Tag / wildlife

by kritterspaw

Grizzlies

We just returned from an amazing adventure north of Vancouver, where we spent a week among grizzly bears. It was great fun to observe their behaviors and personalities.

We saw WALKING BEARS

WADING BEARS

BOBBING BEARS

BABY BEARS

even DANCING BEARS

and BEACHED BEAR

and FISHING BEARS

The Chinook salmon that are born in the freshwater Chilko Lake, leave when they are small fry, not much more than 6″ long for broader horizons, as they swim downstream and into the ocean. They travel as far as Alaska over the next 2 years before making a loop and heading back to Chilko Lake where they spawn, laying their eggs.

The grizzlies come down off the mountain and fill up for the winter prior to hibernation, while the salmon come to lay their eggs and die. Many of the salmon are already dead and the bear walk around the lake on two feet to feel around for fish and spend the day getting their fill.

Mom teaches her COY (Cubs Of the Year) to fish and swim across the lake.

We got to know some of their habits, and had fun just watching their individual characteristics. After fishing for salmon their would shake their head and and rip off the salmon skin like it was a delicacy.

It was a tiring week, mentally and physically.

For more grizzly photos check out my post here … https://kritterspix.com/2024/10/20/always-learning/

by kritterspaw

Coues White-Tail Deer

The Coues (pronounced ‘cooz’) white-tail deer roam Arizona and New Mexico and are less common than the common mule deer, which can be found throughout western North America. They can be distinguished by their tight compact antlers, smaller ears, and ‘colored’ tail (as opposed to mule deers white rump with black tip tail).

When they are alarmed they run, revealing the underside of their snowy white tail, hence, white-tail.

The males are typically around 125 lbs, while the females are about 80 lbs. They graze southeast Arizona in elevations of 4,000 ‘ – 10,000 ‘.

They are a frequent visitor and often encountered in the forests around Mogollon Rim and the White Mountains.

They were first described by Army physician and naturalist Dr. Elliot Coues stationed at Ft. Whipple in 1865.

by kritterspaw

Baby Season

I am sometimes asked what my favorite season is. I often like to reply, ‘Winter’, for the unique vantage point and photographs I get when the animals wander through the fresh fallen snow.

But, I’d be remiss in not admitting my love for baby season. Dependent on the animal, new borns are generally between May and August. We find (and look for) them all over Arizona during those summer months. Sometimes we are lucky enough to successfully find, and capture some magical moments with wildlife.

See more big horn sheep pix here… https://kritterspix.com/2023/08/22/big-horn-sheep/

Whether it’s in the forest, the canyons, or the waterways, animals can be found anywhere we look.

I admit to getting very lucky to see and capture the animals we encounter. Truth be told though, we spend a lot of time in the wild looking for just such opportunities.

We’ll go back to places we have seen particular animals in the past, with mixed level of success. They are wild animals after all, emphasis on the ‘wild’ part.

But then, luck does favor the prepared.

by kritterspaw

Like a little kid

Kids love snow. There is something just fun and adventurous about sliding down slopes, making snowmen, and snowball fights.

I know our pup, Trek, enjoyed her first snow.

So animals aren’t any different. Particularly the baby animals. They are just as nuts for it.

We’ve seen baby deer, elk, and now big horn sheep go crazy for the snow. We were fortunate enough to be able to watch this amazing herd playing in the snow.

We felt very privileged to witness their fun. You can literally see the joy on their faces.

If you enjoyed these photos, you can see more of this ‘shoot’ here.. https://kritterspix.com/2022/12/15/practice-makes-better/

by kritterspaw

Monsoon Horizon

July / August is our typical monsoon season. Storm clouds on the horizon bring great skies, wonderful sunrise and sunsets, and lush grass.

The lush grass brings out the animals happily feeding on the tender greens.

Nature takes care of its own as newborns are born around June to take advantage of the ample food and water to quickly nurture them to adolescent before the harsh winters are upon them.

It’s a beautiful season and great time to get out and enjoy its many blessings.

by kritterspaw

A picture tells a story

I have been determined to get that great story telling shot, since I missed the shot here … https://kritterspix.com/2022/05/14/tucson-to-greens-peak-in-45-degrees/

The story I want to tell, is of an osprey catching dinner, trout in it’s talons, taking it back to the kids for dinner…. and of the photographer (that would be me… getting her shot).

We heard there were osprey at Woods Canyon and Willow Springs Lakes. Along the way we saw herds of bull elk, deer, a bear cub, and coyote. At Willow Springs we found cute chipmunk willing to pose for the camera.

