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Small button-size flowers |
Got an early start on a trek that lasted far longer than I intended; I ended up bushwhacking through an area of the desert that I like very much. What prompted me to go further were javelina tracks I found in a distant arroyo, so I did some climbing over nearby hills to see if I could discover a herd of the peccaries where I'd seen them before. No luck.
I did luck out, though, while I was heading back along an old deer trail on an east/west ridge. I was looking north, but when I turned to survey the area to the south I saw what, at first, I took to be a Red-tailed Hawk. It was perched on a Torrey Yucca saber, and nearer to me than I'd ever been to a raptor: less than 25 feet away. It stayed put for quite some time while I took photos. It wasn't until I got home and inspected those images that I realized they were of an immature Cooper's Hawk, probably one explanation why it wasn't compelled to leave when I showed up. Most Redtails would have taken off earlier.
Back near the road my buddy Jimmy called out to me; he was headed up, but kindly backtracked so we could palaver a bit before going our separate ways. So today's outing was a good, long hike in the northern Chihuahuan Desert.
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Pretty sure he can't see me |
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The "New Trail" |
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The old single-track down the mountain's west side |
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West of Tortugas |
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About to enter a large arroyo west of the mountain |
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This and the next 2: Ladder-backed Woodpecker |
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Wide arroyo |
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Big old Torrey Yucca |
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Healthy and prolific Hedgehog Cactus |
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The long view |
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Closer in |
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Dancing yucca |
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This and the next: Soaptree Yuccas west of the mountain |
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Sea of Ocotillos |
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This and the next 5: juvenile Cooper's Hawk |
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Notice the tail bands |
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A look at the way I just came |
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This and the next: male House Finch |
1 comment:
I'm glad you had a good hike, Packrat. Really striking photos of the Ladder-Back Woodpecker and the Cooper's Hawk.
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