Wildlife & Related

[00tec]

Walking stick or stick bug.

See 'em in Texas frequently

[Bailey Guns]

Yeah... I axed the Google. Pretty cool little creature.

[Hummer]

A few shots while enjoying Palisade Peach Margaritas last evening in the hummingbird meadow. An immature Broad-tailed Hummingbird is working the flowers and feeding from Rocky Mountain Penstemmon.

[Hummer]

Here's a few more images from where we're still feeding more than 8000 hummingbirds daily. While southbound migrant Calliope Hummingbird numbers have been lower than expected this year east of the Continental Divide, we watched an immature male Calliope jockeying for a spot at the feeder.

The Calliope Hummingbird is the smallest bird in the U.S. and Canada, breeding in the mountains west from the Yellowstone area. They are like a miniature version of the Broad-tailed Hummingbird but about an inch shorter in total length and the adult males have a streaked magenta gorget. Calliopes generally weigh 2.1-3.2 grams compared to Broad-tailed at 3.4-4.5 grams. Calliopes are in the same genus as Broad-tailed, Rufous and Allen's, and they share characteristics.






Compare this picture of the Broad-tailed on the left to the Calliope on the right. The Calliope has a very short bill and a very short tail that is shorter than the folded wings when it's perched. Notice that the Broad-tailed has a tail that extends beyond the folded wing.






Calliopes also have a somewhat pot-bellied appearance. Check out this adult male.

[Bailey Guns]

Wow! That is so colorful, Hummer.

[ChickNorris]

Bug. Don't know what kind. He was between 5 and 6 inches long. I thought it was dead grass from when I trimmed around my shop. I thought the wrong end was the head until he moved.


Thought the top end was his head:
Attachment 87103

Nope...head was at the bottom:
Attachment 87104

One of my favorite critters. Thanks.

[Irving]

I like his lanyard attachment.

[Hummer]

Took some young California cousins to see their first moose, then came home for a picnic dinner of deer and moose steak fajitas.

[Bailey Guns]

THAT... is a big boy right there! Could ask for a better "first moose" experience.

[TRnCO]

this morning out back visitor.
IMG_0193 by Tim Richard, on Flickr