Wolves have long been my nemesis — one of the main North American animals that have, for the most part, eluded me in the wild. I see them quite often when I go to Yellowstone, but never close enough for decent photos. This weekend that tradition continued. That being said, I did get relatively close to this young black wolf and its grey companion. The two were howling up on a ridge and eventually disappeared. When they appeared again, we realized that they had duped us by passing by further up the road. As I say every time I leave Yellowstone, I’ll get them next time. For now, this is the best that I could do.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4.5 at 1/4000th of a second

Badlands National Park is one of my favorite wildlife destinations in the country. In the northern, grassy area of the park, prairie dogs, bighorn, pronghorn, burrowing owls and bison are all very common. The sun had just set behind these three bison when I took this shot.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 350mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/400th of a second

There are many species of ibis throughout the world. Most recently I posted a photo of the red ibis. This is the white ibis, photographed at Ding Darling National Wildlife Refuge in Sanibel Island, Florida. Click for larger view.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 550mm with Nikon TC-14 teleconverter) ISO 400, f/8 at 1/800th of a second

The American avocet is a very graceful bird, with longs legs and a thin, delicate beak. I came across this particular bird late one afternoon in Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge in north central Colorado. It was feeding in a shallow swampy area, providing a nice opportunity for reflections.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/6.3 at 1/320th of a second

I’m not sure of the exact species of this handsome little guy, but I photographed him/her while in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge last week. From a bit of research, I think it might be the great plains toad. Regardless, I’ve always been a big fan of toads. Not quite to the stature of a proper frog, but with an admirable underdog quality about them.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 400, f/4 at 1/4000th of a second

I’m always reluctant to post birds because I know I have a lot of subscribers who much prefer the fur to the feather. In fact, I’m traditionally a fur over feather type myself, but lately, I’ve really been embracing the birds. This is a shot I took a couple of years ago just after a client meeting in Orrville, Ohio. After the meetings wrapped I headed north to Cuyahoga Valley National Park where I captured this red-bellied woodpecker amidst the red of autumn oak leaves.
Nikon D300 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/500th of a second

Here’s another one from last weekend in Colorado. In this photo I wanted to show a bit of the alpine tundra and late summer wildflowers that blanket the ground at higher elevations where mountain goats roam.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/14 at 1/160th of a second

Here’s another one from last weekend at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal near downtown Denver. Nothing special here. Just a regular old cottontail. But an angry regular old cottontail. And that’s the best kind of cottontail.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 200-400mm lens (at 400mm) ISO 800, f/4 at 1/1250th of a second

Just east of downtown Denver is the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge — almost 16,000 acres of spectacular mixed prairie, wetland and woodland habitat that used to be a United States Army chemical weapons manufacturing facility. Following a costly environmental clean up program, it’s amazing that a site that was once contaminated with deadly pollutants is now home to thriving wildlife populations, including bison, coyote, owls, pelicans and both white tailed and mule deer. I photographed this mule deer mother and her fawn early Monday morning, just as the sun began to rise.
Nikon D800 with Nikkor 70-200mm lens (at 200mm) ISO 800, f/4.5 at 1/3200th of a second

Just back from a long weekend in Colorado visiting friends. Of course, I also took my cameras and had the opportunity to get to a few of my old hotspots. These goats were photographed at Mount Evans, the highest paved road in North America — and one of the best places in the country to see mountain goats. You can see clouds down below in the background. More on these guys in future posts when I have time to process all the shots.
Nikon D810 with Nikkor 17-35mm lens (at 17mm) ISO 800, f/3.2 at 1/2000th of a second