Don was off on Thursday but he had to hang around and see if a customer was coming in so I ran up to Market Lake in the morning. Still so quiet up there. Last year at this time I was seeing the Northern Saw Whet and the Short Eared Owls but neither of those are showing up this year. Believe me! I've looked!!!
Usually the hawks are spooky and you can't get close enough to get any shots of them but I spied one down the road and I guess I snuck up on him! Pretty sure this is a male Northern Harrier.
Sandhill Cranes were near the road this morning so I stopped for them.
Another vehicle at the trees when I pulled in and I could see the people further north down the path. I walk slow - checking for any kind of bird I can find. Which today were few and far between. Robins and Magpies were about it.
The other people weren't moving very fast so I finally got close enough to see that the lady was Elsa Seidel and the man with the camera had to be her husband, (my facebook friend) Bob. When I finally caught up to them I realized it was Bob but the lady who I tho't had white hair like Elsa was actually their daughter, Joy, wearing a white hat!!
We chatted and I showed them the rabbit in the tree that they had missed. Can't blame them - who would think to look for a rabbit in a tree??? And he was once again in the one next to the owl nest.
They said they had seen the Porcupine and I finally spied him - he was really high today.
They had seen the male Great Horned Owl and he had spooked and flown further down the path. Today was the first time I had seen more than tail feathers on the nest - she had her head up for a change. We kept walking north and almost to the end the Great Horned Owl spooked and flew before any of us even saw him. But eventually we found him again and this time he stayed where he was at for a few photos. Unfortunately he was hard to get a clear shot of.
We met a lady headed north as we made our way back to the cars - she eventually passed us again and as she came towards us she spooked a 2nd owl so that was good for us! At least this one we could get somewhat better shots of.
When I got back to the car I called Don and he was free the rest of the day so we decided to run up to Alpine to check for Mountain Goats. On the way home I stopped for a Kildeer.
Don and I loaded up and headed to Alpine. We were hoping for Mountain Goats low and close but as we headed up the canyon all we saw were very far away. We went on and Don decided to drive on and see what the road looked like that seems to be sliding away. It was way further than we expected! Almost to the round-about at Hoback Junction.
I watched the sides of the road for animals and I spied this water coming off the mountain so we stopped for some photographs. All I can say is - Wait until it Really warms up and the snow starts melting!!
We're headed back thru the areas we always watch for Mountain Goats and suddenly there's one on the side of the hill right by the road. How did we miss him the first time???
We had to park in a safe spot and walk back. It's very rare that animals are bothered by us - we couldn't think of many times that we have made an animal move - but this guy maybe had some bad experiences because he was NOT going to stick around to get his photo taken. And we weren't even close to him!! Did manage a few shots.
Up Up and Away he went.
We decided since we'd driven all that way to stop for the other ones that were far away.
And I still don't have to go to work today so instead of staying home and doing laundry I ran up to Market Lake this morning. Laundry can wait - right??
I don't know where the males were but the female Red-winged Blackbirds were on the cat-tails this morning.
Had the trees to myself this morning. It was more of the usual.
The Tree Swallows are back
Found a bunny.
And the Porcupine was still high in the tree.
And a Squirrel.
The bunny was in his tree again.
And without too much trouble I spotted the Great Horned Owl.
The Snow Geese were headed north but I couldn't find a quick way out of the trees to get some shots of them so I had to make due with a few as they flew on north.
To end my morning I spied a Chipmunk! He was quick and there was too much sagebrush for many shots of him.
Time to go home and do some laundry!!
Cindy, it's always good to see you out in the woods! And you are the master at locating the wildlife! Joy, Elsa and I always enjoy your reports.
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