Cherish is my favorite word, and I cherish the ability of turning the routine into a beautiful moment.
Nature creates in me, a spiritual and meditative time to bring peace, harmony and balance, into an otherwise ordinary day~
Mary Howell Cromer







Monday, October 18, 2010

Triumphant Day, White-tailed Ptarmigans and a Lone Wolf~

Over the years of visiting the Rocky Mountains, as far back as the late 1960's, never had we been able to view the White-tailed Ptarmigan. They are so elusive and one of the most sought-after birds in Rocky Mountain National Park. A woman told me that she has lived in the area for many years and she still had never seen any. Ptarmigans turn completely white during the winter months for camouflage against predators. We had left Estes Park and were en route to Colorado Springs, when my husby spotted some birds in the emergency lane. Guess how excited and delighted I was, when I realized what they were? They were not all that quick to get away and one actually took it's time crossing the two-lane highway. This was truly another triumphant day, right up there for me with the Golden Eagles and the Bighorn Sheep.  We had only driven a few miles further and a lone Wolf crossed the road right in front of us.  There would have been more, and better images were it not for the fact that our German Shepherd also spotted the visitor and began barking and that was the end of that~






6 comments:

  1. Nice ptarmigan! But the wolf....wow....i wish i could see a wild wolfe once!

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  2. Great shots Mary.
    Have a great day.
    Costas

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  3. Wow two wonderful encounters and I can see you were not that nervous, cause the pictures are beautiful! Well done Mary and I hope you will meet them more!

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  4. You sure got lucky there Mary but the point is that you took great advantage of the opportunity - camera at the ready on the passenger seat I guess.

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  5. i can't believe you got shots of the ptarmigan - excellent! I saw my first one in Nevada last month. I was pretty excited since it was a life bird :) My husband was a little jealous cause he hasn't seen them yet! sounds you guys had an eventful, fun time. awesome!

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  6. Ah, you too have a German Shepherd. Many years ago when we crossed Canada from E to W I had a timber wolf stop our car and walk up to my side. I wanted to get out and become better acquainted but the others would not let me so I just had a lovely conversation with him through my open window. The wolf after all is my totem and I am still sorry we did not touch.

    What wonderful experiences you have been having! I could almost envy you if I were the type for I too love the Rockies.

    Great shots Mary as always.

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