Photography and Bird Watching

April 25, 2021 by James Gibbon

What’s better than picking up a new hobby? Picking up two new hobbies at once! That’s exactly what I did recently picking up photography and bird watching. So what came first? Well, I first bought a camera. I have always wanted a professional camera, but the price has always deterred me from making the leap into a nice camera. When evaluating what camera to buy, I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of options available on the market. Thankfully my local camera store, Bozeman Camera was there to help me along the way. Their staff was extremely helpful, great at listening to my needs, and set me up with a slightly above entry-level Nikon DSLR. The D5600 model that I chose came with two lenses to help get me started on my photography journey. One 18-55mm lens for landscape photography and a 70-300mm telephonic lens for wildlife photography. Both of these lenses have their purpose and I’m so happy I decided to get the two lens kit when I purchased my camera. Thanks Bozeman Camera!

So once I got my camera I was eager to start taking some pictures with it. A friend recommended an upcoming bird watching tour and I thought it was a great idea to test out my camera skills. I wasn’t expecting to really enjoy the bird watching as much as I did, but I was completely blown away with how much fun bird watching is. We were fortunate to have two fantastic guides from the Sacajawea Audubon Society that were very kind, informative, and gave a wonderful tour around the Story Mill Community Park. We saw so many different varieties of birds and I wasn’t able to take pictures of all of them, but I got as many pictures as I could. Below is a gallery of the birds I photographed. The highlight of the entire tour was seeing a snipe and getting a really good look at the Wilson’s Snipe. This was a really cool bird that I have never seen in all my years growing up in Montana.

After our tour, I realized that I really like birding and really enjoy taking photos of the birds. It is a really fun activity and I look forward to going on more tours this spring and summer. Stay tuned for more bird watching photography updates!

Snipe Preening Wings

Red Wing Blackbirds

Morning Dove

Geese

Wilson's Snipe

Wood Duck

Hiking | Drinking Horse Trail | Bozeman, MT

July 26, 2020 by James Gibbon

If you live in the Bozeman area, then chances are you have probably hiked the Drinking Horse trail. The trail is situated directly across the road from the infamous “M” trail, and is just minutes away from downtown Bozeman. The trail is one of the things that truly makes Bozeman great. Within minutes you are able to experience a short 2.1 mile hike and get a great workout. I have gone up this trail a number of times now and each time it gets better and better. Today I hiked with my sister who recently just moved to Montana. It was great talking to her and catching up while navigating our way up the trail to the scenic top of “Drinking Horse Mountain”. The trail has a mix of open sunny areas, and closed shaded wooded areas. The mix of scenery is nice and keeps the hike interesting all the way up to the top.

I tracked the hike with an app I use called Strava. Strava is a great app if you haven’t heard of it and tracks your activity while you workout. The fitness app has modes for hiking, running, swimming, walking, cycling, and more. I consider it an essential app for anyone who spends time working out or outdoors. Below are some of my Strava screenshots and a picture of the trail!

Hiking: Corbly Gulch Trail

May 14, 2020 by James Gibbon

Hiking season without snow is just starting to begin here in Bozeman, Montana. I started my dry hiking season off with a trek up Corbly Gulch Trail. I didn’t bring my On running shoes, but I did bring my Camelbak. The camelbak was much needed and I’m glad I had the extra water. The first mile of the hike is a rocky road that many call the “jeep” road. Few people drive up this road as it is very rugged and most chose to walk or bike up it to the trailhead. Once you reach the trailhead, the 4 mile trail to the top of the lower part of the trail begins. This hike is very enjoyable and I saw many mountain bikers on the way up and down. The trail has a lot of flow to it, but by the time I reached the top, my calves were burning. There was snow blocking the trail after the first creek crossing and it got so bad that I had to turn back. I was very close to the top of the trail, but came just a bit short due to the snow.

The way down was much easier than the way up and I enjoyed looking for Morel mushrooms while I made my way down. I didn’t find any and might have been a little too early for Morels, but I still had fun having my own little treasure hunt while I made my descent.

Traveling Turkeys

April 02, 2020 by James Gibbon

It is spring in Montana and we are constantly getting teased with warmer weather and scattered snowy wintery blitzes. This is a beautiful time for us as we start to get a taste of our summer. The birds are chirping, bluebirds are singing, and wildlife is starting to appear. Late last evening and early this morning we got some local visitors who cruised by our house. These visitors were 3 wild turkeys! What a cool experience to have these birds come so close to our house and strut their stuff in our backyard.

I wasn’t able to get a picture of it, but one of the turkeys 🦃 roosted high up in one of our Aspen trees. I couldn’t believe how high up the turkey 🦃 was able to fly into the tree 🌳. Turkeys truly can fly! It was like watching a Boeing 747 takeoff and land. Truly defying gravity and physics.

The turkeys blessed us with their presence last night and early this morning and it was great to get a taste of the outdoors and wildlife so close to our home. I hope the turkeys return again soon.

-JG

Ready for Spring | James Gibbon Outdoors

March 19, 2020 by James Gibbon

It’s March 19th in Montana, and we are on the final stretch of winter until Spring. This is the time where the weather is unpredictable and constantly teases us that spring has arrived, only to snow the following day. It’s tough because I truly am ready for Spring/Summer and yet the Montana seasons just aren’t aligned with my plans. There are however, some good days that get sprinkled in during these times and it’s on these days that I do my best to get outside and enjoy them the best I can. One day the road dried up and I decided to take my mountain bike down our entrance road. Our entrance road runs about a half mile in length to the main road and is mostly downhill/uphill depending on which direction you are headed. The picture below is of me towards the top of the road after my legs gave out making the stretch uphill.

What is not pictured above is the thrilling ride downhill! After a couple runs down and up the hill, we came up with the idea to use the ATV to ride back up the hill. This way I could just focus on the thrill of the downhill ride and not have to work my legs into exhaustion coming back up the hill. Overall, this was really fun. Although it only lasted one day due to the change in weather, it was a great way to spend the day outdoors and embrace the warm weather when it was around.

Another really cool thing happened since I last wrote. We had a visitor run behind our backyard - it was a moose! How cool! No idea where this moose was going or running from, but it came over a ridge and back behind our house. We had front row seats to watch this unfold, all from the comfort of our living room. How awesome to experience something like this without ever having to leave the house!

I’ll close out by sharing with you my Spring wishlist:

Thanks for reading and I will update you again once we are in Spring! Also be sure to check out Montana Farm Life www.montanafarmlife.com

-James

Snowshoeing Montana w/ James Gibbon

February 10, 2020 by James Gibbon

James Gibbon - There is something special about walking through a field of undisturbed snow under the glistening sun ☀️. Snowshoeing offers this special moment. In the days prior to these pictures, the weather was cloudy and snowing steady for three solid days. It wasn’t until the fourth day that the snow began to subside and the sun started to show itself. This is when I knew it was the perfect opportunity to get out the snowshoes and strap in. Here’s a list of what I needed to get started:

If you haven’t been snowshoeing, you should know it is a heck of a workout. For someone who does yoga a few days a week, this was a grueling anaerobic and aerobic exercise. I was completely drenched in sweat, winded, and exhausted by the end of my trek. Was it worth it? Absolutely. The views were absolutely gorgeous, weather was top notch, and it was the highlight of my day. 10/10 would recommend. Enjoy the pictures below and let me know what your favorite winter activities are in the comments below.