My family hiked, camped, and canoed. When we saw things we didn't know, we looked them up. My mother's backpack was heavy with field guides. Wildflowers, insects, reptiles, mammals, and of course, birds. At home, the most used book was the dictionary. I'd kind of forgotten about this. It was just the way we were. And as a kid, I thought this was what everyone did.
Maybe on reflection, it isn't so much about how I grew up as how I am now. I like to see new things. I like to know things, and I love to take pictures. It is all of a piece of a larger love for what an incredible world we have.
This week, while I was out looking for birds I found all sorts of other fun stuff. I love the surprises. This really large beaver was in a river just minutes away from downtown Salt Lake.
A couple of days later I was up in northern Utah chasing a short-eared owl. While I was delighted to find it, I had a conversation with a DNR guy who told me about nearby yellow-bellied marmots, and how the area has three different kinds of rabbits. Hmm. How could I resist that kind of information? A really nice hike ensued and I was rewarded with the marmots and two of the three rabbits.
Marmots live in large colonies in rock slides. Each colony has a patriarch, and based on the size of this guy, he is it.
It sends everyone scurrying for cover. The marmot on duty was quite a bit smaller than the big guy.
Much of the fun of finding anything: rodent, bird, mammal, whatever--is how you find it. We have black-tailed jackrabbits. Here is how I often first spot them. You've got to admit that is pretty darned cute.
It is surprising how easy it is for the eye to pass right over something interesting. Sometimes you first see an unusual rock formation. . .then the brain kicks in. This is a desert cottontail. Much smaller in both ears and size than the jackrabbit.
I think a lot of the fun in looking for things is the serendipity of seeing special behavior. March is a great time to be out looking, even if the wind is cold and conditions aren't great. Right now there are so many mating and courtship rituals going on, that I can hardly stay home for want of looking.
Grebes have a wonderful ritual that involves complicated head bobbing, charging, spitting water at each other, then culminates in dancing across the lake. I saw some of this at dusk. The grebes were far away and in bad light, but you can get the idea here.
First they yak at each other.
He throws some water around.
She reciprocates.
Then they dance across the water.
Sandhill cranes are courting as well. They have wonderful dances where they bow, flutter all their feathers and leap into the air. This pair did not do the full dance, seemed like they were just practicing several of the moves.
Nesting has started. Some great-horned owls are already on their nests.
Hawks court by flying really close to each with their feet hanging down. Sometimes they will lock talons and free fall.
I was watching a red-tailed hawk yesterday. He was trying to present a female with a lovely stick. She was not impressed at all. He would land beside her with the stick in his beak. When that didn't work he tried carrying it to her with his feet.
You just never know what you will find. It is a wondrous experience just to get out and look. And it varies from the sublime, such as this magnificent coyote
to the ridiculous, like these interesting bright yellow flies on a buffalo pie. I don't know what they are yet, but I'm working on it.
So, after a bit of research all I can say is, well, duh. I should have known right away. Dung flies. Also known as Golden Dung Flies. Turns out the female likes very fresh patties because it is easier to lay eggs in them. As the pattie gets older a crust forms on the dung pile and makes it very hard for her to lay eggs.
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