Sunday visit to the Aquarium..

We are so fortunate to have this aquarium locally - to see things live that we would never see in person. Randy and I visited it yesterday morning and here's some of the beauty that we saw...

Jellyfish always seem to have blue lights around them - which makes their colors show off even better.

Penguins - cute and very active..

Lizards....

Fish..

Asian Pheasant

Poison dart frogs...very small

River otter..

All sorts of color and activity

Sting ray smiling at us..

Sea Turtle...

Clouded leopard - absolutely gorgeous..

Refuge Friday

Very quiet at the refuge yesterday. One Harrier, three Blue Herons, one Rough-legged Hawk and grundle of Pied Bill Grebes. Very few hunters, flat light and peaceful.
Watched a Harrier flush a pheasant, otherwise the most action was the young GBH hunting and the Grebes catching minnows.
Enjoy!

Rough-legged..

Juvenile Heron..

Pied Bill Grebe scooting away from its fellows so they won't steal the catch..

Winter in the zoo

Lots of animals still out in the winter, and some good photo ops. Here's a few from our visit yesterday..

Snarl of the lioness..

He had his eye on me - glad there was thick glass between us..

Caught in the act..

She is very beautiful...

Foxie is a perfect adjective for this lady..

Cute - Arabian Sand Cat..

Elephant hide - much more photogenic (to me) than the elephant...

Refuge Tuesday....

Tuesday started out sunny and beautiful.  It quickly changed to partly cloudy and still beautiful.
The refuge was pretty quiet. A few duck hunters, mostly on airboats or walking the dikes.
Northern Harriers were very active, fun to watch and challenging to photograph in flight. Very good practice - out of 60 photos only one or two might be close to what you wanted. Thrilling anyway!
The lone Bald Eagle presented itself, along with an American Kestrel. Just a beautiful day prior to the upcoming storms.
Enjoy!

Harrier greeted guests..

Baldie!

One of the 60 photos that was worth kleeeping.

A long ways out but still neat!

Female Harrier..

Western Grebe, Pied Bill Grebes, Coot...

The Gray Ghost hanging around..

Little guy..

Refuge Saturday

A bright, sunshiny and cold day at the refuge. Lots of hunters around, duck and pheasant, and some photo nerds like me. But the Harriers kept harrying and the day was so beautiful.
Here's some of my favorites...

Snow on the Teasels..

Killdeer

Harrier with her lunch

Incoming...

Frosted pines on the mountainside..

Sneaking away...

Refuge Sunday

A brisk morning at the refuge with lots of duck and pheasant hunters out early. A beautiful morning with the rising sun highlighting the grasses. A bit of hoarfrost in places added a touch of drama.
Red-tailed Hawks played, pheasants ran across the road, and two ravens harassed an eagle as it ate it's catch.
A great morning to be alive and at the refuge..

The eagle and the ravens...

A look down the hoar frost tunnel....

Red-tails at play....