Ferrara Wildlife Photography

Mule Deer – Ladies of the Evening

Ladies of the Evening I’ve often wondered why some who find themselves in the middle of breathtaking beauty are unable to recognize it. Those who can ‘see’, oft sense so much gleeYet those in a hurry, seem doomed to but scurrySince they can’t get in touch, they sadly miss much Mule Deer capture made against a fire-scorched sundown sky from a place ‘off the beaten track’ in eastern Montana where, according to some, ‘nothing’s there’. ~ Anecdote, poem and Mule Deer capture, Ladies of the Evening © Jerry L. Ferrara

My Canine Skill A melanistic Gray Wolf dashes down a snowy slope … Through winter’s realm and down steep hillI will run to make my killMere terrain won’t dull my willIt’s all about my canine skill ~ Poem and Gray Wolf capture, My Canine Skill © Jerry L. Ferrara

The Pileated Woodpecker Considered our largest native U.S. woodpecker [unless you believe the “Holy Grail” of birds still exists], a Pileated Woodpecker eyes the camera. While these magnificent woodland creatures are avid consumers of insects and larvae they also relish fruit and seeds and, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, will even consume such from poison ivy! They are fond of suet, too! ~ Anecdote and Pileated Woodpecker capture, The Pileated Woodpecker © Jerry L. Ferrara

A Diminutive Bundle of Energy The Black-capped Chickadee is a diminutive bundle of energy seemingly in constant motion as it searches its surroundings for meals to fuel its active lifestyle. We have a constant ‘banditry’ of these characters in our yard. ~ Anecdote and Black-capped Chickadee capture, A Diminutive Bundle of Energy © Jerry L. Ferrara

Mini-Sprite The energetic and diminutive Red-breasted Nuthatch is a four-plus inch impish North American songbird. A tiny stick of dynamiteBrings to mind this mini-spriteIts aura boasts it has much mightTo watch one is quite out-of-sight ~ Anecdote, poem and Red-breasted Nuthatch capture, Mini-Sprite © Jerry L. Ferrara

Sounding Off From an article by The American Society of Mammalogists, scientists have observed that the Columbian Ground Squirrel has quite a repertoire of vocalizations … even giving different calls for threats from the sky versus a danger approaching overland. The rate at which the alarm is delivered may also indicate the severity of the peril. Here, ‘Squeaky Squirrel’ is caught sounding off. ~ Anecdote and Columbian Ground Squirrel capture, Sound Off © Jerry L. Ferrara

On The Alert This is the backstory to the making of On The Alert. My progress slogging through the deep snow was tedious and painfully slow while trying to gain position to photograph the retreating Gray Wolf pack. When a clear view was finally achieved, all I could see were bouncing backsides vanishing over the horizon … much effort, too late. Then a furtive, shadowy movement in front of me caught my attention as it eerily floated through and behind the sagebrush-steppe domain. A wolf! I held my breath and waited what seemed an eternity for an unobstructed perspective. And then it happened! Out of the scrub it came, on the alert, giving one ephemeral, incisive glance my way. Following that brief connection, the ‘gray ghost’ turned and magically melted into the vast void of the enigmatic Yellowstone sweep. ~ Anecdote and Gray Wolf capture, On The Alert © Jerry L. Ferrara

A Brewer’s Blackbird, with wings stretched wide, acrobatically lifts from a Mullein plant. ~ Anecdote and Brewer’s Blackbird capture, Stretched Wide © Jerry L. Ferrara

An Orchestra of Avocets In a Texas haunt, an orchestra of avocets fills the sky. ~ American Avocets capture, An Orchestra of Avocets © Jerry L. Ferrara

Double entendre alert! So … a bit of 4th grade humor today. I call this image of a White-tailed Deer buck “Growing a Pair” 😀. ~ Anecdote and White-tailed Deer capture, Growing a Pair © Jerry L. Ferrara

SHOT FROM THE FILE

Mule Deer – Ladies of the Evening

Gray Wolf – My Canine Skill

Pileated Woodpecker – The Pileated Woodpecker

Black-capped Chickadee – A Diminutive Bundle of Energy

Red-breasted Nuthatch – Mini-Sprite

Columbian Ground Squirrel – Sounding Off

Gray Wolf – On The Alert

Brewer’s Blackbird – Stretched Wide

American Avocet – An Orchestra of Avocets

White-tailed Deer – Growing a Pair