Walking the dikes

We weren't seeing much wildlife at the refuge, so we decided to walk down a dike and explore. Fortunately Murphy has a lot of patience, as he stood there in the snow as I took a lot of photos and then took 3 steps forward and took more, etc.... He just stood and looked at me - and ran like hell to the truck when I turned around :-)..

Halfway down the dike there was open water and the gulls, eagles, and herons congregated around the open spots. A young eagle caught a fish and was pursued by a gull for a short time. A heron caught a fish and his buddy decided to visit him - but only for a short time before he was chased off. The dynamics amongst the wildlife is fascinating to me to watch and learn. Here's some of the photos for the stories from today!

"Go catch your own!"

These two eagles against the diffused background of the snowy mountains captured my sense of drama.

Young eagle (less than 4 years old) is chased by gull as he carries his fish away with him.

These next two of eagles were just beautiful - couldn't resist sharing.

Someone called these herons - "Grumpy old men" - as they sit hunched over to stay warm.

These next two of the kestrel are kind of "Aaahhhhh" photos, cause he sure is cute!