Tag: Great Basin

Winter Bobcats

My trail camera sets picked up quite a few photos of Bobcats over the winter. The nice thing about the smaller cats is that they often show up during the daylight hours affording better pictures.

Checking the time stamp shows that these animals are not averse to wandering around in the middle of the day. I have sat out on some of their more traveled trails in camouflage as I would so like to capture them with my real camera. They are so beautiful! No luck so far. I’ll keep trying.

It’s always an extra bonus to get a photo of a predator with prey. The photo below shows a Bobcat with a cottontail rabbit in its mouth. This area has abundance of rabbits, both cottontails and jackrabbits. Bobcats also prey on birds, mice, voles and human’s small pets.

Lots of folks have told me that Bobcats will move out if Mountain Lions are in the area. I think the photos show that isn’t always true. The fact that the Lions seem to be primarily or possibly exclusively nocturnal may be why the smaller Bobcats are choosing to hunt during the day.

I’m most likely capturing the same Bobcat. I have no way of knowing or telling them apart. The one I’m seeing looks very healthy and well fed. Just like with the Mountain Lions I am looking forward to seeing and chronicling their summertime activities this year. Hopefully kittens will show up following mama Bobcat soon.

Desert Bighorn Sheep

Desert Bighorn’s are a conservation success story in Nevada. From a low population estimate in 1960 of 1500 to 2000 animals they are estimated to be at 12,000 as of the summer of 2023. This is the direct result of careful management by the Nevada Department of Wildlife and the hard work of sportsman and sportswoman in organizations such as the Wild Sheep Foundation and Nevada Bighorns Unlimited. In the last 4 years populations have suffered from severe drought and disease but are still at healthy levels.

I took these photos in Central Nevada last November. Desert Bighorns have become a photographic obsession for me. They are majestic animals, marvelously adapted to their harsh environment. They can go for long periods of time without water, and they thrive in the steep, rocky mountains of the high desert. They blend into their surroundings quite well with their light gray coats. Even their white rumps, which most often give them away, are easily mistaken for rocks until they move.

Lack of water sources and diseases, most often passed on to them from domestic sheep, are limiting factors in the growth of Bighorn Sheep populations. The installation of guzzlers across the Sheep’s current and former ranges have been life saving for current bands and allowed for the expansion and maintenance of Sheep. Guzzlers are water collecting and storage devices of various designs that allow large and small animals and birds to have access to water across Nevada and other arid states. These guzzlers store rainwater and snow melt in cisterns so that during the dryer part of the year there is water available for animals and birds. Some of the larger guzzlers can be filled by helicopter drops of water in dire circumstances. Most of these are installed by volunteers from several sportsman, sportswomen groups in cooperation with the Nevada Department of Wildlife. All desert life benefits.

Hunting has little impact on the population as only around 180 tags are issued each year. These are highly coveted tags as it is a once in a lifetime opportunity for most hunters. I did receive a tag for the 2023 season and harvested a beautiful mature ram. I will tell that story another time.

The Lions of Winter

For the last few years, I have set up my trail cameras in late August and collected them at the end of March. This year I’ve decided to leave them out and track animal activity all year. Usually, Mountain Lions make their first appearance in November. I’m not sure if they are around much in the summer which is one of the reasons I’ll leave the cameras out. One year I had cameras placed from July until the end of March and stopped getting pictures of Lions in February. Based on incomplete data I’ve concluded they frequent this area mostly in winter and head to higher ground in the summer. We’ll see.

I have been seeing two lions this winter. Most likely this is an adult female with one of last year’s cubs. Lions need a large territory and with the exception of mating season won’t tolerate another adult lion in their area.

Mountain Lions main prey are deer. There are lots of deer in this area, but I have not found any kills. In the mountains immediately above, there is a healthy population of Desert Bighorn Sheep. Bighorn Sheep are also favorite prey for Lions. I wonder if that is what they are hunting primarily? I may hike up there later this spring and look for evidence.

I hope to see kittens this year following this large healthy lion sometime soon.

Mountain Lion

Right on cue, after a bobcat appearance, a lion shows itself. I thought if I saw one this would be the camera that picked one up. It is on a well-traveled route to water. The deer and horses are frequently using this trail so why not a lion? It’s a rocky route without low weeds and brush so the lion is highlighted quite well. Unfortunately, again these photos are at night so not the great photo quality. Still, it is nice to see that they are out there keeping the wild places wild. Thie appears to be a young lion. It looks on the smaller side. I hope to see it again but not in person!

Sparrows

This time of year, White-crowned sparrows return to the lowlands of the southwest in large numbers. They spend the summers in the northern boreal forests and the higher mountain ranges. Their reappearance is a harbinger of colder temps as fall and winter arrive. They are a welcome site in the sagebrush steppe as a lot of the other birds have fled to warmer climes. Often, they can be found in the same areas as Rufous-crowned sparrows foraging for seeds. I enjoy photographing both species as they have a distinctive and attractive appearance.

