Female Mule Deer and Her Fawns - III.

In a deserted salty field near the Bear MBR I came across a group of five Mule deer in the early June. As I got closer, I realized it was a doe and her four fawns.

I only had half an hour before the sun would disappear below the horizon to take a few photos of this family. Fortunately, the mother and her babies didn't go anywhere; they needed food for the night.

Generally, life is good.

Female Swainson's Hawk and Her Babies

A year ago, I photographed a family of Great Horned owls with their babies in this same tree.  This year, a family of Swainson's hawks took a fancy to this tree, built a nest, and are now raising their two babies.

Normally, the female spends time in the nest and the male guards it nearby. Both parents feed and care for their babies for six weeks before the young birds are strong enough to leave the nest. 

While raising their young in the summer the Hawks' family will feed their babies a varied diet that will include mice, lizards, snakes and insects. 

Generally, life is good.

Female Mule Deer and Her Fawns - II.

The fawns were always close to their mother, one might say, never leaving her side and under her watchful eye.

Generally, life is good.

Female Mule Deer with Her Fawns - I.

 

In a deserted salty field near the Bear MBR I came across a group of five Mule deer. As I got closer, I realized it was a doe and her four fawns.

I only had half an hour before the sun would disappear below the horizon to take a few photos of this family. Fortunately, the mother and her babies didn't go anywhere; they needed food for the night.

Sometimes one or two fawns laid down on the grass for a short rest.  They had a long journey ahead of them to their overnight stay and needed rest.

Their mother was young and strong.  Looking at her I thought it must be not easy  to raise four little fawns and protect them.  I didn't see any male Mule deer around.  They do not help in raising the babies, the female does this on her own.

 

At first, the family of deer was a little concerned about my presence but soon they  paid no attention to me. Half an hour spent with this family turned out to be an eternity and joy.

Generally, life is good.

Notes to Self. Red Barn

I took this photo out of desperation. No, this is not a joke. The spring flood cut me off from the Bear River MBR and my favorite birds.

Knowing that there was no way I could get to the Bear River, I told myself that there was a big world around me and if I tried hard to discover something interesting in it then my favorite birds could wait.

One of my little "interesting" discoveries was the red barn, very important and festive.

Actually, I like the old dilapidated barns better. There is something very touching and sad about them. Such barns have closed one of the last pages of their lives and retired with dignity. 

Unfortunately, there were no old barns around, only important and festive one and at some point it suddenly seemed not so boring, it had its own special charm.

***

Я сделал это фото от отчаяния. Нет, это не шутка. Весенний паводок отрезал меня от МБР Медвежьей реки и моих любимых птиц.

Зная, что мне никак не добраться до Медвежьей реки, я сказал себе, что вокруг меня большой мир, и если я очень постараюсь открыть для себя в нем что-то интересное, то мои любимые птицы могут и подождать. 

Oдним из моих маленьких "интересных" открытий оказался красный амбар, очень важный такой, как будто он был на шоу.

Вообще-то, мне нравятся больше старые полуразрушенные амбары. Есть в них что-то очень трогательное и грустное. Такие амбары закрыли одну из последних страниц своей жизни и ушли на пенсию с достоинством.

К сожалению, старых амбаров вокруг не было, а был важный и праздничный, и в какой-то момент он показался не таким уж скучным, в нем был свой особый шарм.

Generally, life is good.

Fearless Cattle Egrets - I.

 

Seeing these birds and watching them running and feeding on insects between the legs of cows was a true adventure.  I was impressed how fearless Cattle Egrets were.

Mostly Egrets were around cows but sometimes some would suddenly walk away, then stopped for a short while and then return back to cows.  

Cattle Egrets are not native to our country, they somehow found their way to US from Africa many years ago. 

Life goes on.

Notes to Self. Teachers

 

Real teachers come into our life uninvited and somehow imperceptibly and become our guiding stars.  

My teachers came from books and so far I have several of them:

Osho, an Indian philosopher and mystic, helped me get rid of the very sad word "loneliness" and replace it with a non-stressful one - solitude.

Rabbi Harold S. Kushner stirred up my sleeping mind and taught me to ask myself questions that I had never asked before.

Irina Khakamada became my virtual life coach and turned everything upside down in my life. Many thanks to her for her interviews, podcasts and books.

***

Настоящие учителя приходят в нашу жизнь без приглашения и как-то незаметно и становятся нашими путеводными звездами.  

Мои учителя пришли из книг и на сегодня у меня иx уже несколько:

Ошо, индийский философ и мистик, помог мне избавиться от очень грустного слова "одиночество" и заменить его на не стрессовое - уединение.

Рабби Гарольд С. Кушнер расшевелил  мой спящий ум и научил меня задавать себе вопросы, которые раньше я никогда не задавала. 

Ирина Хакамада стала моим виртуальным лайф-коучем и все перевернула в моей жизни с ног на голову.  Огромное спасибо ей за ее интервью, подкасты и книги.

Life goes on.

 

Female Mule Deer with a Fawn

At the end of my trip to Bear River MBR, when I was ready to pack my gear, I saw a female mule deer with her fawn.  

Usually, female mule deer gives birth to two fawns, although if it is her first time having a baby, she will often have only fawn. 

 

Life goes on.

