•9:12 AM
We arrived in Pagosa Springs, CO last Thursday. We didn't get to sight-see much on the way up because we drove through the night. That worked out great with the kids. They slept all night while Tom and I took turns driving and sleeping.
I drove through a lot of New Mexico. As I drove, I kept noticing these long ears sticking up near the road... jack rabbits! Their unusual form and long ears never cease to amaze me every time I see them. I counted around twenty.
We stopped in Santa Fe. This is a neat city. They had lots of pigeons and house sparrows that we're accustomed to seeing back home. One of the birds that caught our eye as we headed into Colorado were the Black-Billed Magpies. These are very pretty birds. They're quite large... a little larger than the Great-Tailed Grackles in south Texas.
When you get a glimpse of their back and long tail, there is a sheen of blue in the feathers. We've noticed them on the roadsides a lot near dead animals which brought us to the conclusion that they are scavengers, but also learned from our Birds of Colorado book that we picked up, these birds also eat insects, seeds and fruit.
You can learn more about the Black-Billed Magpie here.
Another scavenger we found along the way is the Common Raven. It's hard to tell how huge these birds are. I'd say they are about the size of a chicken! In our bird book, we found that they are somewhat predatory, too! They eat small mammals along with seeds and fruit.
You can learn more about the Common Raven here.
We went for a drive yesterday and spotted this beauty! Here's a Mountain Bluebird. I don't know what it is about blue birds, but I just love to see that color on a bird. This guy is just a little bigger than a House Sparrow. Here's more about the Mountain Bluebird.
We have been studying mammals this year with our Apologia Zoology III book and our Burgess Aminal Book. We love these books and I highly recommend both of them for nature study and science. So, here are some of the mammals we've spotted...
We stopped at Home Depot yesterday so our host (Dave) could pick up some wood. He's building a shed. Anyway, while our wait, we spotted a little guy on the side of the hill leading up to the highway. We got our binoculars out and a camera. Yes, we keep these with us most of the time. They're purse items for me! :-) We realized that this was not an animal we have ever observed. We snuck up closer and closer with our camera until he ran into one of his holes and peeped out of another higher up the hill to observe us.
After a little research and a suggestion from Dave, we discovered that this cute little rodent is a Yellow-Bellied Marmot! I just love the precious little treasures of creation that the Lord provides for us! Don't you just know that He gets a thrill out of our excitement of his creations?
Marmots are part of the squirrel family. They are ground squirrels. Here's some Marmot info including pictures if you want to learn more.
We've also had the pleasure of discovering a few other mammals. We see coyotes a lot in south Texas and they're also pretty common here. But, we still love to see them. We saw a couple of them assisting the crows with a roadside kill yesterday. Dave actually pulled off the road and turned around to see if we could get a better look. He's been quite accommodating to our love of nature!
Mule Deer are common in this area. They're much larger deer than the White-Tailed Deer that we're used to seeing. They're stalky with larger ears and they have more white markings than the White-Tail.
Finally, Dave pointed out some Elk at a distance walking through the snow. Dave says that they love to come out when it starts snowing. He was right. We didn't see them until it was snowing out. Elk are amazingly large. We're not used to seeing large mammals in south Texas. Most of what we see are short like the brush we have.
That's all for now, nature enthusiasts. :-) We'll post more about our trip soon!
I drove through a lot of New Mexico. As I drove, I kept noticing these long ears sticking up near the road... jack rabbits! Their unusual form and long ears never cease to amaze me every time I see them. I counted around twenty.
We stopped in Santa Fe. This is a neat city. They had lots of pigeons and house sparrows that we're accustomed to seeing back home. One of the birds that caught our eye as we headed into Colorado were the Black-Billed Magpies. These are very pretty birds. They're quite large... a little larger than the Great-Tailed Grackles in south Texas.When you get a glimpse of their back and long tail, there is a sheen of blue in the feathers. We've noticed them on the roadsides a lot near dead animals which brought us to the conclusion that they are scavengers, but also learned from our Birds of Colorado book that we picked up, these birds also eat insects, seeds and fruit.
You can learn more about the Black-Billed Magpie here.
Another scavenger we found along the way is the Common Raven. It's hard to tell how huge these birds are. I'd say they are about the size of a chicken! In our bird book, we found that they are somewhat predatory, too! They eat small mammals along with seeds and fruit.You can learn more about the Common Raven here.
We went for a drive yesterday and spotted this beauty! Here's a Mountain Bluebird. I don't know what it is about blue birds, but I just love to see that color on a bird. This guy is just a little bigger than a House Sparrow. Here's more about the Mountain Bluebird. We have been studying mammals this year with our Apologia Zoology III book and our Burgess Aminal Book. We love these books and I highly recommend both of them for nature study and science. So, here are some of the mammals we've spotted...We stopped at Home Depot yesterday so our host (Dave) could pick up some wood. He's building a shed. Anyway, while our wait, we spotted a little guy on the side of the hill leading up to the highway. We got our binoculars out and a camera. Yes, we keep these with us most of the time. They're purse items for me! :-) We realized that this was not an animal we have ever observed. We snuck up closer and closer with our camera until he ran into one of his holes and peeped out of another higher up the hill to observe us.
After a little research and a suggestion from Dave, we discovered that this cute little rodent is a Yellow-Bellied Marmot! I just love the precious little treasures of creation that the Lord provides for us! Don't you just know that He gets a thrill out of our excitement of his creations?
Marmots are part of the squirrel family. They are ground squirrels. Here's some Marmot info including pictures if you want to learn more.We've also had the pleasure of discovering a few other mammals. We see coyotes a lot in south Texas and they're also pretty common here. But, we still love to see them. We saw a couple of them assisting the crows with a roadside kill yesterday. Dave actually pulled off the road and turned around to see if we could get a better look. He's been quite accommodating to our love of nature!
Mule Deer are common in this area. They're much larger deer than the White-Tailed Deer that we're used to seeing. They're stalky with larger ears and they have more white markings than the White-Tail. Finally, Dave pointed out some Elk at a distance walking through the snow. Dave says that they love to come out when it starts snowing. He was right. We didn't see them until it was snowing out. Elk are amazingly large. We're not used to seeing large mammals in south Texas. Most of what we see are short like the brush we have. That's all for now, nature enthusiasts. :-) We'll post more about our trip soon!
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