#goodlight is the theme for #birdoftheday and I’ll never not repost this! This was near the maximum, which was 85% occlusion for this area.

Watching these Bighorn Sheep play among the stone and lichen never gets old… Washoe County, Nevada #bighorn #washoe #nevada #wildlifephotography #wildlife #canon

Struck out on bighorn but any day on the mountain is a good one! I was joined by my usual companion on this particular peak, this Canyon Wren with the gorgeous pipes. I’ve been leaving my go-pro next to his favorite morning sing site and it FINALLY paid off. Two minutes of mountain zen. #birds

Ugh. 1:30 my time and still counting sheep. So might as well post this one: this ewe lead her entire charge of lambs off a mesa right at us. 🤷‍♂️😜 #Nevada is awesome. #bighornsheep

#birdoftheday is #b&w so I just have to start the new year with a banger: a slow shutter and some careful curves brought out the most incredible Raven photo I’ve ever pulled off. So far.

2026 Marks a new year and a new start for me. So to celebrate that ill be doing a 365 project, showing photos i take of things around me. So with that…. Day 1 - Stick Tomato Cave - Naracoorte #photography #365Project #Day1 #cave #nature #bskyphoto #photographersofbluesky @bskyphotos.bsky.social

Shot of the year just a few days ago. She’s the dominant ewe of a Bighorn Sheep nursery band 60 strong. The rest of the band panicked by some unknown threat ran down and past us, leaving the matron alone to stare at us from above as we left her territory. #wildlifephotography #photography #nv

New Year’s Day two years ago brought a rarity to my corner of Nevada: an immature Vermillion Flycatcher! #BirdOfTheDay #BranchingOut

#contrast is the theme for #birdoftheday so here’s a fun one. This snow goose was flying against a perfect white sky, and with a little careful editing…😄

#sideprofiles is the #birdoftheday theme so here’s a favorite side view. I was returning from trying to get shots of pronghorn in a severe February snowstorm when I saw this Golden Eagle. I waited for an hour in the snow for it to fly, it was totally worth it!

#birdoftheday #grounded It was a tad bit windy in Northern Nevada yesterday so I sat myself in the most sheltered spot in this Canyon Wren’s territory as I waited for Bighorn Sheep. Sure enough he made his usual rounds but there was no way to safely fly! 🤣

Oh! This is a fun theme for #BirdOfTheDay: #AboutTheKids! Northern Pygmy Owl fledglings, Lake Tahoe

California Bighorn Sheep walking an ancient sheep trail, leading down the exposed ridge into what would have been the water of Pleistocene Lake Lahontan. Coming to a place where the hardiest animals on the planet found refuge for tens of thousands of years to find refuge of my own is priceless.

Hashtags are being problematic I guess, so doing it this way! This Rock Wren had quite the view, if a bit bright with all of the fresh snow!

Today’s #BirdoftheDay is #HeronsandEgrets. I’ve posted this before but never for Birdoftheday, the scene was at a tiny cooling pond in the middle of the desert in Northern Nevada south of Silver Springs. A combination of both Great and Snowy Egret and a natural shadow in the reeds.

The Bighorn Sheep have returned from the peaks for the winter to my favorite lichen-covered volcanic ridge. Trail cam in place at one of their favorite bedding sites and many, many photos to process! Washoe County, NV #wildlifephotography #travelnevada #washoe #nevada #bighornsheep #canon

The #BirdOfTheDay theme is #splashes! Ruddy Duck making a scene in Reno, Nevada.

Belted Kingfisher, #alansnemesis , likely cackling at the target of his torment. I think. Lake Tahoe, California. #birdoftheday #kingfisher

It was a miserable season for bears at Tahoe this year, so I’m really looking forward to the weather showing up and pushing the local #Bighorn Sheep down to their winter range. Few things I enjoy more than being out in tough conditions with these ridiculously hardy animals. #wildlifephotography

Today’s #BirdoftheDay theme is #BirdsOnTwigs so here’s one of my favorite twig-sitters, a sparrow that comes to the Great Basin to breed: the Black-throated Sparrow. Northern Nevada

Well shoot, sounds like the #birdoftheday theme is actually #borbs. This Song Sparrow was just about as round as I’ve seen one…it was a bit cold!

Today’s #BirdOfTheDay theme is #movement. This Prairie Falcon caught the setting sun as it flared in for a landing, and it was too perfect an opportunity to make a composite showing the mechanics behind landing. Northern Nevada

#birdoftheday is #songbird so why not actual song? I’ve only ever seen photos, but why not, here’s a Canyon Wren doing its thing in Northern Nevada!

The #birdoftheday theme is #lookingatyou and I don’t think I have a better example than my profile pic! A Northern Pygmy-Owl peeking out of its nest cavity at me. Next time I’ll make sure I’m NOT running mechanical shutter, sheesh!

