2207_2153 Backroad
Here's a view I haven't shared yet - in fact, it may be the only photo I've shot from this spot. A typical backroad in my area, and one that I drive often.
You can see a couple of Richardson's Ground Squirrels - bane of ranchers, main prey of Ferruginous Hawks - at the bottom of the first little hill. Farther along, note the ditches on both sides. This is not where I nabbed the recent insect shots, but nevertheless they are good ditches, filling up with snowmelt in the spring and attracting shorebirds. Also seen frequently along this stretch: hawks, deer, pronghorn, coyote, red fox, snowy owls in winter, and all manner of songbirds and blackbirds.
Even farther on, near where the road vanishes, you can see some clusters of trees. Warblers, sparrows, and kingbirds nest there, and sometimes Swainson's Hawks. By following the road as it turns left, out of sight, I can find my way home. All of these backroads are sometimes impassable in winter; it just depends on how sever conditions get and how much ice and snow builds up on the surfaces.
Before the trees, also hidden, is a turn to the right, which leads me to the south gate of Grasslands National Park, much of which lies in a great, unseen valley in front of those distant blue hills. Going through the park can be another route home. The country may look vast and empty, but it is teeming with wildlife and is a joy to drive through, road surfaces notwithstanding.
Photographed at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2022 James R. Page - all rights reserved.
2207_2153 Backroad
Here's a view I haven't shared yet - in fact, it may be the only photo I've shot from this spot. A typical backroad in my area, and one that I drive often.
You can see a couple of Richardson's Ground Squirrels - bane of ranchers, main prey of Ferruginous Hawks - at the bottom of the first little hill. Farther along, note the ditches on both sides. This is not where I nabbed the recent insect shots, but nevertheless they are good ditches, filling up with snowmelt in the spring and attracting shorebirds. Also seen frequently along this stretch: hawks, deer, pronghorn, coyote, red fox, snowy owls in winter, and all manner of songbirds and blackbirds.
Even farther on, near where the road vanishes, you can see some clusters of trees. Warblers, sparrows, and kingbirds nest there, and sometimes Swainson's Hawks. By following the road as it turns left, out of sight, I can find my way home. All of these backroads are sometimes impassable in winter; it just depends on how sever conditions get and how much ice and snow builds up on the surfaces.
Before the trees, also hidden, is a turn to the right, which leads me to the south gate of Grasslands National Park, much of which lies in a great, unseen valley in front of those distant blue hills. Going through the park can be another route home. The country may look vast and empty, but it is teeming with wildlife and is a joy to drive through, road surfaces notwithstanding.
Photographed at Rosefield, Saskatchewan (Canada). Don't use this image on websites, blogs, or other media without explicit permission ©2022 James R. Page - all rights reserved.