Sunday, March 6, 2011

More from Patagonia

Often while hiking through Patagonia Sonoita Creek Preserve we come across deer -- usually Coues Whitetail Deer (a subspecies of the White Tail Deer). The Coues is pronounced "cows" named after the ornithologist and surgeon Elliot Coues, whose book "Fur-Bearing Animals" 1877 was (is) a classic on the identification and description of mammals. As we were hiking this time, we saw a Coues down by the Creek. Once she saw us she headed up the embankment on the other side. I suspected that she would return and positioned myself further down the creek. She not only came back to the creek but started following the creek toward me. Finally at about 25 feet she noticed me. After a minute or so of staring at each other she decided to walk the other direction -- still in the creek.

Female Coues White Tail Deer

On the way back from Patagonia, we go through the Wine Country town of Sonoita. Fields of grass surround Sonoita and make for wonderful Pronghorn terrain. Although more apt to see Pronghorn early or late in the day, six were very near the road mid-afternoon, a very pleasant surprise. Here are a pair of bucks:

Pronghorn males

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