We headed to Hawley Lake hoping for better luck. We didn’t find any osprey, but we found turkey, elk, and bluebirds.

We kept moving, hoping for that illusive osprey shot. We found blue heron at Horseshoe Cienga Lake.

In the morning, still looking for osprey, we encountered beaver and baby Canadian Geese.

Still on a mission, we headed to Bog Tank for osprey, where we had seen them before.

We weren’t there 5 minutes, I had barely gotten out of the truck with my camera when we saw an osprey overhead… coming toward us.

With a lot of luck, (and a ton of practice), I actually captured my illusive shot. The osprey got his prize.. and I got mine. Sometimes things don’t work out the way you intend, but if you’re patient and take what comes one can get more than they sought.

by kritterspaw

Birds a feather…

What do they say? Birds a feather flock together. That is no more true than at Whitewater Draw, where thousands (we heard numbers anywhere between 20,000 and 47,000) sandhill cranes flock to this lush marshland in southern Arizona.

But it’s not just sandhill cranes. The area is rich with all sorts of birds, including the blue, green, and cinnamon -winged teals, Northern pintails, red-winged blackbirds, Northern shovelers, grebes, egret, hawks and owls.

Cinnamon teal at Whitewater Draw
Green-winged teal
Northern shoveler rests in water at Whitewater Draw

We saw quite a variety of waterfowl during a trip to Whitewater Draw for a Photo Workshop sponsored by Arizona Game and Fish. (See my post here… https://kritterspix.com/2022/02/06/whitewater-draw-workshop/)

Pintail duck at Whitewater draw

We saw birds I never heard of, like the colorful Vermillion Flycatcher and Northern Harrier.

Vermillion Flycatcher
Juvenile vermillion flycatcher in the weeds along Whitewater Draw

Not to mention the very entertaining sandhill cranes.

Sandhill crane graze at Whitewater Draw
Sandhill cranes chatter

Whitewater Draw has had increasing numbers of sandhill cranes year over year. This area is the best sandhill crane-viewing site in Arizona, and one of the largest migration sites in the country. It’s a thrilling sight to see and experience.

I got a lot of trigger time with my camera, and practiced my Birds-in-Flight (BIF) photography. Check out my post of BIF photography here.. https://kritterspix.com/2022/02/06/birds-in-flight-bif-photography/

by kritterspaw

Weather Promises

We had been promised snow on multiple occasions. They said we’d get 1 – 3 inches during the day, and 4 – 6″ that evening. Not to be that day, or the next, or the one after that.

I never thought I’d say it, but I’ve come to like the snow. It blows in all sorts of things, like this beautiful cooper’s hawk.

Or this little falcon….

As we feel the storm coming, the clouds and winds roll in, but the promise doesn’t come… our friends in South Carolina are soaking up the sun in shorts & tee-shirts on the beach. (This just after coming back from freezing on the West Coast, enduring incessant rains and cold temperatures on the California beach.)

We finally got our snow, about 6″. It was here and then gone. But with it, we got our animals.

We took the opportunity to go out and find them, and were rewarded with some nice shots of elk in the snow.

And big horn sheep

In the course of a week since we got back from CA, we saw deer, elk, ram, and even a coyote.

Gotta love where we live!

See more snow / animal pix here …

https://kritterspix.com/2022/01/01/first-snow-3/

by kritterspaw

Industrious Mouse

We were at Schnebly Vista, (see my post here… https://kritterspix.com/2021/06/11/schnebly-hill-vista/ ), when we caught this little mouse gathering food.

We watched this little guy for quite a while, nibbling away on an agave, then proceed to carry this stalk probably 5x his size down into a his home.

How often is it you can watch a wild animal going about their daily activity?

While he knew we were there, he was more intent on gathering food, perhaps for his family.

Either way, we were thrilled to have the opportunity to witness him (or her) at work. Very cool.

by kritterspaw

Snow Foraging

Elk forages through the snow with bull elk behind.
Buck prowls through the deep snow.

I never realized the trouble our animals had trudging through thick snow. With the threat of predators, swift winds, and deep snow, animals hunker down during large snow falls.

I can only imagine them running in heavy snow, with unknown ground coverage, rocks, and trees beneath their feet.

It made me happy for what we have, and not have to fend for ourselves or our food. It can be a harsh world out there, so take the time to practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.

See my other posts, here… https://kritterspix.com/2021/01/29/a-world-of-friends/ and here… https://kritterspix.com/2021/01/27/we-got-snow/.