregnant  Think warm, folks!

First Day of Season

I took a walk for some deer today. All I found were a couple of very young does.

 They were not at all frightened, but posed and posed.

 Finally, one decided to give me the "eyeball" before wandering off.

Private Shows

I was out with Daphne sleuthing around the back country when I was treated to several shows

The first was Daphne hot on the trail of a Whitetail Deer. Unfortunately, things happened too fast to adjust the camera to get both in the picture. Here is the south end of a north-bound deer.

The next shots were of my very own air show. I was walking along a oil/gas right of way when this chopper showed up to check on the sample spot.

He came around the corner. I could hear the chopper, but not see it

 

 The inspection place was the white post between the orange and blue poles.






And lift-off. 

That was the only exciting things I saw after almost two hours of walking.

I will try again tomorrow 

The Signs of a Tough Winter

This winter was very hard on some of the White Tailed deer. I saw a lot of dead and eaten fawns while out walking. These guys made it!

 There is next to no body fat left on them. Fortunately, the weather is now seasonal and the grass and branches are greening up. They will still be vulnerable to predators since they have very little reserve energy.

Out for the Day

It was supposed to be sunny all day so I decided to take the rifle and go browse a few ridges looking for a trophy buck. The weathermen were wrong again! It was flat light, cloudy and kind of dreary overall. The only saving grace was it was warm, about 10C or about 50F.

I came up on two Whitetail does, that flashed me. I settled down and waited to see if there was a buck hanging around. No such luck and I got to watch them for about 45 minutes. They gradually worked their way down wind and blew and snorted many times before moving off. Note that nobody was hurt in this viewing, and I got a couple of pictures.

Saturday's Outing

I decided to go a different direction today, down Highway 32. I saw lots and lots of Rough-legged hawks. They look pretty mean surveying their domain.

I also came across several deer in the field. As you can see, our snow dump from last week is almost gone.

Mama was keeping a close watch over her kids.

One one of the local ponds I found three Tundra Swans. They were a little nervous, but did not take flight.

An all white bird is almost as hard to get detail as is an all black bird.

 There was not much open water left and another couple of days should show this all frozen.

First Day Out Hunting

Bow season opened up and I managed to get out for a few hours. I am very picky and am looking for a good trophy. These pickle forks don't quite cut it.

I managed a few hours of dozing in the sun waiting for the right one. Maybe Thursday will be better.

Of course, my camera goes along. I am almost enjoying the camera hunt more. There is less work to be done once the shutter is tripped!

The old knees don't like the up and down of the hills. I will have to head north to the flat lands.

Almost August!

The summer is fading fast! This adult Whitetail is almost lost in this field of wheat.

It should be good munching and I am sure the farmer can spare a few bites.

Happy Sunday everybody!

Whitetail Saturday

I was cutting across an open field and I guess curiosity got the better of them. They walked right up to see what I was.

Oh, Deer!

It was an interesting day with the dogs. We went for a walk in a tree plantation where we normally don't see much. Coming back with two tired and wet dogs, we came across this Whitetail Buck standing on the trail. He saw all of us, but continued to watch.

He watched until the dogs saw him and then he bolted along with a doe that I didn't see.

The dogs are good. They gave chase for about 50 feet and then returned. They have learned by experience that they cannot catch a deer, but it is still fun giving a token chase!

Bits and Pieces

I have seen awkward ways of dining, but this Hairy Woodpecker beats all! Upside down with care! Sure, I could have rotated the pictures, but this is real life.

 This Whitetail deer was in a field on my most recent outing. He/she looks kind of lost

 There are a lot of fresh cougar tracks in the area that I normally walk the dogs, so I am exploring for a better location.

 When i first saw this, I thought "What in Heavens name is that"?

 It was just this guy munching away.