On the Country Roads - III. But First, Towels

and then lunch...

Life goes on.

On the Country Roads - II.

 

I will never fully get used to the mountains.  You can't get used to something powerful that takes your breath away.  You can only be in awe.

Life goes on.

Notes to Self.

 

This evening, returning home from Bear River MBR, I thought about my life which right now full of confusion and tension.  Thoughts are mostly sad, no inspiration, no new ideas.

And suddenly insight that thoughts are sad because I let them be sad, inspiration never completely goes away, it comes and goes. 

Ideas?... Everyone has ideas every day and some of them are just great.  

It was getting dark when I stopped my car and got out.  The White-faced Ibises were flying to their night roost and they were so beautiful.

Life goes on.

Male Forster's Tern is Feeding His Mate

That evening I spent a long time with female Foster's Tern who was waiting to be fed by her mate.  

That evening everything was just perfect, the female was close to the road, the stormy sky created nice gentle colors, and most importantly I could take as many photos as I wanted.  

The female was very persistent and never stopped asking for food.

Life goes on.

Female Forster's Tern is Waiting for Fish

The flooding of the Bear River has attracted numerous waterfowl to the areas that  are not normally found there during dry years. Yesterday I was lucky enough to watch and photograph a Forster's Tern demanding to be fed by its parents as I thought at first.  

I later changed my mind after a comment I received.  This remark made me question whether it was indeed a juvenile or it was an adult female waiting to be fed by her mate.

That is true that during the mating ritual the male starts offering food to the female, eventually feeding her almost exclusively as they become a pair.

 The female is very impatient in anticipation of food.

In the photo above the male Tern offers fish to his mate who was impatiently waiting for it.

Finding fish is a challenge for Terns.  They have to fly at low altitude, scanning for fish that is close to the surface.  

When Tern finds fish it stops in the air and hovers, waiting for the right moment and then drops straight into the water headfirst, hoping that it can close its beak around the fish.  

Life goes on.

Learning to Be Independent

The moment I spotted the juvenile Great Horned Owl, I thought there was no way I could take a photo of him.  The Owl was hidden by dense tree branches and almost was invisible.  I stayed with him for a while, talked briefly and left.

On the way back, the Owl was still in the same tree but he changed his position and no longer napped.   This juvenile Owl flew out of the nest into the world learning how to be independent.

At some point,  the parents of this young Great Horned Owl, let the fledgling know that it was time for him to hunt on his own.  

Life goes on.

The Flooding

 

The Bear River is flooding and grasslands, pastures along the Forest Street that leading to the bird sanctuary are currently under water.  I have never seen anything like this before and tried to drive as far as possible this evening but at some point I didn't dare to drive through the flooded road and was forced to turn around.

Even though, I couldn't make it to the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, I had a great time photographing some of the birds and even a Great Horn Owl this evening.

I also took some photos of flooding pastures and one of them seemed interesting to me and I thought why not create something surreal in black and white.

Life goes on.

A Male Ring-necked Pheasant

 

I come across Pheasants often when I am on my way to Bear River MBR but these interesting birds aren't very accessible. Most of the time they disappoint me. The moment I stop my car the Pheasants run into the dense shrubs and disappear. 

This male Pheasant was pretty brave and curious. I like these qualities in birds, they often give you an opportunity that you didn’t even know you had.

Generally, life is good!

Two Brave Travelers

Over the past several years I have dreamed of photographing at least one Snow Goose. Last Sunday my dream came true and I met two Snow Geese at Bear River MBR, the adult and juvenile.  

What brought this couple to Bear River MBR? Usually, Snow Geese don't like to travel without company of another couple of dozens geese.  I think that fresh accessible water and food brought this couple in the refuge.  

Snow Geese are drinking water. 

Geese use their bills to lift the water in the mouth and then toss their head back to run water down their throat. That is what exactly Snow geese are doing on the photo above.

Snow Geese breed in Arctic Tundra but they migrate to Northern Utah during winter and stay there until it's time to go back to their breeding grounds.  

Generally, life is good!

Young Bald Eagle is Taking Flight

 

In one of my previous posts I wrote about this young Bald Eagle.  I spent with him half an hour and ended up with a little space left on my memory card.  When the Eagle took off I could take only six more photos.  Luckily, I somehow got this shot and was happy.  

Generally, life is good!

Light Morph Red-tailed Hawk

 

That early cloudy morning returning back from Bear River MBR I spotted a Hawk perching on a log in a sit-and-wait hunting position by the road.  I have never seen such an interesting and majestic raptor before and of course, desperately wanted to take a few photos of him.  Luckily, the Hawk stayed for several minutes on its perch.

At some point, the Hawk turned its back on me and showed its red tail. No doubts it was the Red-tailed Hawk.

Apparently, there are different variations of Red-tailed Hawks.  

I will learn later that they are secretive and buteos with broad rounded wings, relatively short tails and they hunt on the wing. They also can be dark morph or light morph hawks.  The Hawk I met that morning was light morph Red-tail Hawk.

Generally, life is good!

Notes to Self - XXVI.

 

A gull circled in the sky, the clouds floated across the sky like a long iridescent silk scarf.  One fleeting moment that lasted until the sun broke through the clouds and everything changed in instance.  Magic always fades so fast.

Generally, life is good!