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sandhill cranes near the refuge. april 2022.

5/5/2022

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​I love to see the sandhill cranes! :)
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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.
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a goose in a tree. april 2022.

5/1/2022

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​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. :)
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morning light in the bitterroot. july 2021.

7/24/2021

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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.
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rural montana dairy farm. march 2020.

7/9/2021

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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.
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immature great gray owls in western montana.

8/3/2020

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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.
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So serious!
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Looking sleepy!
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This one flew over to our side of the road, so we ended up with owls sitting on fences on both sides.
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Just hanging out looking magnificent.
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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.
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This owlet stayed up in the tree where it's safer. Being extra fuzzy, this little one looks like the baby of the family.
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A little blurry, but I enjoyed watching this one pop its head up and down while calling to the others.
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The dignified one.
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The scruffy one.
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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!!
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Hope you enjoyed the pics; leave me a comment. See you in another post soon. :)
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cool crazy contrasting clouds.

7/31/2020

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A little glimpse of what I saw in the sky when I left work tonight. :)

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I love the layering of these contrasting clouds. Such beauty in the sky tonight!
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Pictures in the clouds. I see a man taking a nap. Do you see it, too?
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Battle of the clouds!
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wildlife interactions. an owl and a deer.

7/27/2020

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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?" 

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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. :)
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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! :)

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mountain view, thistle, and bee... on my way to work.

7/11/2020

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A very busy bee on a very beautiful thistle. :)











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While I haven't had time lately to sort through pics from hikes, I thought I'd throw up a couple of photos I took on my way to work yesterday.

​There's always something wonderful to see! :)

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Kootenai side of Bass Creek Crags after the snow has finished melting. Summer has arrived in Western Montana. :)
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seven vultures gather on a cattle ranch fence.

6/28/2020

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While taking the backroads home from a trip to the refuge earlier this month, the turkey vultures started flying over and flocking in. They were quite entertaining. :)


Bitterroot Valley, Montana
June 2020. 
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A couple of photos and the video were taken by my daughter, Jamie. We were both kept busy with the shutter button on our cameras. :) 

Some of our photos are not as focused as I'd like, as we were snapping quickly to capture the vultures in action, and we had to use our zoom to keep from scaring them off. But I included these photos anyway, as they give a glimpse into some of what we got to see.

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Photo credit: Jamie Weiss
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Photo credit: Jamie Weiss
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There were seven turkey vultures in all. We were kept amused as we watched them gather together on the fence, flap around, and circle around overhead.

I put together some clips from Jamie's video footage. It would have been better if we had a tripod with us, but it's still fun to watch these interesting birds. :)
​Remember to watch the video in fullscreen for the full affect.
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rainy day drive .. highway .. refuge .. backroads.

6/9/2020

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​We discovered these yellow pond-lilies along the highway near home.

Gotta keep your eyes open and camera ready anywhere you go in Montana, as you never know what, where, and when you might see something. I'm known to pull over and hop out on the side of the road at a moment's notice. :)

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There were plenty of red-winged blackbirds hanging out on the dried cattails as we drove along the main pond at the refuge. 
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Another angle of the barn at the refuge.

​The straight on view with the cloudy mountain background is what attracted my attention on this trip.
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St. Mary's Peak obscured in the rain clouds behind the pond and barn.
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The colors in this photo caught my eye after leaving the refuge.
​Always something to pull over and stop for. :)
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As we took the backroads home, we stopped to watch and photograph a flock of turkey vultures. While doing so, this bald eagle flew overhead and landed off in the field.

I captured several cool photos of the vultures, so they will be featured in their own post.
Coming up next... :)

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    Nikki Weiss
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