Muleshoe Ranch is in the Galiuro Mountains of Southeast Arizona and jointly owned by the Bureau of Land Management (US Guv), The Nature Conservancy, and a private co-operative. For the last ten years it has been one of my favorite places to visit. As the crow flies it is about 25 miles from us. However, because the Rincon and Catalina Mountain ranges, and the San Pedro River are between us and Muleshoe --- and, because I can't fly, it's a 90 mile trip by car. 2 hours door to door (30 miles of which is a dirt road).
Over the years, I have photographed the following at Muleshoe: coatimundi, bobcat, pronghorn, coyote, javelina, mule deer, white tail deer, black tail jackrabbit, antelope jackrabbit, hognose skunk, striped skunk, gila monster, cooper's hawk, black tail hawk, zone tail hawk, gray hawk, and a too many butterflies and other birds to list.
Yesterday I went again hoping to find coatimundi. Although I found lots of tracks of coatimundi I was unsuccessful in finding one. But, as often is the case, the wilderness did NOT let me down. It often presents something unexpected. While I would have loved to have seen a mountain lion, bighorn sheep, or black bear that are also in the Galiuros, I was VERY pleasantly surprise to find a Long Eared Owl. So, today it is the Long Eared Owl. Although found throughout the Northern Hemisphere, it is endangered in many areas. (It prefers dense woodland forests which are in decline). Here then is the best of my Long Eared Owl photos from yesterday:
 |
| Long Eared Owl |
No comments:
Post a Comment