Manzanita trip

 In mid-December we and the kids traveled to Manzanita for a week by the ocean. While we expected a lot of rain, we were rewarded with almost 4 days of sunshine! Quite amazing for that time of year and very welcome.

Here's a few shots from the trip..

Refuge Tuesday

 It's been a while since I have been to the refuge. I'm in my 6th week of recovery from a knee replacement and have just begun to drive again. So I headed off to my favorite place...

Lots of Northern Harriers around, a couple of Red-tailed Hawks, Grebes, Herons, and some beautiful fall landscapes.  Here's a few of the things I saw..

Very Juvenile red-tailed...

Female Northern Harrier

Long-billed curlews...I hadn't seen a group of them before and never this late..

Red-tailed juvenile...

Juvenile Northern Harrier

Visiting Antelope Island

Saturday morning on Antelope - lots of bikers early, traffic coming in mid to late morning. Just after affixing we got to watch a coyote family - Mom and two youngsters - hunting. Very educational as well as fascinating to watch.

Along the way - meadowlarks, a couple of antelope, lots of bison, and a couple more coyotes. Cool morning with a breeze. Stopped at the ranch but didn't find the owl..volunteer there said he hadn't seen them in quite a while.

Here you go..enjoy!

Interesting bird..Loggerhead shrike..

Burrowing owl in flight. We saw a number of dens but only two owls..

Uintas trip

 Diana and I took  leisurely drive into the Uintas yesterday, up past Mill Hollow and over the top. 64 degrees at 10,000 ft., a bit chilly despite the sun.

Lots of buck deer, velvet on antlers. Looked like a boys club! Sandhill cranes on the way in, being chased by a Redwinged Blackbird. An Osprey with a fish! Several landscapes. :lots of wildflowers, and a Mountain Bluebird - no photo of it though.

Enjoy!