The little side trip to the Denver area is now behind us. It was great getting a chance to get together with family, some of whom I have not seen for a long time. There were 4 generations present this past weekend with a 5th "in the oven".
My 4-legged friend have I escaped the snow (maybe only temporary, however) and are now in Utah where the plan is to spend the next several days at Capitol Reef National Park. After that we'll be planting ourselves at Bryce Canyon National Park where I will be volunteering 4 days each week (and shooting the rest, naturally) until the end of September. Surrounded by incredible scenery and several different types of habitat, the opportunities here should be boundless. I'm pretty excited about the prospects with over 75 bird species I've never seen and over 200 total. Not to mention the mammals, reptiles, insects, and wildflowers. And with less time spent on the road, we can work on some other important projects (well, in truth, Roxie either watches or sleeps while I do all the work).
Speaking of birds, on Interstate 70 just west of the CO/UT border is a warning sign (yellow diamond) that says "EAGLES ON ROAD". I noticed it when I was through here last October and just assumed that it referred to Golden Eagles since I wouldn't normally look for Bald Eagles out in the desert. At least not before today anyway. We had spent the night in Grand Junction, Colorado and about 20 miles into Utah spotted a Bald Eagle soaring just north of the highway. Cannot imagine what it was looking for in that location (high desert), but then it wasn't terribly far from where the Colorado River turns south toward Arizona and it may be certainly possible that it fishes there (though I suppose rabbits or other furry creatures of the desert might also be in the diet).
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