Clare 🐻‍❄️❄️
LightNews LightNews
banner
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Clare 🐻‍❄️❄️
@clareryanwild.bsky.social
120 followers 210 following 35 posts
Wildlife field tech + wildlife photographer 🐺📸
📍Based in Colorado
Posts Replies Media Videos
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Portrait of a bighorn ram 🐏

#mammals #wildlifephotography
A bighorn sheep ram stares directly at the camera in front of a blurred canyon wall. He has large horns that are just starting to curl back inwards towards his face. Only his head, neck, and shoulders are visible in frame and take up half of the frame.
April 21, 2025 at 10:28 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Lovebirds

#birds #wildlifephotography
Two burrowing owls standing next to a raised hole in the ground. Both are facing to the left in full profile. The female is standing on the ground and the male is standing on her back, flapping his wing to stay in the air above her.
April 16, 2025 at 11:40 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Black-footed ferrets are one of the rarest mammals in North America. They are critically endangered with fewer than 500 wild ferrets across their former range.

I was very lucky to see this ferret hunting prairie dogs outside of Denver on Friday morning! #mammals #wildlifephotography
A black-footed ferret standing on top of a prairie dog hole. The ferret has a long body with short, legs, and a long, thin tail. The ferret’s head is turned 3/4 to the camera and you can see the characteristic black “bandit” mask across the eyes. The prairie dog hole is made of dirt piled in a raised mound off the ground, creating a small plateau with a large hole in the center.
April 14, 2025 at 2:52 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
From 2022, because we had a winter storm rolling in last night 🌕

#nightsky #lunareclipse #bloodmoon
An orange/red blood moon during a lunar eclipse. The moon stands out against a dark background, with a few stars visible.
March 14, 2025 at 2:58 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Happy #TwosDay from these rival New Zealand sea lions!

#mammals #wildlifephotography
Two sea lions fighting. They are in shallow water, and you can see their chests and shoulders out of the water. One is leaning backwards, away from the attacking male, with his mouth open wide and eyes closed. The attacking male has his eyes and mouth open, lunging forward to try to bite the rival male.
March 11, 2025 at 5:02 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Greater sandhill cranes are coming through the San Luis Valley! These birds winter in southern NM, then pass through the valley in March to fuel up before continuing north to their breeding grounds in the northern U.S. & Canada.

📍Monte Vista Nationa Wildlife Refuge

#birds #wildlifephotography
Two sandhill cranes stand in the foreground with hundreds of other cranes behind them. The large crane on the left stands straight up with a profile view, while the bird to the right has its head up, but crouches in a slightly hunched position as it walks towards the other bird. The birds are about 4 ft tall with bright red foreheads. The birds in the back are heavily blurred so that the viewer can only make out vague shapes. There is a large, snow-covered mountain well in the background, and the birds are in a plowed grain field.
March 10, 2025 at 11:41 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
A coyote using the road to travel to avoid expending more energy through heavy snow.

#mammals #wildlifephotography #protectpublicland
A coyote with a fluffy winter coat runs down a snow-covered road while staring at the camera. The coyotes tail is down, but the ears are pricked up and forward, paying attention to me as they run past. The coyote fills a quarter of the frame, and the background is a large bank of snow that takes up the rest of the frame.
March 6, 2025 at 4:22 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Sharing the road 🦬

