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Surprise Visitors

I volunteer at a MAPS (Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship) station where we capture and band birds, collect data and let them go and hope to see them in future years. There is one Swainson’s Thrush that we have seen six years in a row! That means he has made five round trips to Central America and back! How cool is that? Anyway, last week was our last banding session for the summer and we had surprise visitors to one of the ponds on the property – three river otters! It looked like maybe a mama and two youngsters. They watched us as we walked by over and over again and they fished for the big-lipped suckers that live in the pond and they napped on a log. At one point they crossed over our trail and into the adjacent pond on a swim-about before returning to their log. After that, we had to be careful to avoid stepping in otter poop! We all had chances to photograph them with our cell phones and cameras and the otters did not seem bothered by our presence. What a day!

Shorebirds in Trees?

Spotted Sandpipers are migratory shorebirds. They spend winters in the southern US and Mexico and breed from Alaska to New Mexico and to the east coast of the US and Canada. I often see them in the summer near mountain lakes and streams where they nest and raise their young. This is the second year I’ve observed them at this lake and the first time I’ve seen them perched in conifers. They are darned cute birds, bobbing their tails up and down and they have cute calls too.

A Short Hike to a Popular Lake

But we mostly had it to ourselves because the highway was closed! It was so green and refreshing. The new bridges are getting installed and looking good. They still need one more. The trail to the pass was closed because of a nearby fire.

Hot Summer Hike

This was almost two weeks ago when the high temperatures here in the valley were over 100. I had hoped we’d find some relief in the mountains and chose a hike that took us to 8000′. It still felt hot and very exposed. The wildflowers were beautiful. The bugs were brutal. Willow agreed. On the way home, we stopped to cool off in the creek and Willow was very grateful. Sky didn’t get to go. She is facing some health issues so I won’t be taking her on longer summer hikes. It’s hard to get old and miss out on the fun.

Sights from the Mountains

A few more sights and fun stuff. A bird, a bug, ungulates, dogs and interesting scenes.