The Winthrop Balloon Round Up happened this weekend. We stayed home and watched the balloons go by from here. I did sort of miss the action of the balloon inflation and take off but didn’t have the energy to get up early and go to town to watch that part. The weather was perfect and people had long rides, drifting up and down and then most came down valley to land at or near the airport.
Here it is, March 3 and spring birds are already arriving. Here I am catching up on last month’s birds! Pileated Woodpecker, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Steller’s Jay, three kinds of finches (Red Crossbill, American Goldfinch and Pine Siskin) and Red-winged Blackbirds (who have been here all winter), note that they are all males. I don’t know where the females spend the winter. And a Red-tailed Hawk. Backyard birds.
Winter means finding a meal is hard so this Sharp-shinned Hawk spent time scoping out the bird feeders last week. They didn’t find food that time.
The day we saw the bighorn sheep, we also saw some other fun animals. Otters running and sliding on the ice and ducking in and out of the frigid water with their friends, the swans. Bald Eagles maybe digesting or waiting for their next meal to come along. Clark’s Nutcrackers foraging for their pine seed caches. More swans and a group of partridges near the road as the sun finally started to show up.
We went on an outing to see if we could find some wintering birds the other day. They are few and far between here at home except at the feeders. Imagine our surprise when we found four bighorn sheep right alongside the road. There was a ram, two ewes and a youngster. At first we thought they had pawed into the snow to find food but as we watched, we realized that they were licking dirt. I wonder if it’s a natural salt lick or if it has some other sort of mineral they need? Regardless, they were intent on what they were doing and did not leave as we watched and photographed. At one point, the big ram moved away from his dirt hole and the youngster started in on it. Shortly, the male came along and butted the little one on the butt, telling them to get out of his hole.
My Everyday Photos 