Bird's Eye View
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Wrapped In Tenderness
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Calls Me Home
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Happy-Hearted
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Promised Land
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Echo With The Wind
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Winter's Embrace
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Sunday Romp
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Shelter From The Storm
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Winter's Symmetry
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Breaking The Silence
"When we hear his call we hear no mere bird. We hear the trumpet in the orchestra of evolution. He is the symbol of our untamable past, of that incredible sweep of millennia which underlines and conditions the daily affairs of birds and men..." -Aldo Leopold. Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Family Takeoff
Sandhill Cranes are the oldest known existing bird species, their fossil remains go back nine million years. Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Summer Stretch
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Evening Flight To The Roost
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Hear Our Call
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Calving Season
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Cabin Life
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Ready For Crosspicking
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Saddle Up
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Birdhouse Gourds
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Quiet Morning
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Saying Hello
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Nap Time
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Ready To Play
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Summer Sunrise
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
White-throated Sparrow
No doubt my favorite season is spring. The energy of the spring season is intoxicating. During this time of year there is a treat for the early riser, the dawn chorus.
The great dawn chorus begins at 3:30 a.m. As sparrows, thrushes, orioles, vireos, warblers, wrens, and others sing out to mark their territory and attract a mate. A special time during a special season.
One of my favorite songsters of spring is the White-throated sparrow, with their oh-sweet-canada-canada whistle. In my opinion, their song is right up there with the cry of the Loon, and the call of Sandhill Cranes for evoking the consciousness of being in nature.
Recently, White-throated sparrow singing has changed from a triplet-ending song to a doublet-ending song. This change has progressed rather rapidly within populations of White-throated sparrows. The theory is the variation improves a male's chance of attracting a mate, and the deviation originated from a single western Canadian sparrow that has been copied while mixing with other White-throated sparrows on wintering grounds. Truly amazing. You can learn more about it at https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982220307715 or by googling “continent-wide shifts in song dialects of White-throated sparrows”. Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Member Of The Dawn Chorus
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Redwing Blackbird
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Meadowlark
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Northern Parula
The Northern Parula has a wide US breeding range, from the southern states north to southern Canada, but no matter the location they always use moss to build their nests. In the north they use old-man beard lichen and in the south spanish moss.
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Tamarack Triptych
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
First Frost
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Oak
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Rudbeckia
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Frosted Tamarack
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Farm Cats
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
First Cut
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
See It My Way
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Shetland
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Summer Morning
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
First Snow
“I wonder if the snow loves the trees and fields, that it kisses them so gently? And then it covers them up snug, you know, with a white quilt; and perhaps it says, "Go to sleep, darlings, till the summer comes again.” ― Lewis Carroll, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Silent Season
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
White Mist
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
You'll Awaken
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Ready For Spring
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Cow Kisses
There is something about a photographer equipped with a weird camera composing on a ground glass that brings out the curiosity of a cow. The other images are some of my favorites captured this summer.
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
A Mother's Love
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
I'll Be A Traveler
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Softness And Light
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Bless The Morning
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Ice Triptych
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Watercress at -15°F
It was amazing to witness and photograph this spring fed creek for multiple days as temperatures fluctuated between -8 and -18°F. The ice would form on its edges and creep in and recede with the daily temperature swings. All the other streams in the area were frozen solid, but the ever present bubbling of spring water kept the ice at bay on this special spring creek.
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Spring Creek -17°F
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Spring Creek -16°F
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Spring Creek -14°F
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Fall Triptych
Images captured in a place where the skies are a little bluer, and the stars shine a little brighter.
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Aspen And Sugar Maples
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Summer Rain
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Nothing Left To Give
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
A Quiet Place
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
Last Bloom
Wherever I am in my travels I will often wonder what a particular spot looked like in the past. It is the land that has been covered in concrete that I often daydream about, wondering what it looked like before being changed forever. Sadly sometimes daydreaming isn't necessary.
I have driven by this pasture almost daily for the past twenty five years. I have seen fox and deer in its meadow, and every March I admired the blooms along its fence row. I knew time was limited, as suburban sprawl was fast approaching. Then one morning, there they were, dozens of bulldozers tearing up the meadow. I watched as trees were shredded and piled up to be burned, and top soil was mounded to be hauled off. My heart was heavy with the realization that this little patch of earth would likely be covered in concrete for generations.
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.
"Why is it that the destruction of something created by humans is called vandalism, yet the destruction of something created by God is called development?" -Edward Abbey
Photo © copyright by Toby Skov.