AmberAbstractions

The original Hot Spring

Killdeer are ground-nesting shorebirds that will lay 3 to 4 eggs directly on the ground in divots in gravel or dirt often lined with rocks, shells sticks, and sometimes human trash to act as cammoflauge. After 24 to 28 days Killdeer chicks will hatch and can stand, run, and feed themselves as soon as their feathers dry. The young are raised in open, short-grass areas like lawns, golf courses, parking lots, and even off shoots of Yellowstone National Park gysers like the one shown here.

You cant see me

The Green Heron is one of the smallest heron species of North America. These beautiful bbirds can be hard to find because they hold themselves still at the edge of the water surrounded by dense vegetation and can blend in almost seamlessly.
Mat and I accidentally stumbled upon one a few years ago sitting in a tree above the water and didnt see it for about 10 minutes even though it was less than 5 feet away.

Its a Moose

The largest member of the deer family as well as the tallest mammal in North America, a Moose has hollow hair, allowing them to trap air to provide insulation against freezing winter temperatures and valve-like nostrils to prevent water getting in. This is necessary because this semi-aquatic beast spends a significant amount of time in lakes, marshes, and rivers feeding on aquatic plants as deep as 20 feet!!

"By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail." – Benjamin Franklin

While many people know the Yellow-Pine Chipmunk typically eat seeds, nuts, and berries, these Mountain dwelling rodents are actually omnivorous and will eat insects, fungi, bird eggs, and even small vertebrates. They have large, expandable cheek pouches they use to transport food back to their burrows and can store up to 68,000 items in a single winter larder.

Fox Kits are born entirely blind and deaf but within 2 to 4 weeks their eyes and ears will open and they will start coming out of their dens. Between 4 and 8 weeks of age, the kits will wean the kits off mom's milk and their parents will bring them food and start teaching them how to hunt. Within a few weeks the kits will look like adults and begin actively hunting with their parents.

It Waits

The Eastern Kingbird forages by watching from a perch and then flying out to catch insects. It may capture food mid-air, or will hover to take insects and berries from foliage.

Researchers suggest red foxes use the Earth's magnetic field to accurately figure out the trajectory and distance to their prey. Famous for their vertical leap-pounce when hunting hidden rodents, they will leap into the air and plunge headfirst in order to pin their prey.

Singing for her supper

Unlike most songbird species, female cardinals sing. They often sing from the nest to communicate with their mate, signaling when to bring food or letting him know when to stay away.

Z

Badgers mate in late summer, but the fertilized embryos lie dormant for months and development resumes in late winter, usually resulting in litters of 1 to 5 kits born in grass-lined underground dens in the spring. In the den this mama is standing over, 2 kits await her return, she's the sole provider and protector for them.
By roughly 12 weeks of age, the cubs begin following their mother to learn how to hunt and forage. Then in late summer or early autumn the juveniles will leave the family to establish their own territories. Mom will return to her solitary life avoiding other badgers until its time to breed again.