It has been an incredibly busy fall season already. Third rifle season descends on Disappointment Valley (and every other bit of public land in Colorado) today. Apologies to good, ethical hunters, but it is THE WORST week of my year. So partly to set the tone for a hopefully OK week (and a safe one), and partly because I mostly forgot these images (!), let’s start it with some golden eagles.
The above image was taken more than a week ago (on my mom’s birthday, actually!), as you can see by the phase of the moon (wow, has it been BRIGHT!). But see that little speck right of center? That’s an eagle, and THAT is what I spotted that made me stop and scramble to get my camera out of its pack.
Two of the three eagles I saw were flying (cavorting?!) together above Spring Creek Basin’s western rimrocks. I like to think they came flying overhead to see what the crazy two-legged was doing, and I was glad to see them so close in all their majesty.
I thought maybe a group of ravens was called a “cacophony” (if you know ravens, you know why I might have thought that). But no. A group of ravens is called an *unkindness*. How unkind is that?
Ravens actually are quite intelligent and very social. This website explains the early misunderstanding about their behavior that led to that term. They can also be called a “conspiracy” of ravens, a “treachery” of ravens and – perhaps my favorite, just because I’m a fan of alliteration – a “rave” of ravens! Also (boringly), a flock.
While the two pictured were engaged in an aerial disagreement (?!) across a large swath of ridge and sky, a third followed … maybe ready to console the loser or congratulate the winner? (There’s my own misunderstanding, shining through!) In any case, I was kinda stoked to see the above pic show up on my computer monitor. And very glad to get the lower raven’s wingtip juuuuuust within the frame of the original image (I did crop out a length of sky above them).
Prairie falcon, that is. Soaring over Spring Creek canyon.
Through the camera viewfinder, I didn’t know what it was. Then I saw it on the computer screen and may have let out an exclamation of sheer delight! They’re not *uncommon*, but I was super glad to see this winged beauty!
Did you spot the LBJ right away? Or are you wondering why I posted an out-of-focus pic of Bia this morning? 🙂
These little birds are still following the horses along as they graze, apparently because they scatter bugs/insects that the birds then gobble right up. A win-win for the birds. And the horses don’t seem to mind them whatsoever.
Here’s what Google AI has to say when you inquire what kinds of birds might follow horses as they graze:
The small, brown birds that often follow horses and other grazing animals are likely Brown-headed Cowbirds. They are known for their association with livestock, benefiting from the insects that are stirred up by the animals’ movements.
Here’s why they’re so commonly seen with horses:
Diet: Brown-headed Cowbirds primarily eat seeds and grains, but they also consume a significant amount of insects. Grazing livestock, like horses, disturb the ground, bringing insects to the surface, making them easier for the birds to catch.Â
Brood Parasitism:
Brown-headed Cowbirds are brood parasites, meaning they lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, and those other birds raise their chicks. While not directly related to their association with horses, this behavior is a notable feature of their lifecycle.
Habitat:
Brown-headed Cowbirds are found in grasslands, prairies, and other open habitats where livestock graze, making them common companions of horses [and mustangs].Â
But while the pic that accompanies the above information looks just like the bird I saw with Bia, this link to “brown-headed cowbirds” doesn’t look like it at all. However, this link, which uses the same pic that accompanies the AI description, after a long description and comparison to various other, similar birds, calls it a juvenile brown-headed cowbird, and it does look like the LBJ accompanying Bia. 🙂
Couldn’t pass up an opportunity to share a couple of non-mustang sights from Disappointment Valley last night!
I don’t think I realized until this year how many “favorite” birds I have! I keep thinking “this one is my favorite” until the next one comes along that is *also* my favorite. (Kinda like the mustangs, ALL of which are my favorites!) Western meadowlarks have been one of my top favorites since I lived in Montana and learned to recognize their gorgeous liquid trill of a bright song. I haven’t managed to get a favorite pic yet, but this one was singing his beautiful heart out near the road before and after moonrise.
Speaking of moonrise … !!!
I was expecting it to rise later, and from a different location (yes, I know there are apps for that, and I have one, and it was completely wonky, showing moonrise nearly directly south!), so I was looking for the meadowlark when I caught sight of the rising moon, nearly already fully above the horizon! (It was NOT as far south as the app showed, but it was considerably farther southish than I was expecting. This is fairly southeastish; McKenna Peak and Temple Butte are some distance (photographically, at least) to the left.)
