Of course, we saw more birds than Grouse and Ptarmigan. In fact, I added 11 life birds on the trip. Todd got 4 which is good for him. We found iconic western species including 100+ Western Meadowlarks singing their R2D2 songs.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IWAG7aYIq_Q/WPqmxZOprZI/AAAAAAAAHho/0eGWFXwNPhs0i45wzLlNY0qFTXlFRMWJgCLcB/s320/WesternMeadowlark_sing-9593.jpg) |
Western Meadowlark |
And beautiful Stellar's Jays in the mountains.
![](https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2eqSFIwGy6w/WPqmw-g7cbI/AAAAAAAAHhk/p6A2QvxIwcAbJHXajh6DGDrgrZ9fB82FgCEw/s320/StellarsJay-9302.jpg) |
Stellar's Jay |
We found this Yellow-headed Blackbird in the marsh.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MDuwtmNGTnM/WPqmxZw6CXI/AAAAAAAAHhs/3MhCJVwLQssekBpE23_5ZxRRSe_gR6vcACEw/s320/YellowheadedBlackbird-8955.jpg) |
Yellow-headed Blackbird |
And this little Rock Wren.
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iUZ_WtAD76Q/WPqmv3cZ_rI/AAAAAAAAHhw/PX5n7j7k1YocVt_0LR94Rc9QhbiPU-9RgCEw/s320/RockWren-9955.jpg) |
Rock Wren |
On the lake, we saw 100+ American White Pelicans. They are pretty easy to spot but not usually close enough for a photo like this.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-r8mfuoOa8ls/WPqmubikWkI/AAAAAAAAHhw/RMU3R3fVYbcUOvhgw4P9EhtEfrLosfssgCEw/s320/AmericanWhitePelican-7373.jpg) |
American White Pelican |
Here is one of the life birds for me. McCown's Longspur which is a tiny sparrow-like bird that runs around in the grass. Very difficult to spot unless it runs across the dirt road like this one did.
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d-USYYMUzXU/WPqmvlCT6pI/AAAAAAAAHhw/GHuACp9F5ykHCPRuMNqkwcm1XKkBaJqrACEw/s320/McCownsLongspur-9571.jpg) |
McCown's Longspur |
It is always a joy to find Rough-legged Hawks. This one perched on a fence post.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6f5Umc-kAxA/WPqmwEK7uXI/AAAAAAAAHhw/XQOy2EOgTtI_-pOSUBd01d_8vko2PWMowCEw/s320/RoughleggedHawk_cropped-7337.jpg) |
Roughie |
Of course, there were other critters too. We were surprised to spot this Red Fox wandering along the side of the mountain road. Look at the long fur - alot different than the foxes in our yard.
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-4WFarTVk3H4/WPqoTuxo1AI/AAAAAAAAHiA/LsJ_JqFApmEmsdNx8B2xAenbjhpuDLddQCLcB/s320/RedFox_furry-7252.jpg) |
Red Fox |
![](https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-qnOBBlAmUS8/WPqoTliCzKI/AAAAAAAAHh8/fi5a8rbZpzkJcNKAy68fjeZBx0MQm_XMQCLcB/s320/RedFox_furry_cropped-7252.jpg) |
Furry Fox |
It is the big game that was really cool. Like these Bighorn Sheep.
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-azIGkZcEv3c/WPqojKckadI/AAAAAAAAHiI/-ZCOKEGzFkUYzJK1nQrJgpsZUADsVwbUQCLcB/s320/BighornSheep-9393.jpg) |
Bighorn Sheep |
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-B204Y7XJs3Y/WPqojO_JCyI/AAAAAAAAHiE/BPhUaYSCfcAk2sUmH6FwHD2ZMoGr4ezHgCLcB/s320/BighornSheep-9393_cropped.jpg) |
Chewing on Grass |
And the Pronghorn too. These were the animals that I really wanted to see. We saw a few that were very far away or close but then bolted when they saw us (Pronghorn are the fastest animal in North America) but these 2 didn't seem to mind our cameras snapping photos.
![](https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u_yZPnFdRAA/WPqo1d9IyUI/AAAAAAAAHiM/D32m5T63rGMCGBV6sl2D3l8CBEeaxE4sQCLcB/s320/Pronghorns-0244.jpg) |
Pronghorn |
![](https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ck4zlR38QaM/WPqo1S3KwuI/AAAAAAAAHiQ/1X4TNynpg0IftlwS7CZFwl-o-9bbuEB-gCLcB/s320/Pronghorns-0281.jpg) |
Pronghorn |
1 comment:
Superb!!! HH
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