Curlew and company

It's a thrill for me every spring when I encounter a group of long-billed curlew, which I had the pleasure of finding Saturday alongside the highway north of Daniel, Wyoming.

They are beautiful and graceful birds, but these guys sure had dirty bills and feet from plodding along in the mud, poking for treasures.

A little further north, near Bondurant, the snow is still very deep, but even small animals came out of their burrows to enjoy the sunshine, racing back and forth with glee.

After a pleasant drive to Jackson for groceries and to run errands, Jim and I were pleased to encounter this gorgeous redhead (an American kestrel) very close to home.

Loving these beautiful spring days and the critters we're able to encounter.

Hackee sack anyone?

I've been working hard all week, either on the computer or on the ranch, so this morning I played hooky and went for a three-hour photo excursion to some of my favorite places in our county. This sandhill crane was busy throwing a chunk of cow manure in the air, hitting it with his head and beak, playing with it like it was a hackee sack. I saw it as I was driving by, and I swung back around to try to get a photo before it quit. One photo was all I got, but mercy what a fun photo it is. Anyone out there still doubt that animals play?

A small segment of Sublette County, Wyoming has one of the largest nesting concentrations of long-billed curlew of anywhere in the world. They love flood-irrigated hay meadows, digging through cattle dung for bugs.

I saw more Swainsons today than any other raptor.


This bird seemed to be about to burst its chest as it cheerily sang the song of spring. The Meadowlark is Wyoming's state bird, as it is for several other states.

As I headed home, it was starting to snow a little, and a badger appeared alongside the road momentarily before disappearing into a burrow.