As we make our way into the heart of winter, much of our local wildlife becomes scarce.

Some hunker down and tend to keep to the deeper forests, some sleep away the cold in hibernation, and many move to lower elevations where food is more abundant. As a wildlife photographer, this shift in territory tends to give me cause to follow suit and take in the abundant life down on the open plains. I greatly enjoy this transition in subject matter, as it means spending more time with a personal favorite subject, the raptors.

Living amid such an abundance of wildlife and other natural beauty here in Colorado can make for a very busy schedule all year long. Each season tends to have its own highlights, with spring and early summer bringing the new life, to mid-summer living in the high country among the wildflowers and rich tundra, to the fall waves of various rut seasons, there never seems to be a dull moment. We enjoy the presence of raptors all year long, but I personally enjoy making them a focus in the winter when so much of the other wildlife is laying low or keeping out of sight.

While certain species head to Central or South America to take in a much warmer winter, many remain to enjoy the abundance of the great prairie. Even some of our own mountain residents head down to take advantage of the bounty as food becomes scarce in the hills. From various hawks and falcons plying the vast grasslands for rodents, to the bald eagles taking advantage of the remaining open waters of the wetlands from which to fish, there is quite an abundance of activity to observe in what is otherwise considered a bleak season.

Having had a deep-seated love of flight from an early age, as I gained an interest in wildlife photography one of my biggest inspirations and early desires was to capture images of raptors in action. The form and function of defying gravity is astounding to me in any permutation, but observing such grace and majesty of the craft with raptors is to truly study the masters.

Hunting with such deadly precision, or simply soaring on thermals so high that one loses sight of them, they never cease to amaze and leave me awestruck. As hunting takes place at any time of day, it is not often that I make my way down the hill, even if only to run simple human errands, without the camera in tow and fingers crossed for an image or two.

Last week found me out on just such a mission, my first winter trip of this season, with a few daytime appointments giving great reason to pack up the gear and cross said fingers. My first morning appointment behind me, I headed to the dirt roads and gently rolling pasture land of north Boulder County in search of my quarry. A beautiful, sunny morning following a snowy previous day gave me high hopes for abundant raptors, as ideally the fields would be rife with many hungry birds after a day of likely little eating in the storm. As I made my way, I caught sight of several kestrels high on the power lines and roadside trees, which lent to my theory being correct.

I took the first unpaved offshoot I came to, and was immediately greeted by a large, white body high in a tree. Having the general shape of a resting hawk, I was initially thinking a light morph red tailed species. As I pulled over and got out of the car, its great size changed my mind and led me to believe I likely had a treat on my hands in the way of a Ferruginous Hawk, the largest

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