I recently went to the Valle de Oro to see if any white-fronted geese were there for the winter. It was pretty quiet on the refuge though.  It was a beautiful day and Scarlett and I wanted to go hiking.  I hadn’t taken her out for a couple weeks because I had been so sick.

While driving the far back road on the refuge I noticed a parking area next to the irrigation ditch that runs along the river. It was parking for a new reclamation project to ensure the health of the bosque.

Looked like a good place to explore so Scarlett and I headed out. Next to the parking area was a pasture with horses grazing. As my friend Valerie knows…I love photographing horses! 😉

I couldn’t resist this beautiful fella!

As soon as we entered the cover of cottonwood trees there were birds everywhere! I love that!

They were difficult to photograph as they were determined to hide in the grasses or up in the canopy. But I managed to get a few pics.

Scarlett was having a blast. She was running big circles around me up and down the trail. She had lots of puppy energy to burn. I did manage to get a nice photo of her when she sat briefly.

While walking along the irrigation ditch I kept interrupting a Red-Tailed Hawk trying to sun himself. He would see me and fly ahead to land and sun again. But I would keep disturbing his attempts. Finally he flew further away. I managed to catch a pic in flight before he was gone for good.

I saw lots of woodpeckers but they were difficult to capture on film. But I managed to get a great pic of a Downy.

After a nice hike I drove back through the refuge. Still no white-fronted geese but lots of other birds. The meadowlarks were busy feeding in the grasses. They can just disappear on the ground…even with that bright yellow front.

I decided to stop by the duck ponds on my way home to see what might be around.

I was rewarded with quite a few waterfowl on the water.

I was very entertained by a Canvasback bathing.

It was a wonderful morning to heal my body, mind and soul.