All in all, another gorgeous evening in Spring Creek Basin (and the wind even dropped a bit). 🙂
Mariah grazes on greens while Mr. and Mrs. Mallard peruse the shoreline for any duck-lightful edibles.
By this time, I had moved to the west end of the pond, on the opposite side from the horses. I really was delighted when the ducks landed where they did. They were still probably 20 or so yards from the horses, most of which ignored the ducks, but a couple of which paid rapt attention!
Our feathered friends Mr. and Mrs. Mallard are still on the one pond in Spring Creek Basin that has water (or they may be a different pair?).
Mrs. (I think) American Wigeon is with them (might also be a different individual), but Mr. Wigeon was not present.
Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were practicing their synchonized diving, and this judge awards them a near perfect 9.5! 🙂 (Also, though, I think this illustrates how shallow the pond is, though it still covers a fair bit of area.)
Mustangs had already been to the pond to drink and were lingering over some fresh greens to the left (eastish). Later, the ducks all few off the pond, and Mrs. Wigeon circled and returned to the water, but Mr. and Mrs. Mallard explored terra firma – right near some horses! At least a few of the horses were interested in their little waddling friends, but nobody approached too closely.
Spring Creek Basin and at least part of Disappointment Valley got about half an inch of rain (total) Sunday and Monday. Upper and lower areas of the valley likely got more and less, respectively. We needed it badly, and I think the grasses are already growing, and it’s already a bit more green. *Grateful*!
There are no mustangs in this post (crazy, I know, with a title like that), but mustangs were SEEN.
This, my friends and fans of wild things and wild places, is a burrowing owl. Possibly one of THE – I’m gonna say (type) it – *cutest* birds on the planet. You know how I adore kestrels. … I see them all the time. But burrowing owls?!?!?!?! This might be the third I’ve ever seen in Disappointment Valley.
Huge shout-out to friend Mary, who not only was driving but spotted this marvelous beauty along the road. She casually asked if I’d seen the owl – she thought it was an owl? – and obliged my horizon-gazing self by backing up to where – sure enough – this burrowing owl was standing on a burrow (possibly/likely previously the home of a prairie dog family) right alongside the road. The owl him/herself (?) obliged us by being its beautiful, gorgeous, adorable self so we could take a minute or two’s worth of photos before driving on to not disturb its … burrow guarding? We never saw another bird, and this one seemed pretty comfortable.
Who needs opposable thumbs when one has feet/talons perfectly capable of gripping dinner? (I think this might be a carpenterworm? Though it’s much earlier than I’ve ever seen them. Eat all you want, friend owl!)
Like … WOWOWOWOWOWOWOW! 🙂
And as if that weren’t enough, this was the end-of-day, sunset-lit, alien-mothership/stormcell cloud (one or the other … right?!) visible over upper Disappointment Valley just beyond (?) Spring Creek Basin:
Because … our planet Earth really is that gorgeous. 🙂
Notes: Owl pix taken with a 600mm lens from inside a vehicle. Crazy storm-cloud pic (and yes, the rest of the sky was basically blue and nearly clear) taken with my phone because a long-mustang-owl lens just could not capture the entirety of the above scene. Very last light of day. I sized the image and gave it a touch of sharpening, but otherwise, that is straight out of the camera, err, phone.
It really was a WOW kinda day. 🙂 “*Grateful*” doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about this glorious little part of our great, wide, wild, wonderful world.
The morning of the snow, this little loggerhead shrike was calling from a bare tree just outside Spring Creek Basin (the dark band in the background is the rimrock that forms the basin’s western boundary). The cold didn’t seem to bother him/her much, and s/he allowed me to approach fairly closely to capture his/her lovely portrait.
*****
Happy Earth Day! More than ever, we need to cherish, protect and honor our planet.
These pix all are significantly cropped, and as previously mentioned, I am no bird photographer! But wow. I’m extremely grateful to this extraordinarily handsome gentleman for perching close enough and giving me enough time to get several sharp shots before he took off (he dodged off to the (my) right, despite the fact that he launched first to the left).
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 