#mammals #wildlifephotography
Two bull bison walking in single file down a snowy road. The front bull’s face is covered in snow and he’s looking directly at the camera. The second bull’s face is hidden behind the first bull, but his horn and body are visible. Both bison’s backs are also covered in snow.
February 24, 2025 at 3:30 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
I didn’t see any foxes on my October trip to Yellowstone and Grand Teton until I spotted a family of 5 in Colorado on my drive home. This one was happy to pose for me while the others played in the bushes nearby. #mammals #wildlifephotography
A red fox’s head and shoulders fill almost the whole frame of the photo. The fox’s head is tilted upwards a little bit as I took this photo while he was in the process of lifting his head to sniff the air. His huge, triangular ears are pricked forwards and he’s looking directly at the camera. This positioning gives him a very “cute” and curious expression.
November 26, 2024 at 3:58 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
An American pika chirping in Rocky Mountain National Park #mammals #wildlifephotography
A pika is large in frame and turned slightly away from the camera, giving a 3/4 view of its face. Its visible eye is looking at the camera and its mouth is open in a small “o” shape making their characteristic loud “chirping” alarm call. It has soft-looking, fluffy fur and large, round ears. The pika is standing in a field of small to medium granite rocks.
November 25, 2024 at 3:25 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
We’re right in the middle of the mule deer rut, and this guy made sure not to let a nearby female get to far away while grazing #mammals #wildlifephotography
A mule deer buck, large in frame, staring at the camera. His huge ears are pricked forward and he has large antlers with 7 visible, branching tines. His legs are out of the frame, but in the background you can see he is standing on a snow-covered meadow in from of a stand of pine trees and aspens. A few grass inflorescences rise up next to him in the frame.
November 22, 2024 at 1:22 AM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
This is one of my favorite fall color shots from last year! A white-tailed buck rests during the rut in the CSKT Bison Range in MT #mammals
A white-tailed buck is small in the frame, lying in yellow, fall grass. His head is turned at a 3/4 angle from the camera with his ears pricked forward. He has a medium to large rack with 7 points visible, although he was an 8-point buck. The field of yellow grass is dotted with orange-red bushes, and there are a few, small remaining patches of green grass going up the hill behind the buck.
November 20, 2024 at 4:20 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
A young transient orca having a whale of a time just off Vancouver Island #mammals
A breeching orca whale with its whole body out of the water parallel to the surface. The orca is facing away from the camera so you can see the dorsal fin and blowhole, as well as partial white eye patches and white underside. The left pectoral fin is pointing at the water, but the right pectoral fin is hidden from view. The water is calm and you can see the shoreline of Vancouver Island in the background covered with pine trees and a thin strip of rocky shoreline.
November 19, 2024 at 3:38 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
While watching this quail for awhile, I sensed something behind me, and turned to see this guy trying (and ultimately failing) to hunt a rabbit!
A bobcat crossing a dirt road. The bobcat is facing the camera with its head turned at a 3/4 angle. Its ears are pricked forward with small tufts of fur on top. There is dense vegetation behind the cat and a blurred bush opposite it in the foreground. In the top right corner of the photo is the blurred silhouette of a quail.
November 19, 2024 at 12:11 AM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
A male California quail struts across a dirt road in Carmel Valley, CA. I had to wait very quietly next to this path for a long time before the quails felt comfortable enough to come out of the trees again. #birds 🪶
A male California quail walks across a dirt road toward a patch of dry, yellow grass. He has a black face outlined with white stripes and a large, comma-shaped crest projecting from his forehead. He is mostly grey in color, but has a rich, brown-colored chest with white stripes.
November 18, 2024 at 5:54 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Friday’s super moon rising over the Colorado foothills. Taken with my iPhone.
A bright yellow full moon in the top left corner of the photo in front of a sunset. The sunset is subtle—the sky is cloudless and tinged pink at the top and blue at the bottom. There are small mountains in the foreground of the photo covered in pine trees and patchy snow. Behind these mountains you can see the beginning of the eastern Colorado plains.
November 17, 2024 at 3:44 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
This sweet fawn still had his juvenile pelage in mid October. By now, he’ll have lost his spots and be transitioning into a fuzzy, winter fawn. #mammals #wildlifephotography
A standing mule deer fawn staring at the camera in a field of big sagebrush. The fawn still has his juvenile pelage (orange with white spots) and is alert with her ears pricked forward. If you zoom in you can see that he’s got her tongue sticking out very slightly in a small “blep.” The fawns’ hindquarters are obscured behind a sagebrush so only the shoulders, front legs, and head are visible. The big sagebrush is a pretty silver-green all around the fawn.
November 16, 2024 at 4:09 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
A bull elk runs through a meadow in the early morning light. The smoke from the Pack Trail fire hung very heavy over the valley that day.
📍Jackson, WY #mammals
A bull elk is running through a meadow with his head tilted up to the sky just left of the middle of the frame. He is in front of a silhouette of pine trees, and he is outlined by the light of the sun rising behind him. The whole photo has a burnt orange tint due to the smoke that is visible in the sky above the treeline.
November 14, 2024 at 4:49 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Autumn fox 🍁🦊
November 13, 2024 at 3:25 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
3 mountain plover chicks in their nest shortly after hatching. Against the odds, ALL 3 of these chicks survived to fledging (the point at which their flight feathers are large enough to achieve flight)!

*chicks tagged and banded with state + federal permits*

#birds #ploverlover #wildlifebiology
November 9, 2024 at 6:37 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
A swift fox emerging from their den in eastern Colorado
November 8, 2024 at 4:09 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Hi everyone, I’ve come over from the “other” place. I know everything is awful now, but hopefully this cute mama + baby southern sea otter duo will help today. Tomorrow we’ll get back to work.
November 6, 2024 at 9:58 PM
clareryanwild.bsky.social
Hi I’m Clare, and I’m a wildlife field technician & wildlife photographer based in Colorado. Here are some of my favorite/best photos from 2023 ⭐️ Nikon D610

South Africa • Colorado • Mexico • California • South Dakota • Canada
November 6, 2024 at 8:34 PM