Turkey Tango

 I never get tired of seeing the wild turkeys strut around our property. For some reason it gives me a real kick to see them strolling amongst the sage brush and yuccas. I just don't think of them as desert birds but they have certainly found a home here!

In this first shot three females are trying to find the tom.

 He is a little beat up but still magnificent!
Who couldn't love a face like that?

It was quite a surprise when the rainbow appeared. I was hoping to catch the double arc of the tom's tail and the rainbow but it was too close to show more than a small piece of the rainbow's curve.

In the last shot you can see the three females following the tom as he hikes along in front of Tower Rock.

Dipper

Today I decided to post a single photo from our hike up Deep Lake. One of the amazing features of the lake is that it drains underground and reappears a couple miles away down the mountain. This shot is from the second pool. Like the other two, this one is fed from an underground stream that is not visible to the viewer.

When we got to the pool we stopped to rest and enjoy the beauty of the crystal clear water below. I caught sight of this water ouzel or American Dipper on the other side of the lake and decided to take his picture. These birds are so plain in appearance that it would be understandable for people to ignore them. Instead their unique habit of walking along the stream bottom under water, summer and winter, has earned them the admiration of many bird watchers.

They are called dippers because of their strange propensity to bob up and down as they stand by a stream or lake edge.

Year of the Snake

 Yesterday we decided to hike up toward Deep Lake and back. It is a tough hike at the best of times but yesterday was a real challenge. About 5 years ago there was a significant forest fire in the area that left almost all the pine trees burned and standing. The consistently strong winds of this past winter managed to bring many of those trees down and what was just a challenging hike has turned into a full out obstacle course!

Add that to two difficult stream crossings and weather that alternated between heavy rain showers and blistering heat and it made for quite an adventure!

We did discover that our "Year of the Snake" is continuing. We are now up to 3 rattlers, 5 bull snakes and 2 green rubber boas. Until yesterday I did not even realize we had boas in Wyoming.

The first fellow we came across yesterday was this bull snake of approximately 5 feet. That is not really big for these types of snakes but since they are easily confused with rattlers at first glance, it is still quite a thrill to see one.

 He wasn't really happy about being picked up but Ken released him as soon as he posed for a picture and he slithered off into the grass.

 Just a short time later we saw our first of two green rubber boas of the day. I have seen these guys in this area before and always thought they were green snakes. This time I did a little research when I got home and discovered I was mistaken in their identity. They get their name from the fact that they look like they are made of rubber - and I have to agree it is so! Their backs are more of a khaki green and their bellies are much yellower. Like other boas, they are constrictors and eat small rodents and birds or reptiles.

 As we neared the car on our return journey, we heard a beautiful bird voice coming from a tree nearby. Looking up, we saw this Lazuli Bunting performing for us. What a treat!

Bald Ridge

I truly believe that Bald Ridge is one of the most beautiful places on earth. And how amazing that there is a public trail that anyone can access this time of year! The area is closed for about half the year for wildlife protection but that only adds to the ultimate magic of the place. When Ken and I hiked the trail on a rainy Memorial Day we saw pronghorn, white tail deer, mule deer, elk and a coyote, not to mention dozens of species of birds. We also saw very fresh mountain lion tracks and wolf tracks. The place is certainly alive with wildlife. 

 The Bald Ridge Trail starts at Hogan and Luce Reservoir. The swallows were incredible with multiple varieties that seemed quite happy to hang out together. Here we have a cliff swallow and a violet-green sitting side by side on a length of barbed wire.

 It would be hard to create a still life as beautiful as this natural arrangement of blanket flower growing in the red Chugwater layer next to a piece of juniper driftwood!

The Chugwater layer of earth is what defines the area and makes it so amazing - especially this time of year when we have the complementary green of spring growth. From this spot we could see Heart Mountain with its recent covering of snow in the background.

Of course the hiking was not exactly easy. Not only was it cold and raining, we ended up with 10 pound boots from the incredibly muddy trail!

Retraction

 A few days ago I included this fellow pictured to the left in a post with the comment that it was rare for a curlew to sit so still for a photo. Well, maybe it was because he is not a curlew! I had a few doubts at the time but it wasn't until I had a definite sighting of a pair of long-billed curlews yesterday that I realized I should have looked more closely. I was fooled by the downward curving beak when I should have been looking at the size of the bird and its habitat instead.

I believe the mis-labeled bird is a whimbrel - uncommon but widespread and much more of a shore bird than the prairie loving curlews.

 I am thrilled with theses shots I got yesterday at Bald Ridge between falling rain drops. Not only did I capture a few nice photos of the birds in flight, the first one even had his mouth open! Of course he was screaming at me at the time and it is probably just as well I don't understand curlew!

Here is the pair of birds blending into the sagebrush on the ground.

 They are quite a bit bigger than the whimbrel and their beaks are longer, too.

 I also thought I would include a few shots of another of my favorite area visitors: the green-tailed towhee.  They are not as flashy as the other members of their family - at least until you look closely. Then you notice the great "hairdo"and the attitude that seems to say "bring it on!"

Stewart Falls

 What is it about waterfalls that captures us so? They are like rainbows in the emotions they seem to evoke in people. No matter how cynical you are, it is hard not to smile at the sight of rainbows and waterfalls!

All of today's images are from Stewart Falls near Sundance, Utah. When Ken and I went down for the wedding we found ourselves doing the easy 2 hour hike to the falls and back three different times.
The first photo, above, was taken about 6am on our last morning there. I wanted to capture the warm morning light and Ken was kind enough to accompany me at that early hour. Strangely enough, I think I prefer the closer views of the falls. Even though the landscape is beautiful in the first photo, the mountains are so big that they tend to overwhelm the impact of the two-tiered, 200' plus cascade of water.

Global Weirding

 We had very little winter this year with warm weather and a relative lack of snow throughout. We had 80 degree temperatures in March and 90's in April and May. And now, as June fast approaches, we have 4" of new snow and temperatures in the low 30's!

It won't last, of course. And we certainly need the moisture. But it has to be hard on the baby birds and bunnies, not to mention the tourists in Yellowstone!

 Both the chives (top) and the columbines were sporting white hats this morning.

 The snow was wet and heavy, perfect for making snowmen or sticking on fence rails.

 Vertebrae Rock, above, is where the ravens have their nest. Mama spent much of the day huddled in with her babies.