Heading to National Monument

Tomorrow (monday) a few of us are going to National Monument, a very cool national park within this forest. Look forward to lots of photos, though not until later in the day as its a pretty long drive/hike. Hope ya'll have a great day.

Desert run

This morning I biked down to the desert yet again. Its been a few days since I've done this, so Im a little out of shape, but I survived. Its really neat how you can stand still and suddenly all sorts of things around you will happen. I had a coyote peek around a corner at me, unfortunately when I moved, he jumped and ran off, so, no photos. I did catch one of a little Pocket Mouse

This is a Cactus Wren, slightly larger than a blue jay

Im working on finding out what these are, I suspect one is a kind of flycatcher, the other two, I'll figure out shortly.A memorial for John Hands, a pioneer, a rancher, a miner, an archeologist. And a rock dove.

A Scorcher

Hey all,

Its incredibly hot here today so its been an afternoon of catching up on work in a cool lab. However, I did get out to grab a few photos.

This is a male Bluethroated hummingbird, he kept chasing other males off the feeders but continued to come back to the same branch to pose for me.

Yes, another lizard

A nestful of Plumbeous Vireo. Looks uncomfortable.

Little Ones

Hey everyone,

The vegetation transects are almost done! Yay!! Soon I will have some free time to go wandering and get some more photos. Over the past few days I have grabbed some photos of wee little nestlings, something most people dont often get to see. So here they are.

An American Robin, there are at least 4 nestlings in this nest

Three small Plumbeous Vireo nestlings

An older Blackchinned hummingbird nestling on a weighscale

Basin Trail

Hello all,

This morning, on my day off, I walked about 2 miles up the road and onto Basin trail. Its a short little hike up some foothills and perfect for a 4 hour roundtrip. It was nice to get away from the station for a short while. Im pretty happy with the photos I got.

This is a East facing shot of the valley in which the research station is located

A skipper feeding on a thistle, very unconcerned with the camera lens practically touching it.

A butterfly hangs off of catclaw mamosa. Mamosa is the wicked stuff that has left me with many a bloody scratch on my legs.

And finally, a Short Horned Toad (not a toad at all, but a lizard)

And then it threatened to kick my arss. Good thing the camera was in the way

Another desert sunset. Ho hum.

Hi everyone,

Another late post. I managed to get down to the desert again this evening and at first I thought the clouds were drifting away and it would be another disappointment. However, towards the south there were plenty of clouds and a perfect photo op. I ran through desert plants and spikey things, up a foot hill to grab these photos. The walk back down was somewhat more difficult as it was pretty dark, but hey, it was worth it. Enjoy.

A self portrait. Gives you an idea of the size that some of the agave cactuses can reach!

Wandering

More of the same today, sadly! Vegetation plots and dishwashing. Im hoping that the last two weeks of this trip get a little more interesting! Still, I walked around yesterday with the camera and got a few shots.

A turkey vulture, of which there are plenty in Ontario. Not a particularly exotic photo, but fun to take.

Yet another White tailed deer photo. I guess I still find it interesting that they aren't too concerned with my presence. This one was giving me a good sniff, just to make sure I wasnt a mountain lion.