early Spring at Grand Tetons

When I arrived Jackson Lake was frozen.  In the past few days significant melting has taken place.  The lake is not completely ice-free, but the cove at Signal Mountain Lodge has finally melted.  I saw a Common Loon, and a pair of Common Mergansers yesterday in front of the lodge.  Aspen trees are still winter dormant, they don't believe Spring has arrived.  Early blooming Sage Buttercups are flowering at Lupine Meadows.  Spring Beauty flowers are not far behind.
     The celebrity bears are showing at roadside meadows during the day and on some evenings.  Grizzly # 399 raises her cubs in the forest and meadows north of Jackson Lake Lodge.  Tonight they were out foraging for roots and digging for insects.  The 2 cubs are yearlings, having survived their first year in the Park.  Strong backlighting from the sun made focusing a challenge.  This is maximum zoom on the camera.   2 Rangers were present to make sure that everyone stayed a safe distance away from the bears. 



The bears went into the forest leaving the group of photographers and visitors without a subject of interest, until a pair of Mountain Bluebirds came by.  The male perched on top of a pine tree to watch all the people in his territory.

Yesterday morning and this morning the clear lake waters showed spectacular reflections.

Mt Moran is on the right, with Mt. Woodring  and Rockchuck Peak.

Grand Teton is on the left with Symmetry Spires,  Mt St John, and Rockchuck Peak.

2 beautiful mornings in a row.

April and on to Wyoming

The long windy winter is over.  Hooray for Spring !   I returned to Texas to pick up my truck at my friend's house and started south.  High Island is southeast of Houston and is well known to birders as a good place to see migrating birds in the Spring.  I camped 2 nights at an RV park across the street from the entrance to the bird sanctuary.  Unfortunately,  warblers, vireos, orioles, buntings, and their friends were not visiting High Island in large numbers this Spring.  I saw a few birds, but not like this place can be on a Spring day.
    Further south on Bolivar Peninsula, shorebirds were gathering in large noisy groups.  I saw 7 species of Terns, Black Skimmers, Gulls, Ruddy Turnstones, Marbled Godwits, and more.  The following day, at a different location, I saw another Tern species (species # 8).  It did surprise me that many of the Terns, Dunlins, Plovers are not yet in breeding plumage. 
    Then it was time to find the big highway.  I had originally planned to go north thru Oklahoma, Kansas, and Nebraska, before turning west toward Wyoming.  Big wildfires in Oklahoma, a snowstorm and unsettled weather in Kansas and Nebraska caused me to re-think my route.  I headed west on highway 10 across Texas, and into New Mexico.


Photos of Roseate Spoonbills from a rookery on land owned by Houston Audubon as part of their network of Bird Sanctuaries.  Great Egrets already had little chicks in the nests.  Photo to the right could be titled "Mixed Company."   Black Skimmers, Royal Terns, Laughing Gulls standing on a beach together.

Transitions

Colorado is over,  Hooray !!  I am so glad to be away from that place.  Management was horrible, condescending, double standards against certain employees, and more.  We spent most of the work shift standing around waiting.  I would have 3 or 4 phone calls, maybe 2 check-ins, maybe not.  The younger employees watched videos on social media and talked among themselves.  I can't stare at the screen for that long.  Why so few guests ?   Snow conditions are just not so good.  It's plenty cold, but there is not enough moisture for large snowfalls. 
     Recently someone said to me,  "Copper Mt used to be such a good family place, now its so uppity."      I could not agree more.  Why do ski resorts need to be so pretentious ?

     I have had a few interviews at Texas State Parks.  We will see what happens there.

December

The big excitement in mid-December was the Grand Prix Snowboard championships.  Riders who did well in this qualifying event have a good chance of being selected for the Olympics, coming up in February.  I could not see the competitors well enough to take any photos.  The Half-pipe course started much further up the slope.  Big Air is a new event for the Olympics, and it was exciting to watch.  The rider comes down the slope, gaining speed, then launches UP a steep slope and does several flips and twists before landing.  I could see the landing area quite well.

     I have wondered (for quite some time) how they learn those flips and maneuvers without being injured.  Now I know.  Next door to the Lodging office is a training facility for skiing and snowboarding.  The kids start on a trampoline and later progress to wooden slopes using a snowboard on wheels.  They land in a pit of foam blocks until the  "trick"  is perfected.   Similar to how gymnasts learn their high-flying moves.

There will be a door decorating contest with Christmas themes.  In my casual walking around I have not seen any decorated doors yet.  This building used to be a Club Med property and is not set up in a standard manner.  Labyrinthine halls, sudden short hallways lead to dead ends, and sometimes past an elevator that travels to the 5th floor of this 7th floor building.  Maybe it will be posted where to find the decorated doors.

I walked the path between the creek and the buildings one afternoon, and found one Mountain Chickadee.  The large 3 and 4 story dark brown buildings where most of the guest rooms are, looked old, almost medieval, from that angle.  In reality these buildings are about 30 years old, trying to look like something they are not.

Top photo taken from Lake Dillon looking south.   Photo of 2 Ring-necked Ducks taken at Silverthorne's  Water Treatment facility.

Copper Mt with snow

A few photos to post.   Big machines making snow on the ski slopes in the early morning.








Natural snow from a storm on Friday night.  The skiers were happy to have fresh new snow on a Saturday morning.

Sparrow has landed

Since the season has ended at Grand Tetons, I have spent most of my time in Utah.  A few days birding at Great Salt Lake revealed that this is too early for most of the winter ducks to have arrived.  Thousands of Coots, and Shovelers, Ruddy Ducks and Eared Grebes, and many Avocets.  I love Avocets.  A photo from a few years ago.
     I spent a week in Moab, in the SE corner of Utah.  Fall is very pleasant and colorful in Moab. Yellow Cottonwoods, red sandstone cliffs, and blue skies reflected in the Colorado River.  2 photos from previous trips  in the area.  I also visited Hovenweep NP, a collection of  ancient structures built by the Puebloan people about 1200 AD (or CE).   I drove a loop thru Colorado and Denver to take care of a few errands.  Great Sand Dunes NP was a fun place to visit for the morning.  90 % of the park is undeveloped for preservation of the unusual landscape and habitats.  Visitors are allowed to hike on the dunes in the 10 % of the publicly accessible park.

By Monday of this week I had been accepted at Copper Mountain Ski resort for this winter.  I will be working with the guests who come to stay in the ritzy townhouses and condos.  Copper Mt is located one hour west of Denver on hwy 70, near Silverthorne. 

Season's ending

After several days of inventory and counting, we closed the Gift Shop on Friday, cleaned our rooms, and departed for various locations across the country.  Co-workers went to Pennsylvania, Illinois, Michigan, Oregon, Texas and more.  
    Photos taken by co-worker, David, of me counting stuffed animals.  41 Raccoons and 26 Black Bears.

I drove into Utah to do some birding at Bear River National Wildlife Refuge.  I was horrified to see so many people out hunting ducks in the refuge with guns, boats, and wearing waders.  This is supposed to be a REFUGE for ducks to rest and eat and be peaceful.
     After one night in the area, I drove south to Moab.  Its a laid-back small city in the middle of canyon country.   Arches NP and Canyonlands NP are nearby, as are many miles of mountain bike trails.  The hostel is cozy, convenient, and cheap.  I have done a few morning hikes while doing computer work in the afternoon.