Short-tailed Weasel, Rough-legged Hawk, Moose (20141222) A quick run out to the Ranch

I have been trying to spend a little time with the Ranch manager to ensure we are on the same page regarding a few items, so today was the day. Jamie came along for the ride as he has a couple of days off work. Our first sighting was this young cooperative Rough-legged.

Here is an older bird that was providing us some great viewing prior to its departure.

We had stopped as I was showing Jamie a carcass when we heard some Chickadee's while we were trying to spot them Jamie pciked out this Short-tailed Weasel.

This is a first ever on the Blog so we spent a little time with this carnivore.

As this was the first time seeing this specific weasel we had no idea where it was going to go. We were at its mercy, and trying to keep an eye on it was really tough!

What a terrific encounter! We had an absolute riot trying to capture this little unit in some very challenging lighting conditions. The sky was heavy overcast and this weasel was in some pretty heavy spruce forest deep in a mountain valley. These shots were taken at 4000 ISO.

While we did see it on ground with no snow, it typically only stopped where there was snow. When it was "exposed" on a dark background, it seemed to keep moving.

We left the little hunter to its business and we found some Whiskey Jacks.

Then we heard some soft tapping and found this female Three-toed Woodpecker. She was quite a way up, and in some very complex branches so shots were at a premium.

We wrapped up our shortened trip with beautiful pair of bulls. I've been trying to figure out how to say Moosey Christmas to everyone!

Put some wild in your life over the holiday season, I know I will be trying to get out as often as I possibly can.
Turbo