I saw my coyote friend again at the wetlands this morning. I was in her way, so she just sat down and waited for me to back up. It was like she was saying, “That’s not far enough.” There was a dense fog when I got there, but it was great to be the only human for a while.
If you know me, you know 2023 was quite a year. I had breast cancer, a bilateral mastectomy, and quite a few post-surgery complications. The good news is, I am cancer-free! I haven’t been out in the wild spaces much, but I am getting my strength back and hopeful I will be out more often. I was delighted to see an old coyote friend at the wetlands this morning. One of the nice things about Kansas is we may have some brutal cold, but it’s often followed by weather like this. It was in the 50s this morning. Great weather for a walk, and a lovely sunrise.
I finally decided to replace my now very old Canon 5D Mark ii. The 5D has been a remarkable camera. It has been reliable in all the Kansas weather extremes, and I’ve dropped it more than once. This camera has been a hard worker for about 12 years. I’m trying out the Canon EOS R. While I have not been able to spend as much time with it as I would like, so far, it takes some pretty sharp pics. I can’t wait to be out more when the weather cools off a bit!
It was cooler and cloudy this morning, but just a few sprinkles. Many of the paths were covered with water, but I decided to risk walking through it. I’m glad I did!
Many egrets and a great blue heron!
I think the smaller one is a juvenile little blue heron.
Frolicking muskrat youth. I counted five, but I only see four in this pic.
It was a great morning for egrets and ibis. There were both white-faced and glossy ibis present, a nice surprise!
For several mornings, I’ve watched this muskrat come swimming along the shore and stop at this same spot to gather up grass. This must be the best breakfast spot for takeout for the little ones!
There were many egrets, herons, and others at the wetlands this morning. I have trouble identifying all the little peeps, but I think this bigger one is a greater yellow-legs.
My wetlands walk this morning included a beautiful singing common yellow-throat and a very chatty yellow-breasted chat.
A morning at the wetlands without coyote sightings is always a bit disappointing. They are just so amazing. I am always looking for them and if I wait long enough, I can usually spot one watching me from a safe distance. They always stop and look for a while, we acknowledge each other, and then they go back to what they were doing. I imagine they have a pretty good sense of who they should worry about and that is certainly a good thing with so many people out to get them. Cloudy days are great for seeing them, but not so great for pictures. Click on pictures to enlarge.
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
© Chris Taylor
