Mystery Track

Ready for another mystery? I saw this track on the road the other day, an S-shaped track.

There was traffic coming, so I stopped to shoo the track-maker off the road. He wasn't particularly happy to move off the warm gravel.

I bet you know what it was...

...a snake! More specifically, a bull snake or gopher snake. I really like these snakes because they eat a lot of mice, and we sure have a lot of mice this year. I wish I could get a few more to live in my yard, because the owls are definitely not keeping up.

I'm not sure if the snake was appreciative of my efforts to save its life. But I still felt good. Sometimes it doesn't take much to put a smile on my face!

S.P.U.D.

One bright and early morning, I was doing a bird survey. I came across this strange marking in the dirt. It looked like something had Sniffed, Pawed, Urinated, and Defecated. What could it be?

The horned larks watched me, wondering why I was taking photos of poop.

I found some old dried out scat, with the same markings around them.

The meadowlark on the fence post continued singing its melodic song, ignoring my traipsing next to its perch.

The meadowlarks are fun to watch, with their big, chunky bodies. And you always know spring has arrived when they start singing.

I found some more scat next to a squat bush, with the same pawing marks nearby.

The yellow-headed blackbirds were amused by the extra entertainment.

And yet another SPUD. All were next to the field. Have you figured it out yet?

This yellow-headed blackbird watched the animals that made it. They like to go into the fields and get an easy meal.

Ah, some very fresh and moist scat.

If you're still reading this blog at this point, there might be something wrong with you. But probably you're better off than me, who actually thought this might be a fun post. Maybe I've been getting up too early too many mornings and have lost my marbles.

The Say's Phoebe watched me pass by.

Another SPUD. They're everywhere!

Nope, this bull had nothing to do with the SPUD. But I thought he was rather fierce and deserved his own photo.

Okay, time for your final guess, because here's the answer:
Pronghorn antelope bucks leave SPUD. They are territorial markings. And now your day has been enhanced by visiting this blog. Come back soon!

More Birds

Here are a few more favorite bird photos. Above, a barn swallow.

Western Kingbird

Western Tanager

Another view of the Western Tanager

Birds and Landscapes

I've been having fun looking at birds lately--they are so exciting this time of year because they're all full of songs and chattering and looking for mates, and you can just sense the energy they have as they prepare to make a nest and hatch their young and continue their lineage. Okay, that was a major run on sentence, but that's the mood I'm in. I just want to gush about birds and being bound by the rules of the English language seems far too constraining.

I've taken gobs of bird photos, and today I've selected a few that also have some nice backgrounds. A little wildlife can make the background so much more interesting. Above is a yellow-headed blackbird just about to land on some willows, with the Snake Creek Range in the background.
I was surprised by a flock of ibis flying over the sagebrush. Ibis like water, and the sagebrush make them seem so out of place.

Meanwhile, an egret ignored the background behind her, namely the cows ruminating.

And then we can see the whole tableau, the ibises landing in the wetlands while the cattle graze on the edge and the tiny white egret ignores them all.

One evening I took a walk down by the ranch pond right at sunset. It was a glorious time, with phalaropes swirling around and dipping their bills in the water to eat invertebrates.

A mallard looked quite serene and found a bit of quiet on the pond all for himself.

The swirling phalaropes kept attracting my eye as they swirled and dipped and whirled some more, like tops out of control.

Sandpipers hung out in the shallows, probing the mud, while the giant tree on the other side of the pond spread its arms, getting ready to welcome the quiet of the night.

Where are the Deer?

While my brother was visiting, we had to stop to take a picture of some flowers. It just so happened that we stopped right by the deer crossing sign, and I happened to see him imitating a jumping deer. Of course he didn't want to admit it. I mean, who would?

He tried to cover up by then looking for the deer. Notice how he is so thoughtfully scanning the horizon? He's used to small white-tailed deer, not the big burly mule deer we have out here. He really wanted to see them. He might have better luck if he shaded his eyes with his hand instead of posing in such a photogenic way. (Ha, ha, Peter, thanks for being such a cooperative model.)

