Red Hills State Park April 2024

On Sunday, April 28th, 2024, we went for a walk along the Red Hills State Park South Loop Trail and saw several critters beside the trail. 

Screech Owl on Spring Creek Trail

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Today as I was walking along the Spring Creek Trail near the Fischer Natural Area in Fort Collins, when I spotted a flicker pecking on a tree and hopping in and out of a hollow that it seemed to have claimed for itself.

A woman that I met along the way asked about what I was taking pics of, and then asked if I had ever seen the screech owl that lives on Spring Creek Trail. I told her that I had not, and she proceeded to give me instructions on how to find this owl, which she called Penelope.

Above is a short video of the owl in the tree.

The first time that I headed over to her tree, she was nowhere to be seen, but a few minutes later I was still in the area and I heard a walker asking her partner if she could see the owl. I headed back over, and there she was.

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This is what the owl's tree looks like from Spring Creek Trail.

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Wildlife at Grand Teton National Park

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There are many wonderful sights and vistas to view at Grand Teton National Park. On our first and last days camping in Gros Ventre Campground near the park we saw moose. The first sight upon entering the site was a cow and her calf. On the last morning, as we were leaving, we spotted the bull pictured above. We were at the park from August 30th - September 2nd, 2014.

Bull elk alongside the road towards Jenny Lake.

We spotted the antelope pictured above in the National Elk Refuge between Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the entrance to Grand Teton National Park. We saw many more on our road trip between Fort Collins, CO and Jackson Hole.

This bald eagle was spotted near the Snake River Overlook.

A chipmunk spotted on the Hidden Falls Trail beside Jenny Lake.

Clearwing moth sighted at the Oxbow Bend Turnout.

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Evening at Pineridge Natural Area

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We took the dogs for a walk at the Pineridge Natural Area in Ft. Collins, Colorado. Prairie dogs are a normal, and entertaining sight there. Our chihuahua thinks that they're calling him to join their tribe.

Prairie Dog Video

A group of four American White Pelicans landed in the reservoir.

I got several bad pictures of a killdeer 

that followed us a short distance along the path.

We did spot some mystery ripples in the water near a group of ducks that we decided might be from a muskrat, but a long wait with the binoculars didn't reveal the source. Eventually, the light was fading fast, and it was time to head home.

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Cicada Larva on Lower Monument Canyon Trail

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We found this cicada larva walking across the Lower Monument Canyon Trail on June 14th, 2014. We placed it in a bush nearby. Below are a couple of pics and a video.

Cicada Larva Video

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Bighorn Sheep - Lower Monument Canyon Trail

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We hiked the Lower Monument Canyon Trail on June 14th, 2014. We saw 2 groups of bighorn sheep (pics and video below). The first group had about 14 individuals. The second group had at least 10.

The sign at the trail-head.

Petroglyphs on the trail hint at what is to come.

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View of Independence Monument from the trail.

Looking back towards Grand Junction.

Mt. Garfield and Grand Mesa are in the background.
There are people on the trail near the middle of this photo.

 To give an idea of scale, now we're closer in.

Look for the people on the trail in the lower right hand corner.

 And closer still. Now those folks are on the bottom left.
A second group is walking in a line near the center higher up.

Closer still.

Bottom right corner again. Mt. Garfield in the distance.

And then the bighorn sheep appeared.

Video # 1 of the first group of bighorn sheep.

Video # 2 of the second group.

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