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Category Archives: wildlife encounters
Isn’t This a Long One?
January last seems impossibly distant. Memories from back then are round-edged and worn, like relics of a lost civilization. The pandemic was dawning, of course, although few of us in this country had a clue what was to come. Lockdowns, … Continue reading
Not an Owl
Having fresh snowfall is a bit like getting a local newspaper delivery: I learn about things going on in the neighborhood I wouldn’t otherwise know. Tracks on the fresh sheet of snow spread across the arena last month were like … Continue reading
Posted in animal communication, birds, ravens, wildlife encounters
Tagged raven tracks, ravens
8 Comments
Pesky Wildlife
“…Rural development encroaches on the traditional habitat of coyotes, bobcats, mountain lions, rattlesnakes, prairie dogs, bears, mosquitoes and other animals that can be dangerous and you need to know how to deal with them.” from “Code of the West,” created … Continue reading
Posted in birds, spring, wildlife encounters
Tagged Colorado wildlife, country living, mountain bluebirds, Sialia currucoides
10 Comments
Object of Attention
One of the things I’ve missed most in this dry and largely snowless winter has been seeing animal tracks. The clean surface of a light snowfall is like a tightly-stretched painter’s canvas, ready to receive marks that reveal ongoing bustle … Continue reading
Posted in wildlife encounters
Tagged animal tracks, Colorado wildlife, mountain lions, predator-prey relationships
4 Comments
Winter Companions
On a February afternoon, I have company on the way back from a walk down the road. About two dozen dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) are foraging for seeds on the shoulder of the gravel road. They’re bouncy little gray birds, … Continue reading
Posted in birds, wildlife encounters, winter
Tagged Colorado birds, dark-eyed juncos, Junco hyemalis
8 Comments
Landscaping in Slow Motion
Most of the landscaping around here came with the place. Contracting crews working on the house in 2002-03 were flustered that we were such sticklers about maintaining a tight construction envelope around the site, but I’m glad every day we … Continue reading
Turkey (Photo) Shoot
Wild turkeys are always in motion. Their persistent mobility has been brought home to me (literally) this winter by a flock of about a dozen that frequented the district around our house. The big dark birds would show up every … Continue reading
The Long View
The iconography of changing colors garners plenty of attention this time of year. Deservedly so, I suppose; even here, where the most charismatic foliage species are pretty rare, there’s a good show. The mounded forms of currant and mountain mahogany … Continue reading
Posted in change of seasons, color, fall, observation, wildlife encounters
Tagged autumn in Colorado, bugling elk, fall foliage
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A Secret in the Garden
One afternoon back in early June, a junco exploded from underfoot when I was in the garden. I didn’t think much of this, even though the same thing happened (in about the same location) a couple of days later. Dark-eyed … Continue reading
Posted in birds, wildlife encounters
Tagged bird eggs, Dark-eyed juncoes, fledgling birds
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Dusk
A couple of weeks back, after about a half-inch of snow had fallen overnight, Doug came back inside from feeding the horses their morning hay with a report: “Ummm, I’m pretty sure there are cat tracks on the driveway,” he … Continue reading
Posted in horses, humans and wildlife, observation, predators, wildlife encounters
Tagged animal tracks, mountain lions
1 Comment
