Crow Valley to Sheridan, WY
This morning when I woke up the weather was very
pleasant. The temperature was 45 degrees
but with no wind it felt quite mild as I took Dulce out for her morning
walk. It was overcast but no rain and it
was not long until the clouds were burned off and there was bright
sunshine. I birded around the campground
for about an hour. Last night before I
went in I heard a Boreal Owl calling not too far out from where I was
camped. I tried to entice him closer by
playing a tape but I was not successful.
In the campground the morning chorus was very loud. I noticed Cassin’s Kingbirds calling, saw
both a Spotted and Green-tailed Towhee, Swainson’s Thrushes, Brown Thrasher,
American Robins everywhere, a Dusky Flycatcher, many grackles and blackbirds
and a surprising Bullock’s Oriole. All
of these before I left for a drive through the grasslands. By 8 I was on my
way. The road we traveled on the TOS
Chicken Run tour was very muddy from the recent rains. I followed a grader for a short distance but
soon passed him. This road surprisingly
is heavily traveled by large oilfield trucks carrying out oil and water from
the many production sites along the road.
I was treated to a never ending supply of male Lark Buntings displaying
everywhere and they are beautiful (check Jim Hailey Nature Photography for
pictures) as well as an unbelievable number of Horned Larks. What I failed to find this time was the
longspurs we had seen just 3 weeks ago.
They must already be nesting and not displaying. It was 50 miles round trip and I was back in
camp and ready to pull out by 10:00. It
is but a short drive from here to Wyoming and I stopped in Cheyenne to fill up
with fuel. Wyoming is a great example of
the short grass prairies of the Great Plains with long rolling hills some mesas
and after the community of Wheatland you can see the Rockies that are between
Highway 25 and Yellowstone in the distance.
Around noon I pulled into the Ghugwater Rest Area for lunch. In the small number of pine trees planted
here I observed a mixed flock of American Goldfinch, Pine Siskins, and Chipping
Sparrow all of whom were feed on dandelions that had gone to seed. No doubt that the breeding plumage male
American Goldfinch is a very handsome bird (see pictures at Jim Hailey Nature
Photography). While looking at these
birds I met another birder from Victoria, BC who was on her way south to a
Wyoming campground. We exchanged information. Today the drive was 386 miles and I reached
Sheridan, WY where I camped in a local park provide for people in transit. After setting up I headed to Rib & Chop
House, a steak house I had eaten at several years before. This time I was disappointed in the
meal. I remembered it as one of the best
steak houses I had ever eaten at, but this time it didn’t impress. Then back to the campground and a good
night’s rest for the journey tomorrow.
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