Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

After descending from Mount Scott, we headed west through the wildlife refuge to see if we could find any Chestnut-collared Longspurs. One place that people had been reporting them was at or near the prairie dog town near the junction for the Holy City. It had not occurred to me how interested Laney would be in prairie dogs. She was good, but very alert.

The prairie dogs were aware of Laney, too. They scolded her from their burrows. I am sure she heard taunts. I did not find any longspurs. Maybe I needed to walk through the grass and try to flush them, but that wouldn't have been an option with Laney.

A view of Mount Scott, looking east.

The wildlife refuge had free-range Texas Longhorns. This guy was sitting in a pretty setting near the road. They also have bison and elk at the park. I saw some bison from a distance, but no elk. This park played an important role in the preservation of bison. The park used to have a subspecies of elk called Merriam's Elk that ranged across the southwest. That subspecies is now extinct, and the Rocky Mountain subspecies has been re-introduced.

I did get a nice look at a Greater Roadrunner along the road as I was heading out. Not a bad consolation prize for the Chestnut-collared Longspurs and all of the other birds left behind for another day.

Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge

A Northern Harrier watches the sunrise from his roost in the marsh.

Greater Roadrunner on top of a bluff.

Western Kingbirds were everywhere, and fairly noisy as well. Cassin's Kingbirds show up at the refuge, so I had to keep my eye on them.

A gorgeous Bullock's Oriole shows off briefly. I could hear orioles in several different trees, but I had very little luck catching glimpses of them. Of course I was also looking for Hooded Orioles.

Rock Wren

Black Phoebe

Taking my siesta in the shade beside Upper Pahranagat Lake. The day got up into the nineties, and I had gotten on the road by three, so it was nice to relax.

Last Saturday I visited Pahranagat National Wildlife Refuge near Alamo, Nevada. The refuge is located in a valley on the edge of the Great Basin and Mohave Desert. The variety of habitats, including lake and wetlands attract many birds. I struck out on several birds (Verdin, Phainopepla, several different Thrashers), so I might have to go again if I get a chance.

Black-billed Cuckoo

One of the highlights of birding this morning at Ft. Ben was getting to see a Black-billed Cuckoo out in the open for an extended look. Typically, they skulk through leafy treetops and stay out of sight.

Bar-bellied Cuckoo-shrike

The Cuckoo-shrike family (Campephagidae) was a new one to me. I saw this one in Subic Bay.