Birds of Prey

We had the opportunity to go to an interesting program about Birds of Prey presented by Martin Tyler of the Southwest Wildlife Foundation. After showing pictures of birds, he brought out a magnificent Harris' hawk.

The hawk looked so stately and was well behaved. 

Then it was time for a prairie falcon. These are fairly common birds in this area, but I had never seen one up so close.

The prairie falcon didn't particularly like being in the limelight for long. He started talking back and wiggling (sounds like a little toddler I know).

But once he had his hood on, he was happy again. Out of sight, out of mind.

The little mask makes him look a bit strange, but he was calm as could be with it on.

Then came the last and biggest bird, a golden eagle. He was truly marvelous.

The Southwest Wildlife Foundation is a non-profit organization that works to rehabilitate wildlife and present educational programs. 

Martin provided lots of interesting information about each bird. One of the interesting tidbits is the number of mice each bird eats every day. How many would you guess?

The wingspan of the golden eagle is enormous.

The Southwest Wildlife Foundation has a website and offers programs and field trips. They are also trying to build a nature center in Cedar City, Utah.

It's nice to know that someone is carrying for the injured birds. Seeing some up close definitely gives one a different perspective of their power and size.

Hidden Pictographs

Many archeological site locations are kept under tight wraps to prevent looting and defacement. Today I'm going to take you to one of those secret spots. I had heard about it a couple years ago,  and although it wasn't too far from where we live, my husband had never heard about it despite growing up in the area. 

Some of these spots are really secret!

So what may look like a plain rock wall (photo above), has some decorations.

These are pictographs, designs and pictures made by American Indians at some point in the past. Pictographs are made using dye and applying it like paint. Petroglyphs, a different type of rock art, are made when rocks are used to scratch the rock patina, like those found at Parowan Gap.

Some of the forms are a little difficult to make out. Over hundreds of years, and sometimes thousands of years, the artwork has faded. Nevertheless, it is amazing that it has lasted so long!

Desert Boy and Daddy found another alcove with some pictographs.

This human form is well-preserved and easily identifiable.

Some fainter pictographs decorate part of the sloped ceiling.

Looking at all the pictographs can be hard work!

Desert Destination: A Patch of Snow in June

Although we've been looking forward to summer for so long, now that June is here we decided we needed to revisit winter a little. So we drove up to 10,000 feet to the Wheeler Peak Campground to look for some snow. As soon as we got to the trailhead, Desert Boy grabbed a handful and ate it, pine needles and all. Yum. Or not. 

I tried to show him how he could dig down a little and get some clean snow, but he wasn't interested. Fortunately, there was no yellow snow in sight.

We brought the sled and found a little patch to go sledding on. Daddy was worried about Desert Boy crashing into trees, so made him put on his helmet. But Desert Boy quickly got cold hands and didn't want to go sledding on the snow anymore.

He did want to keep sledding, though. How do you sled without snow?

When there's nice rubber matting on the ground for a handicapped trail, it's possible to go sledding!

Desert Boy thought this was a great option, with Daddy pulling and Grandma Sylvia following.

Eventually they came across another nice patch of snow, and it was time to put the sled to its correct use.

Except they crashed. Maybe the helmet wasn't such a bad idea after all.

Back in the sled, they continued down the path.

But all good things must come to an end, and the nature trail is only about 1/4 mile long. Then Desert Boy had to get out of the sled and ambulate on his own.

Grandma Sylvia showed him something fun to do that made him forget about the sled--snowball fight!

His aim wasn't too good, but his enthusiasm was high.

Then it was time for an obstacle course, going through the tree.

The clouds parted and the sun shone down on a beautiful meadow. We walked until we found the perfect photogenic rock.

Grandma Sylvia and Desert Boy had a great photo shoot.

But here's one of the worst family portraits of all time. It really can't get much worse, can it?

This one's a bit better.

I also really enjoyed listening to the birds: mountain chickadees, a hermit thrush, gray-headed juncos, ruby-crowned kinglets, and American robins. And there were about six flower species poking their heads up, including this little milkvetch. 

Although there are still some snowy patches, summer is definitely arriving at the higher elevations.

Home on the Range

Climbing the Gravel Pile

It doesn't take much to entertain Desert Boy. A pile of gravel will do the trick. 

The pile looked easy enough to climb, but soon Desert Boy found he had to crawl to get up it.

He kept going and going, until he reached the top.

And then he ran down!

But there was a slight problem.

He got rocks in his boot. He kicked off his boot.

And emptied it out. 

Then it was time to take off the other boot.

Taking off the boots isn't hard, but putting them back on can be a little tricky.

So Desert Boy figured out something else to do with his boots...

Put gravel IN the boots. 

It might not be practical, but at least it's fun!

Breeding Bird Surveys

I've started doing some breeding bird surveys on the ranch. It's always fun to see what's out there. I heard and saw quite a few red-winged blackbirds. They like to get together in big flocks at times and create quite a racket.

Even noisier are the yellow-headed blackbirds. They love to hang out on the bulrushes, make their noisy calls, and then chase each other around.

The female yellow-headed blackbird has some color to her but is not nearly as showy as the male.

This rock dove (pigeon) was on the road and didn't seem to mind my presence. When I took a closer look at the photo, I noticed it had bands around both of his feet. Who is studying rock doves and why?

In some willows next to a small pond on the ranch I saw a flash of yellow and discovered a pair of yellow warblers hanging out. They are small but colorful.

I'm usually surprised by all the diversity on the ranch--at first sight it might seem like there's just cows, horses, and ravens, but with a little more looking, it ends up quite interesting.

Yellow-bellied Marmot

We saw this lump lying on the road the other day. Sort of looks like road kill, doesn't it? 

But it twitched, and we knew it was alive.

And then it lifted its head and revealed itself as a harbor seal. Nope, not quite, but in the fuzzy photo it sort of looks like a seal that's hauled itself out on an iceberg.

This little guy is a yellow-bellied marmot (Marmota flaviventris), one of the laziest animals in the world.

You see, although the marmot might look busy digging out the road and eating nice green vegetation, it will soon disappear from sight. That's because it goes into its burrow and hibernates for up to 9 months of the year. 

What a life!