With our inversion holding the cold down in the valley lately, our morning walks have been frosty cold, but oh, so beautiful!! :)
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Our recent snow has melted off again now, but here is a little video of what things looked like here in the Bitterroot Valley just a few days ago. :)
 I love to see the sandhill cranes! :)   We saw this pair of sandhill cranes just outside the refuge last month. They are quite the interesting birds to see. This last photo is not up to par on the focus, but I wanted to share a pic of the two together, and they didn't stay close together for long.
 Driving back from our "check on the owls" trip to the refuge yesterday, I stopped in the road as I questioned, "Was there something up in that tree we just passed?" Of course I had to back up to see, and sure enough, there was a Canadian goose watching us from above. We always seem to see something somewhere. :)  The smoke and clouds shrouding the morning sun gave us a beautiful view on our drive to Bass Creek trailhead earlier this week. Bitterroot Valley, Montana.
 A nearby dairy farm with a beautiful row of trees and the Sapphire Mountains rising in the background. These trees always capture my attention no matter what season it is.
 Three immature great gray owls hanging out on the fence together. What a sight! After taking photos of the adult great gray owl with the deer that I shared in a previous post, we went down the road and discovered several immature great gray owls. They hung out on the fences on both sides of the road and in the nearby trees while looking around and calling to each other. We were able to watch and photograph quite a bit.  So serious!  Looking sleepy!  This one flew over to our side of the road, so we ended up with owls sitting on fences on both sides.  Just hanging out looking magnificent.  Immature or adult? Not sure, as it isn't as fuzzy as the others. Looks to me like a mama keeping her eye on the young ones.  This owlet stayed up in the tree where it's safer. Being extra fuzzy, this little one looks like the baby of the family.  A little blurry, but I enjoyed watching this one pop its head up and down while calling to the others.  The dignified one.  The scruffy one.  The motion in low light made this owl taking off appear to be stuck to the post with his feet. Look at those talons! The great gray owl is the largest owl in the world, and known as the "phantom of the north". How amazing to see five of them together and another one just up the road!! Hope you enjoyed the pics; leave me a comment. See you in another post soon. :) A little glimpse of what I saw in the sky when I left work tonight. :)  I love the layering of these contrasting clouds. Such beauty in the sky tonight!  Pictures in the clouds. I see a man taking a nap. Do you see it, too?  Battle of the clouds!  A couple of weeks ago while taking one of my daughters out for some driving practice on the backroads, I got the chance to witness a wildlife interaction between a great gray owl and a whitetail deer. This doe passed right in front of the perched owl. Both watched each other as if to say, "Howdy neighbor! How are you this evening?"  Before the deer came along I was hoping to get a shot of the owl looking at me, but to no avail. As the owl finished watching the deer pass by to his left, he finished turning his head to take a quick glance behind in my direction. Just long enough for one quick photo and confirmation that he's a great gray owl. I owe that helpful doe a thank you. :) Further down the road we got to see several more owls, of which I got more photos. I'll share some of those pics in a separate post, as I have more sorting to do first. Soon! :)
 Kootenai side of Bass Creek Crags after the snow has finished melting. Summer has arrived in Western Montana. :) |
authorNikki Weiss 
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