9 May 2016 - What a Cow-motion

I've been thinking about cows lately. I agree it is an odd thing to spend time on, but nevertheless, cows have been on my mind. Why cows, you might ask. I like to photograph the varied and amazing landscapes of Utah. In sorting through some photos I noticed that many are what you might call bu-cow-lic, (keeping the bovine pun theme going). 

For years, I have had a favorite breed, Highland Cattle. They have long horns and long wavy coats. I think they look very sweet. 

But as I started noticing the variety of cows, I discovered I have a new favorite.  Before we get to that, you need to enjoy a small slice of the many cattle I have encountered in my adventures. 

Longhorned cows (yes, really Texas Longhorns, but I'm going generic here)

Short-horned cows

Brown cows

Brown cows with white faces

Black cows

Black cows with white faces

Bicolor cows

White cows

Speckled cows

And totally new to me, gray cows. 

And now, my new favorite, the Galloway. I find this amusing, as both the Highland and the Galloway are Scottish breeds.  Here is a calf.  Like the Highland, they have wavy coats and a gentle demeanor. I find I am attracted to the the white belly band and their fluffy coats. 

And among all the cows I have seen, this is the weirdest. I would really like to know the story here. 

15 April 2016 Easter Parade

Okay, I admit it. I've lost some days. What? Easter was in March?  I had a great idea for an Easter post and I missed it. Here it is, only slightly late, with many thanks to Irving Berlin. And yes, please sing along. 

In your Easter bonnet

with all the frills upon it

You'll be the grandest lady

at the Easter parade. 

I'll be all in clover, when they look you over

I'll be the proudest fellow at the Easter parade. 

On the avenue, Fifth Avenue, the photographers will snap us,

And you'll find you're in the rotogravure.

Oh, I could write a sonnet

About your Easter bonnet,

And of the girl I'm taking

to the Easter Parade. 

8 April 2016 - Sharp-tailed Grouse

Today I went to see another species of grouse--the sharp-tailed grouse--do their dance. Another early start, this time on the road by 4 am.  These grouse are quite a bit smaller than the greater sage grouse I watched dance last week. Their dance is very different as well. 

As I watched, my first thought was I've seen this same dance at Native American Pow Wows. Both feature a bustle, outspread wings (arms), a bent position with twirling and amazing fancy footwork. Part of the grouses' dance includes stomping on the ground and you can hear their little feet hitting the ground. Just another fabulous day in the life of a birder. 

This is an abbreviated sequence of events. 
First the tail goes up. 

The body flattens out

The wings are extended.

Depending where another male is, he may charge the male, or just twirl where he stands. 

Sometimes small supremacy fights ensue. 

They seem to tire quickly, then they hunker down beak to beak and put out a lot of trash talk. 

Quite a bit of chasing and twirling is involved in the process. So much fun to watch, especially when you can hear all the drumming and stomping. Incredible. 

1 April 2016 - Something to Grouse About

What a day I had! It started at 4:45 am, which is way too early for me, not to mention I left the house before having enough coffee. But my destination for the day was to drive up the canyon and find the Greater Sage Grouse performing their courtship displays. This was a first for me: I hadn't seen a Greater Sage Grouse before, much less their displays. 

There were about 80, maybe more, birds gathered together and competing for the females. This involves a lot of strutting. The tail feathers are fanned out. They inflate and deflate their yellow throat sacs which creates a distinctive popping sound. The feathers on the chest form a big white ruff. The males also have a bright gold eyebrow. Pretty fancy. 

The hard part about this is they do most of their strutting stuff before the sun comes up. After the sun comes up they all fade into the sage brush and disappear. Thus the getting up really early part. 

But I can't even begin to tell you how much fun this was. What follows will be too many photos of Sage Grouse. When I arrived at the grouses' parade grounds it was 27 degrees. The ground and vegetation was covered with frost. Chilly and dark!

Here a couple of hens are checking out the dance. 

The hens blend in with the sage brush, but they are out there in large numbers watching the males. 

Yep, I'm an April Fool for birds.