Rock wren, Rocky Mountain Sheep, Black-throated Sparrow(20161021) Whitewater Reserve

We made our way to Palm Springs. We were able to find our AirBnB without issue and this one too was a super place to hang our hat for a couple of days. While the ladies were getting settled in Neil and I headed over to the Whitewater Reserve which is actually an oasis in the desert here. On the road in we had an opportunity to grab a couple of images of these Rocky Mountain sheep.

Laurel thinks that this is a Purple Finch. One of the Ladies in Nova Scotia is very fond of this yellow variant of the Purple.

We took one of the shorter strolls available at the Reserve. The next time we visit we will take a different "track". Maybe we will find another Towhee like this one.

This next bird was another "shoot it and figger out what it is later" for the trip and we figured out that it is a Black-throated Sparrow. This is a very harshly cropped image.

There was Sage everywhere in blossom, and along with blossoms came Bees. I wouldn't even hazard a guess on this Bee.

This wasp was also buzzing around the blossoms. If it is like home, there are 1000's of different wasp specie.

While we didn"t interupt these little red fellas I am certain that they are Fire Ants. One of the few things that I am not alergic to (should I ever get bitten).

It was just great to spot this Monarch Butterfly during our visit. It takes three generations for them to reach us up in Canada, and they are getting to be less and less common.

This next bird is a new entry in the blog and another personal "lifer" for me. I was only able to grab a couple of images of this skitish Rock Wren.

Here is a slightly different angle showing the length of the bill and the under tail striping. This bird was another pleasant surprise for me.

Next up would be a new bird if I had the identity finalized. It was great that I have bothe the front and back views in a single image, but I still haven't determined this birds ID. Suggestions would be welcomed. I am certain that this too would be a lifer and first for the blog!

It was terrific to also pick up a nicely lit shot of another Lesser Goldfinch. This is likely the best image I have of this particular bird.

Back at the Lodge we were pleased to find two large ponds which contained some very large trout, They looked to be 4-6 pounds apiece.  This cooperative American Coot was also cruising on one of the bodies of water.

We had missed a turtle that apparently was there earlier in the day, and a Roadrunner which had walked through the picnic area just minutes before we got there.  C'est la vie. On the drive home we encountered another large group of Rocky Mountain Sheep.

I am pretty certain that this fella in the middle is the dominate male and doing all the breeding in this band. I include this shot for Dan A back in Calgary.

This wrapped up our little excursion for the afternoon. A highly successful outing and one that I would really like to repeat should the opportunity present. Take some time today, and put a little "wild" in your life!
Turbo