Just because..

I was working on some images from a couple of years ago and came across these of a red fox kit.

This young fox was spending time just outside of the den entrance. Yawning.

Scratching.

Sleeping.

Just chillin out.

And waiting for mom or dad to bring some lunch. 

I really like red foxes and hope you enjoyed the post.

At least this one made it

My dad had bluebirds nesting in a house on his land. The birds had successfully hatched their chicks and had been feeding them regularly.

One day when I was with him my dad asked me to check the nest. So I walked over and opened the bird house door to look inside.

The good news was that this fledgling eastern bluebird was inside the house.

The bad news was that its four nest mates were dead and the nest was soaking wet.

It had stormed and rained heavily a day or two earlier and apparently the water got blown into the house and onto the young bluebirds.

I carefully took the live fledgling from the house and then cleaned out the wet nest and dead birds. The little bluebird looked pretty rough and there were no adults around so I couldn't tell if it had been abandoned or not.

I decided to take the baby bird and get some meal worms and see if it would eat.

I googled bluebirds and learned what I should try to do. Once I got the worms from a local bait shop I offered one to the baby bird. It wouldn't eat, but it did poop.

I took that poop to mean that it had been fed by its parents fairly recently. I got some tissues to use as bedding in the now empty birdhouse and took the bluebird back home.

 

I put the tissues and baby bird back in the house and closed the door. Then my dad and I waited to see if the adult birds would come to the nest.

It was less than a minute before an adult male bluebird landed on the birdhouse and then went inside. When he came out he went to the ground, caught an insect and went right back inside the house to feed the baby bird.  We watched for about ten more minutes as the male bluebird continued to catch and deliver food for its baby in the house.

It didn't feel so great to have four bluebirds dead in the house but I was glad one made it. We checked on the little bird the next day and it looked and acted much healthier. A few days later when we checked the bird had already fledged and was no longer in the house.

A good couple of days for young birds

I spent last weekend near Lake Superior and was lucky enough to find and photograph a couple of different young birds like this mallard duckling.

 For several years I had been hoping to find a cooperative duckling and finally I got my chance.

This killdeer chick is almost as big as an adult but still unable to fly.

I really like the patterns and coloring of killdeer. The orange ring around their eye is very distinctive. This chick is big enough that it almost has its adult plumage.

In the last month I've had a lot of luck capturing images of birds, landscapes, and different critters that had alluded me for a long time. I hope it's the start of a positive trend. 

A few more fawn photos

I was in northern Wisconsin and spotted this white-tailed deer doe nursing her new fawn. I didn't have my camera with me so I went to get it.

Once I had my camera in hand I approached the deer hoping to get some photos. The doe ran off and the fawn quickly dropped to the ground and lay prone.

After a short while the little deer got up and ran into the woods. With some diligent searching I was able to locate it again, this time in its new and improved hiding place.

It had been more than twenty years since I last found and photographed a fawn this small, so I was feeling really lucky to have the opportunity again.

I quietly talked to the deer while I worked to get some good photos.

The fawn was laying in a small woods mostly in the shadows.

The sun was getting low on the horizon and every now and then a little light would filter through the trees and fall on the bedded deer.

Just before leaving, I took this last photo and thanked the fawn for its patience. About twenty minutes later I went back to see if the fawn was gone and it was. The doe had returned and the two of them had walked off.

Beautiful baby geese.

It's just the right time of year for gosslings, lots and lots of gosslings. Baby Canada geese really look great as little golden fluff balls, but they quicky grow out of that phase. Once the eggs start hatching it's time to take some photos.

A deft and gentle hand helped to make this photo possible. My sons Josh and Zach played the role of highly experienced goose wranglers.

A beautiful and relaxed gossling.

The gosslings grow so quickly, it is only a matter of days before they are no longer quite so cute and attractive.

Sunny days in May are a great time to be outdoors with my kids, a camera, and beautiful baby geese.