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Friday, June 17, 2011

Sweetwater Wetlands Morning in June

This morning I had Sweetwater Wetlands all to myself.  It's probably  hot enough now to keep most birdwatchers away. 


At first there wasn't much going on. Lizards rustled in dry  leaves,  mostly Whiptails darting around but also Zebra Tails and Desert Spiny males that are getting very territorial at this time of the year. 


Blue Dashers were involved in a never ending game of musical chairs around their perches. What makes one Cat-tail blade so much more desirable than another?


Young Round-tailed Ground Squirrels were playing close to their burrow's entrance and digging out shallow holes to cool their bellies. A Towee was scratching under a huge willow. 


 Suddenly a shrill whistle from the squirrels and right in front of me a larger shape appeared in the dappled light.


I hadn't seen him coming, but he was only about ten meters from me in the middle of the path: a bobcat. He checked me out for a moment, decided that I was harmless, and kept coming. When he passed me, he was not even six feet away. A little scrawny looking, and panting from the heat....The squirrels were sitting at a save distance, watching like statues.


Please, check out all of the Sweetwater critters in this video. The bobcat makes his appearance towards the end! 



A Cooper's Hawk was patiently waiting for me to leave. Definitely a day with lots of predator sightings. I hope the little squirrels stayed alert and careful.

 

9 comments:

  1. That bobcat is awesome! I also like how the little ground squirrel in your video makes a little depression in the dirt and lays in it. So cute :)

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  2. My grandfather had a stuffed bobcat from the days when he was a cowboy. As a little girl, I was terrified and fascinated by it. The lizards have such good camouflage. Your pictures are wonderful and I especially enjoyed the video.

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  3. I love your pics!!!!
    http://www.only1kind.blogspot.com

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  4. It's so nice entrance. Thanks. I really like this blog, could I put a link in my blog to your blog? It's very interesting :)

    www.barcelonatodo.com

    Greetings!

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  5. Great shots! Always something interesting to see at Sweetwater.

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  6. Awsome! Such a treat to have a bobcat walk so close .... and what facinating ground squirrel behavior. I've seen bears dig a hole in the snow to cool off, but haven't been fortunate to see the squirrel behavior.

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  7. Beautiful pictures. I once lived in Arizona many years ago and I miss the scenery and the wildlife.

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  8. We had a Cooper's Hawk at our house last week. They are so enjoyable to watch.

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