Feb. 8, 2013, at Ridgefield NWR, was a relatively slow day for me but I eked out a dozen shots to share this time. Let’s get right to the pictures on this partly cloudy day.
This is “Henry” the Red-tailed Hawk, who hangs out around marker #12. He’s known for just standing around on the ground waiting for the appropriate prey to walk, slither, or paddle by. (9:07 a.m.) ISO 1600
I was approaching the curve at marker #13 when I noticed this coyote sitting in the middle of the road. I stopped quite a distance away, took shots, and moved closer. I was saddened to see that, when the coyote got up to move, it had an injured right-rear leg. There’s also a spot on the right side of its face that may be an injury, visible in the third shot. I’m hoping the leg injury heals as this animal could have a rough time hunting with only three working legs. (9:12) ISO 2500
Here’s a Golden-crowned Sparrow that did a ‘look-back’ to check out what I was doing. (9:30) ISO 2500
A Red-tailed Hawk in a tree, either hiding prey it just caught or sunning its wings. (9:44) ISO 800
Here’s a heavily cropped image (hence, not very good focus) of a light morph Red-tailed Hawk. (10:02) ISO 800
And a lone Cackling Goose near marker #11. (10:17) ISO 800
Another Red-tailed Hawk — so plentiful this time of year. (10:42) ISO 800
A wonderful sight – but not the best photo of a pair of Great Horned Owls. There was no spot to get a clearer view of them. My guess is that the bird on the left is the male and the right one is the female who raised a family for the last several years in the woods between markers #9 & 10. Refuge personnel, a couple months ago, tore down their old nesting snag this year though to force the owls to nest at a location further from the road. For the sake of the owls, I think it was a good decision. (10:51) ISO 800
And lastly, a Northern Harrier in flight. (11:08) ISO 1000
Thanks for dropping by! Take care and we’ll see you next time!