And look, sure enough there were some deer out in the distance, in their favorite dusk hangout. They like to go out in the fields to munch on the yummy alfalfa and have a drink or two with their buddies. They've got the good life figured out.

Owls, Owls, and More Owls

This has been a great spring for owls. I've seen them all over. Here is a baby great horned owl sitting in the large nest. It still has its fuffy feathers.

Baby owls are rather large, so I can only imagine all the work that must go into feeding them. It has been a very good rodent year, so perhaps that's why we're seeing so many owls. I wouldn't mind a few more around my house!

Fifteen miles away from the first owl nest we found these two owls hiding out in a tree. Do you see both of them? The one on the lower right is partially obscured by the branch.

This tree is right outside our house and there are four owls on it. Do you see them all?

On the lower branch on the right is the mama and a young one.

On the left about half way up is this fluffy juvenile.

And near the top on the left is this juvenile. Can you see the talons?

I think mama owl is winking at me! And the baby has its beak open, telling me to beat it.

So it's time to head to a different habitat to look at an owl species I haven't seen in years.

This is a burrowing owl. Instead of making a nest in a tree, it raises its young in a burrow. This is probably the male, keeping an active lookout while the female incubates the eggs.

I didn't go very close because I didn't want to disturb it, but I think you can still tell from the photo that it's a really cool owl. I hope the young do well and they return next year.

Into the Cave

While our visitors were here, we decided to take a trip into Lehman Cave. This is always a great destination for kids, with so much to see. I gave Desert Boy a flashlight so he'd have something to hang onto and then his hands wouldn't be free to touch the cave formations. Plus he thinks he's pretty cool having his own light.

The first room in the cave is the Gothic Palace, and my brother got the awesome shot above. The parents had lots of fun taking photos as we went on the leisurely tour.

Some of the passages are narrow. This one in particular has a very interesting ceiling.

There it is! Covered with draperies, the ceiling and narrow passage is really awesome. Thanks again, Pete for the photo!

Desert Boy had fun looking down dark holes and wondering if the passage went anywhere. Desert Girl was awake for most of the cave trip and didn't even make a squeak. I guess that means she liked it!

We had some typical kid moments in the cave, too. I mean, kids have to squirm and pick their noses somewhere, right?

Here's Peter, the photographer. He had to duck a lot.

Lehman Cave is known for its multitude of formations. Although the cave isn't long, only about 1.5 miles, it has a very high concentration of speleothems along the tour route, making one feel very much a part of the cave.

I like how the light silhouettes these three stalagmites.

Peter had more ducking as he went further into the cave.

We found a nice place for the cousins to pose for a photo. Except they don't seem to keen on the idea.

Once we let them do their own thing, they were a lot happier.

In the Grand Palace are some beautiful cave shields, including the parachute shield.

We peaked into the Sunken Garden, where some cave restoration is in progress, with the old trail being removed and hauled out five gallon bucket by five gallon bucket. Over 38 tons of material have been moved out of the cave this way so far.

Back in the Grand Palace, these funny bulbous stalactites hang from the ceiling. It's almost like we're getting an under-the-soil view of turnips growing.

Desert Boy looks like he's ready to be a cave guide. He's even got the hand movements down!

You can see that the two little ones are a perfect height for navigating the cave. A small build is definitely an advantage for cave explorers.

Near the end of the tour, the route crosses some natural cave floor with tiny rimstone dams. The calcite was deposited as water slowly spilled over from one dam to the next.

The exit tunnel was made in the 1970s, and they had to dig down through the cave floor to make a human-sized passageway out. That left some layers of calcite with beautiful banding. Some researchers have been doing work dating cave formations to get a better estimate of cave age and should have their results public within the next year.

The tunnel is a place where the kids can finally run! Desert Boy took off with excitement.

Right by the exit door we saw some cave life: a daddy-long legs spider and a cave cricket. What a great trip!