Sunday’s Sunrise 1

Copyright ©2023 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

4 days ago this was all covered in snow, but with snow last week followed by days of rain we now have a lakeside view!

Reflections 3/12/2023

We have more rain in the forecast so I imagine this will get more water this week. We’re about 15 ft above this so hopefully we’ll be alright.

There has been some flooding around the valley already. Fingers crossed it doesn’t get really bad. The county has sandbag stations set up across the valley for anyone who wants to get sandbags. The only requirement…bring your own shovel.

I hope you all stay safe, warm, and dry!

Nikon D810| Nikkor 80-200mm| PS CC 24.2.1

more to come…

Wordless Weds. Sunrise Storm Clouds

Copyright ©2023 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

Sunrise Storm Clouds 2/20/23

Nikon D810| Nikkor 80-200mm @ 100mm| PS CC 24.1.1

more to come…

Friday’s Feathered Friends- Cooper’s Hawk

Copyright ©2023 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

For several weeks we’ve had a Cooper’s Hawk perching on a neighbor’s tree out back. With all the White-crown Sparrows, and Quail about I’m sure it’s hoping for a meal.

I’ve been enjoying seeing it perched there.

Cooper’s Hawk

Fun Facts-

    • Dashing through vegetation to catch birds is a dangerous lifestyle. In a study of more than 300 Cooper’s Hawk skeletons, 23 percent showed old, healed-over fractures in the bones of the chest, especially of the furcula, or wishbone.
    • A Cooper’s Hawk captures a bird with its feet and kills it by repeated squeezing. Falcons tend to kill their prey by biting it, but Cooper’s Hawks hold their catch away from the body until it dies. They’ve even been known to drown their prey, holding a bird underwater until it stopped moving.
    • Once thought averse to towns and cities, Cooper’s Hawks are now fairly common urban and suburban birds. Some studies show their numbers are actually higher in towns than in their natural habitat, forests. Cities provide plenty of Rock Pigeon and Mourning Dove prey. Though one study in Arizona found a downside to the high-dove diet: Cooper’s Hawk nestlings suffered from a parasitic disease they acquired from eating dove meat.
    • Life is tricky for male Cooper’s Hawks. As in most hawks, males are significantly smaller than their mates. The danger is that female Cooper’s Hawks specialize in eating medium-sized birds. Males tend to be submissive to females and to listen out for reassuring call notes the females make when they’re willing to be approached. Males build the nest, then provide nearly all the food to females and young over the next 90 days before the young fledge.
    • The oldest recorded Cooper’s Hawk was a male and at least 20 years, 4 months old. He was banded in California in 1986, and found in Washington in 2006.

Fun Facts gleaned from allaboutbirds.org

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 100-400mm| PS CC 24.1.0

more to come…

Wordless Weds. A Crisp and Chilly Morning

Copyright ©2022 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION!

Fog and Alpine Glow on a Fall Morning

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 16-80mm @80mm| PS CC 24.0.0

more to come…

Whatever Weds. Fall Color in CO +2

Copyright ©2021 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

While in CO. Fall was at peak or past it in the higher elevations and beginning in the lower ones so, after the wedding we began our vacation. First up we headed to Kenosha Pass to see the fall colors.

Reflections

Layers of Color

Fast forward…we came home to a cold snap. It was pretty chilly and windy all week-end; it rained a bit in the valley and snowed in the mountains, but on Monday things really got chilly and it rained, hailed and snowed a little, and yesterday I woke up to 23 degrees (-5c) and the clouds had lifted a bit on the mountains so I could see the snow on them.

Lucky me, a flock of Canadian Geese flew by and I got the tail-end of them in this frame. They’re heading Northeast somewhere.

I’m trying a new theme for the blog to see if my images look better than in the previous theme. I think it’s better. What do you think?

Fuji X-T3| Fujinon 16-80mm & 100-400mm| iPhone 7 Plus| PS CC 22..5.1

more to come…