Buddy Is Back and More: Fall Catch-up (2023)

Our resident barred owl makes an appearance for the first time in months.

Hi folks — It’s time for a fall catch-up because the official start of winter is right around the corner. I made the featured image at the pond just this morning. Last night I decided I needed to check the pond because we hadn’t seen Buddy, our resident barred owl, for months. I headed down this morning and set up a pop up blind in the dark and was happy to see Buddy swoop in right at sunrise. Eventually he settled in on a nice cedar perch with a ton of beautiful berries (cones). A few minutes later he dropped from the tree, caught a vole and flew off to the south. Welcome back Buddy!

A beautiful coyote in perfect light.

About thirty minutes after the barred owl excitement, right when the morning light was getting perfect, a gorgeous coyote came out of the woods from the north and crossed right in front of me. It appeared ready for winter with a downright exquisite coat of fur.

The classic Wile E. Coyote image.

Showing off those beautiful eyes with a look in my direction.

Often when I’m watching a coyote on the move, it will eventually look in my direction. When I post the image, such as the one above, somebody usually suggests that the coyote saw me or winded me. This is rarely the case with my set-up. Usually, the critter is just scanning its territory and I snap the shot when its head swings my way. I can never turn down the chance to see its eyes head on. I was well-hidden about 50 meters away with the wind to my face when I made the above image.

A belted kingfisher on a perch with character.

The kingfisher’s perch really made the above image at one of my favorite lake hides a few weeks ago. I didn’t even know the gnarly perch was there until I framed the kingfisher for the image. It was a nice surprise.

A female kingfisher left, probably with one of her young from the past spring.

A kingfisher dives for breakfast.

An otter with a fish a little before sunrise.

I caught this otter one morning when it was still dark. The image was taken at an extremely high ISO with my R5 but it turned out nice enough to share.

A pileated woodpecker at the pond.

One morning I was in my hide at the pond. When I was just getting ready to pull up stakes, this pileated woodpecker landed about 10 feet away and began excavating bark from a willow, I assume in search of ants.

A male flicker at the pond.

This male flicker landed on an interesting crisscross perch at my pond one morning. It was the first male I have ever photographed at the pond. I don’t know why I only see females down there. It sure was a mustachioed beauty!

A nice buck at the farm a few weeks before deer season. I hope to see him again next year.

Another nice buck at the farm during the rut.

Not the best rack but an impressive whitetail.

As you can see from the three whitetail images above, I had another great season of photographing the rut. Deer and coyotes are two of my favorite critters to photograph.

An beautiful eastern bluebird.

The last image was taken at the farm, a bluebird on a burr oak branch. We have a ton of bluebirds here all winter long every year. They are already staking out their winter shelters in the houses from last summer.

I’m looking forward to winter as I continue to pursue images of waterfowl and other birds and critters. Maybe I’ll get some great snowy images this year but snowy days in eastern Missouri are usually few and far between.

Hey, thanks to those who commented on my radio interview with Missouri.Net that was syndicated around the state. Apparently, I didn’t embarrass myself too much but I’ll never know because I didn’t get a chance to hear it myself, even though it aired on KMOX here in St. Louis. Oh well.

Love to all,

DB

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