Ferrara Wildlife Photography

Rocky Mountain Goat [Kid] – Sure of Foot

Sure of Foot High upon a mountain peakA youngster gives a furtive peekLofty crests pierce thinned-out airWhere Mountain Goats both live and dareThey tread the heights with fancy movesSure of foot with cloven hoovesAdapted to the altitudeFar above in solitude At over 14,000′ elevation, a kid Rocky Mountain Goat pauses briefly during a ‘rock scrambling’ play session. Check out the capricious creature’s cloven clogs which enable it to grasp and negotiate the rocky terrain with ease. ~ Anecdote, poem and Rocky Mountain Goat capture, Sure of Foot © Jerry L. Ferrara

The Look A pair of Western Grebe in courtship. ~ Anecdote and Western Grebe capture, The Look © Jerry L. Ferrara

A Quick Crimson-eyed Glance The other day I came across this handsome male Spotted Towhee, an 8-inch long native New World sparrow. Preceding the encounter I heard it rummaging around in the duff under some bushes. When it popped out and up onto a nearby rock outcrop, it provided an ephemeral opportunity for making the portrait. It gave a quick crimson-eyed glance before briskly dashing away. ~ Anecdote and Spotted Towhee capture, A Quick Crimson-eyed Glance © Jerry L. Ferrara

The Fighter It was a titanic battle with Death, and Life fiercely fought back … but it was only a matter of time. Intensively the Burchell’s Zebra struggled to keep up with its herd. It had just survived a lion attack, and that encounter had left the zebra disemboweled. As its strength wearily waned a Spotted Hyena clan’s relentless bedevilments became bolder and bolder. What ensued was a battle of will that reached tsunami proportions. Repeatedly the hyenas charged. Again and again the zebra met each assault with its sharp hooves flying. The fracas continued for what seemed an eternity. In the final moments of its life, the zebra stood stalwart and defiantly faced its assailants. Then the opportunists closed in and down went the equid. There was rending of flesh, fast whoop calls and a confusing obfuscation of view as mortality was consummated. In the end the fighter was vanquished yet one aspect of the striped horse could not be diminished. Its dauntless spirit lives and still wanders the vast expanses of the enigmatic Mara. ~ Anecdote and Burchell’s Zebra and Spotted Hyena capture, The Fighter © Jerry L. Ferrara, Kenya.

Ruffed Grouse, Red Squirrel, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Chestnut-backed Chickadee – Portraits From The Porch

Portraits From The Porch

They’ve Got Us! Lazily lounging in the early morning’s tranquility the Mule Deer herd leisurely ruminated and the moment was bucolic … but the scene was destined soon to change. With great fanfare a tumultuous flood of Sandhill Cranes boisterously blew in, shattering the peaceful setting and the startled deer herd came quickly to attention. “We’re surrounded!” one of the deer exclaimed. “They’ve got us!” The paranoic grass-eaters were thoroughly convinced that a re-enactment of Custer’s last stand was about to ensue. ~ Anecdote and Mule Deer/Sandhill Cranes capture, They’ve Got Us! © Jerry L. Ferrara

The Lonely Lament The snow blew in abusively powerful buffeting waves. At times visibility was reduced to a mere few feet and the melancholy moan of the wind set a terrifying tenor that chilled to the core of the soul. Or was the wail the wind? Perhaps. Perhaps not. As the misty murk thinned, the author of the lonely lament was gradually revealed. A Timber Wolf stood idly in the ice-crystalled landscaped and gave a sonorous serenade to the open expanse … its voice was the definitive signature of wilderness. ~ Anecdote and Timber Wolf capture, The Lonely Lament © Jerry L. Ferrara

The Gymnast While testing and checking camera and lens combinations in preparation for an upcoming trip, I caught this Chestnut-backed Chickadee at the seed cylinder performing a ‘one-footed’ acrobatic stunt. The chickadee is quite the gymnast! ~ Anecdote and Chestnut-backed Chickadee, The Gymnast © Jerry L. Ferrara

Tom Caught this Tom turkey in a pose the other day with snow still on the ground. Time is moving forward and the light cycle is changing fast. ~ Anecdote and Wild Turkey capture, Tom © Jerry L. Ferrara

Having A Bite A Steller’s Sea Eagle puts on a displayRipping and tearing and rending its preyProdigious those chunks of flesh there might beEach morsel a measure that adds entropy ~ Poem and Steller’s Sea Eagle capture, Having A Bite © Jerry L. Ferrara … near the Strait of Nemuro, Japan

SHOT FROM THE FILE

Rocky Mountain Goat [Kid] – Sure of Foot

Western Grebe – The Look

Spotteed Towhee – A Quick Crimson-eyed Glance

Burchell’s Zebra and Spotted Hyena – The Fighter

Ruffed Grouse, Red Squirrel, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Chestnut-backed Chickadee – Portraits From The Porch

Mule Deer/Sandhill Cranes – They’ve Got Us!

Timber Wolf – The Lonely Lament

Chestnut-backed Chickadee – The Gymnast

Wild Turkey – Tom

Steller’s Sea Eagle – Having A Bite