White-Crowned Sparrows

Rufous-crowned sparrow

Common Yellowthroats

Female Yellowthroat with Dragonfly

I was fortunate to find a nesting pair of Yellowthroats earlier this summer. They were busy feeding their young ones and the number of dragonflies that were consumed was staggering!

Male Yellowthroat

The males are more colorful with a bandit like mask of black across the eyes. More dragonflies in his beak for the nestlings.

Feeding Interaction between the Couple

I was happy to capture this interaction between the male and female while they were feeding their young.

Old Stage Stop in Central Nevada

I’ve been spending a lot of time this summer in the center of the state as I have a cow elk tag and a mule deer buck tag in units that are in that area. I have been combining scouting with site seeing and have ticked off some places I have wanted to visit and explore for a long time.

One of those places is an old stage stop located in a remote canyon down a very dusty road. At times I had to four wheel drive it to get through the powdery dust that was as deep and treacherous as a snowfall.

Stage Stop Cabin

So this had to have been built before the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad in 1869. It has to be at least 155 years old. It is still in great condition due to the solid rock construction. It sports a dirt floor and elaborate chimney. It would be pretty tight quarters. I rode in one of those authentic stagecoaches up in Virginia City a few summers ago. Very uncomfortable ride! I can’t imagine bumping along all day in one of those and then “resting” here!

There was an old stone corral as well but it was hard to photograph. I also took photos of some wild horses, golden eagle and a cooperative Western Meadowlark.

Western Meadowlark
Wild Grullo Mare and Foal
Golden Eagle

Spring in the Great Basin

First day of Spring!

Even though our world is anything but routine right now, nature’s rhythms continue to turn on the rotation of our planet.   The northern desert is awakening from it’s winter slumber. Tiny flowers poke through our most recent snow and animals follow their inner clocks and begin their spring activities. For larger mammals it is nearing time for females to give birth. For birds, courtship and nesting are about to jump into full swing. In the high desert, on healthy sage brush steppes, the Sage Grouse have begun their ancient courtship ritual of Lekking.

Male Sage Grouse Courtship Display

lekking

[ˈlekiNG]

NOUN

  1. the practice by males in certain species of birds and mammals of engaging in a communal display during the breeding season on a patch of ground known as a lek.

“from 5,000 to 50,000 males may congregate during lekking”

ADJECTIVE

  1. (of males in certain species of birds and mammals) engaging in a communal display during the breeding season on a patch of ground known as a lek.

“in comparison to other lekking animals, the great snipe show very little sexual dimorphism”

Male Sage Grouse

Weather permitting, I try to visit several Leks in northern Nevada and California in the Spring. It has become a Spring time ritual for me observe and photograph these amazing courtship displays. It takes some dedication as the dirt roads can be iffy with mud and snow. Couple that with needing to be at the Lek well before it gets light in often 20 degree or less temperatures, it isn’t for everyone.

Sage Grouse start lekking the end of February and will continue until the first week in May. They meet on the Lek where the males dance and strut for several hours before the sun comes up.  About an hour after sun up, they all fly off. The responsible observer gets there well before they do and hides in a blind or stays quiet in the vehicle until the birds have left. Disturbing them may cause them to abandon the lek forever. Many of these leks have been in use for thousands of years.  

Pronghorn frequently visit the Leks

That Moment When You Realize You are a Bit Different.

I was at a cocktail party/gathering last night and was chatting with folks about my camping trip this week in the desert. The discussion turned to photography and how I had got the nice coyote shots. Without thinking I started telling about finding a dead mule deer, most likely a mountain lion kill, and dragging the carcass to a better spot in good light and hunkering down in the sagebrush to take photos of what ever showed up to eat it. I was thinking Golden Eagle as I had scared one off the deer when hiking up the canyon but this coyote showed up and I snapped away. I then realized I had lost everyone at the dragging the carcass part.

I never stopped to think that my behavior is out of the norm but the expressions on folks faces kind of told me that it is. I have to smile I guess.

Thank goodness I have people in my life who put up with my weird behavior for the sake of a photo.

This year I have started venturing further off the beaten track in search of wild places and wilder animals. I am working on overcoming a lifelong fear of the dark and have been camping out alone. So far so good but I do wish the little critters would not make so much noise at night trying to get into my food. My imagination runs a bit at 2:00 AM.

On this trip I visited Upper High Rock Canyon. Added a new bird to my life list with this Long-eared Owl. I couldn’t get a better shot of it as it was in thick trees but it was a thrill to see one. The coyote, I have mentioned. It got pretty close before the camera shutter sound scared it off. Isn’t amazing how well they blend in to their surroundings?