“Too close for tele, switching to macro…” #BirdOfTheDay is #stripes! While lying in wait for some Bighorn Sheep an entire covey of chukar walked thru my position. I unfortunately missed a lot of shots when they were too close. Minimum focus on the lens was just less than a meter. From the sensor.

For the #MorningLight theme for #BirdoftheDay I share a fun one: “Get your butt downstairs, breakfast is ready!” A 48hr fledged Northern Pygmy-Owl climbing thru the first light beams of the day to reach a waiting parent with a dragonfly. Near Lake Tahoe, California

One of my favorites from the 11/11 storm. This small cloud lined up perfectly with the peak below it right as the salmon flash was at its most ominous. 😄 Northern Nevada.

For the #OnTheEdge prompt for #Birdoftheday I immediately thought of American Dipper as they spend so much time staring into the water, and I quickly came down to this as my favorite. This one was watching for Salmon eggs floating down Taylor Creek into Lake Tahoe.

For the #birdoftheday prompt I had to go with the alternate of yellow-eyes over warbler. This Northern Pygmy-Owl fledged then within 5 minutes was hunting caterpillars. Lake Tahoe basin. #birds

One for Rob’s #birdoftheday theme of #Mr&Mrs: wild Turkey from near Yosemite. The timing of the heads lining up into that heart shape like that was pretty awesome…

Green-tailed Towhee singing the dawn atop a throne of dead sagebrush. Outside of Reno, NV #BirdOfTheDay #singing

Romantic sunrise walk for these Desert Bighorn Sheep. I had hoped to catch sheep against the backdrop of Walker Lake, but catching them in the sunrise off the water was something I didn’t dare dream of pulling off!

So totally not ominous or anything, but northwest Nevada looked like the edges of Mordor tonight…. This is fine. Everything is fine. Just a blood red sky on bloody Veteran’s day is all.

Prints: wild-fotos.pixels.com/featured/in-... Two bison graze quietly in the early morning fog of Custer State Park, South Dakota. Sony A7IV Tamron 150-600mm #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #photography #southdakota #custerstatepark #sony

The tree has given up the ghost #classicmono #photographers #EastCoastKin #landscapes #bnw

The cliffside from yesterday’s Canyon Wren post. Morning rays catching a Bighorn Sheep ewe keeping a close eye on me. Western Nevada for the win 🤘

I’m most at home exploring rocky crags in Northwest Nevada, and Canyon Wren are a favorite bird to find. They live their lives hanging off the sides of cliffs…and this one’s prized slot canyon territory has the most incredible lichen. #birds

I’m not sure just what these raven were tormenting the black bear over, but it sure was a sight to see as the first light crept into the valley. The wildfire smoke was unfortunate but it definitely added depth to the composition.

California Bighorn Sheep running over a rocky ridge line. No dodging or burning, just perfect timing from the sun. The shadow from the ridge I was on lined up with the outcrop of rock, providing a bizarre sense of depth for what moments later would be a fairly flat scene.

A combination of Great and Snowy Egret gathered in a desert pond in western Nevada. #birds

Sometimes things don’t go to plan and your massive lens ends up being way too much. It does provide the chance to almost treat the form of the bear as a landscape. Small features take on new dimensions when you are too close to see the whole.

I was sitting trying to spot at least one of a couple of Pygmy Owl hooting above me in the trees. I heard a ‘chuff’ behind me and turned to find a first time mom and her two cubs closer than I would have liked. They backed off for a berry feast, giving me plenty of editing material to keep me busy!

One of my favorite times of year is back! Black Bear cub of the year.

Sandhill Crane, Lake Tahoe

Probably my favorite pic I’ve ever taken of my kids. I saw the framing begin to develop and fell behind them just in time to catch the scene. Little Lakes Valley, California.

Mirrored clouds/pine. Reno provides for some amazing skies in August, and a quick mirror job turned up something awesome.

Wilson’s Warbler, near Donner Pass. #birds

Took one of the dogs up to an alpine lake near Donner Pass to screw around. Normally I’m not a huge fan of such a high-key edit, but the combo of high elevation sun and a strobe just made the water appear crystalline and it seemed the right way to go. 🤷‍♂️

Great Blue Heron, along the Pacific Crest Trail in the Donner Pass area. Besides the lighting just being exquisite the almost Picasso-ish composition leaps out at me thanks to my ridiculous pareidolia… too many Bev Doolittle works have left me seeing faces everywhere. 😆🤷‍♂️ #birds

One night at scout camp in the early 90’s we had a big camp-wide campfire w/ skits, etc. As I sat there waiting I turned to my right as an old guy w/ a diff unit sat next to me: Adam West. Had no clue who he was until he spoke and Batman’s voice came out. 🤣 so yeah, he saw me perform ‘beans’.