Environment:
Start Time: 8:05 AM Temperature: 38 degrees Sky: Sunny.
Even with an air temperature cooler than yesterday’s it seemed quite warm out on the trail this morning due to the absence of any significant breeze. There were quite a few Mule Deer out looking for snacks. Today’s featured image isn’t such a great photo but I have never seen Mule Deer feeding on the Walking Stick Cactus that decorates Rock Canyon. I assume you’d have to eat very carefully. I also managed to spot a Great Horned Owl sleeping it off in a shaded spot. I shot this bird from two different angles and did not get to see its face from either direction. I was, obviously, being snubbed. My Cooper’s Hawk parents to be were still working diligently on the nest, which I have located in a crazy tangle of branches high off the ground. I’m not sure how the adults get in and out with such ease. Below is a shot of the nest and I’m not sure there is a better angle than this. I will keep trying.
Sightings:
Birds: Common Goldeneye, American Coots, Pied-billed Grebes, Hooded Mergansers, Red-breasted Mergansers, Mallards, Gadwalls, Blue-winged Teals, Gulls, Starlings, Red-tailed Hawk, Great Horned Owl, Ospreys, White-crowned Sparrows, Cooper’s Hawks, White-breasted Nuthatch, American Kestrels, Double Crested Cormorant, Canada Geese, American Robin, Great Blue Heron, Hairy Woodpecker
Critters: Mule Deer, Tree Squirrels, Prairie Dogs
Gear: Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, Lumix 100-300mm
