Refuge Sunday

 A really glorious day to be out in the refuge - or anywhere else, for that matter. It was a fairly quiet day, clear skies but still lots of duck hunters out. 

Several Harriers out and about, male and female. One Red-tailed, one Kestrel and one Eagle. Several hundred ducks of various kinds grouped into a no-hunting area. Always good to be out whether there are any wildlife or not..

Enjoy!

This beauty sat and watched me go back and forth with the car to find an angle where the branch wasn't in front of it's face..

More that one way to get out duck hunting without walking..

Fall marsh grasses..

One cloud in the sky - but not natural. It came from the refinery below..

My first eagle of the winter..

Intriguing grasses....

Antelope Island again

 Randy and I visited Antelope Island Friday and this time it really lived up to its name. While we saw a lot of bison, the stars of the morning were the antelope hanging out in the grasses above the east road. Young ones, jumping and running and playing..quite cute. Somewhere around 22 or so counted. 

A coyote on the way in and buffalo and landscapes. Wonderful light around the island.

Enjoy!

Not in any hurry, she walked alongside the causeway so we could get the photos we wanted.

Looking in good health..

I met my wife, Diana, at the plant that has the smokestack..magnesium and chlorine plant..

Here's the stars of the morning..

Refuge Tuesday

 The Refuge activity is slowly picking up.  Duck season brings in a lot of hunters but if you avoid weekends and Friday afternoons - and overcast days - it is still pretty quiet. 

More Harriers are showing up as well as the Red-taileds. A few Black-crowned Night Herons are flying around, especially since there is now a lot more water. Ducks and geese are proliferating. No Rough-legged spotted so far.

Here's a few I really liked..

The Mallards are just so beautiful and colorful..

The herons are hiding by the edge of the large body of water. They weren't bothered by me stopping and backing up to get a photo. It's kind of the old - if I don't move they won't see me - theory.

This beauty was posing in a tree by the side of the road just before entering the refuge. Juvenile. The tree it was in was full of pigeons that didn't seem bothered by the hawk being there.

The hawk was initially behind a limb, obscuring it's head. I asked it to move - and it did! Ha!