I try to show the weather in my wildlife pictures whenever possible as I’m fascinated by how the animals have to adapt to whatever conditions the day holds. I’m especially excited to head to Ridgefield when the weather reports predict a hard frost as it rarely gets cold enough to turn the meadows white. But when it does, I want to be there as soon as the gates open so I can try to find a subject in the frosted landscape before the sun melts it all away.

There are other hardcore birders and photographers who also are there when the gates open, at least when it isn’t raining, so it can be hard to get off on my own. Such was the case on the morning when I and several others came across this coyote. I took a few quick pictures before moving on to let others have a look, unfortunately the pictures didn’t come out as sharp as I would have liked.

I was off on my own on a rainy spring day when I spotted this coyote through a tunnel of green grass, a look I love, and had a few seconds before it slipped into the tall grass. At first glance I thought there might be something wrong with it, it seemed gaunt with patchy fur. But on closer look its fur was soaked and clinging to its skin, and a look at its belly made me wonder if it had recently given birth.

No no, little vole, stay hidden if you want to live to see the sun rise!

This whimsical portrait of a juvenile great blue heron on the hunt is my favorite picture from the Christmas break. I always love arriving early to Ridgefield and finding a good frost on the ground, although I didn’t have many of those opportunities during this warm winter.

If you’re wondering, the vole won this round.