Back to the lower elevation forests.

steep, this trail-----
one more reason to stop often
and notice how beautiful    -     rosemerry wahtola trommer

The descent from Ice Lakes.

 Ancient rock.

 Into the lower basin.

 High elevation resident, a female Pine Grosbeak, 9/6.

Fireweed and Osha after first frost.

Ice Lakes Basin hike, Colorado.

 In the upper basin, tundra wildflower heaven.

 White-tailed Ptarmigan feather.

 Arctic gentian.

View down to the lakes.

A quick trip to Ice Lakes Basin, near Silverton, Colorado, Sept. 5-7, 2017.

 The hike in 9/6.

 Peaks above the Ice Lakes Basin.

 The steep ascent from the lower basin to the upper basin.

Clear Lake!

Sage Thrasher

I almost forgot the Sage Thrasher, an elevation migrant. They breed in the Sage brush flats but move up into the Pinon/Juniper belt, for the winter. A great songster and neighbor.

And from the Birds of North America, Cornell Lab of Ornithology:
Originally called the Mountain Mockingbird, the Sage Thrasher was first collected for science by John Kirk Townsend from the sagebrush plains along Sandy Creek near South Pass in southwestern Wyoming in 1834. In a coup exemplifying the competitive spirit of exploration and species discovery in the early 1800s, John J. Audubon managed to obtain the original specimen while Townsend was still afield and introduced the species to the scientific community (Mearns and Mearns 1992a). In an effort to salvage credit for his friend, Thomas Nuttall wrote the original description of the species and published it under Townsend's name (Townsend 1837, Mearns and Mearns 1992a).

More September birds at home.

 One of the resident Screech owls came calling 9/3.

 A family of 4-5 Screech owls appeared each night at sunset for about a week.

 A Blue-gray gnatcatcher, 9/4.

 A White-breasted nuthtch, 9/4.

The tiny Bewick's wren, also sings in September, 9/4.

Birds at 2 Peaks, September migrants.

Male Broad-tailed hummer, 9/1. Close to the last male I saw this year. After this I only saw females.

 Female Wilson's warbler, 9/2.

 Male Townsend's warbler, 9/3. One of my favorites.

Female Yellow-rumped warbler, 9/3.

Return to Capilla Peak, Manzano Mtns. Hawkwatch Site, Sept. 2017

 Juvenile Cooper's Hawk, 9/20.

 Abert's squirrel, Capilla Peak.

 Banded female Cooper's Hawk ready for release, 9/20.

 Migrating Osprey passes overhead, 9/20.

Steller's Jay, Capilla Pk., 9/20

Birds at Bitter Lake NWR, September 2017

 Great egrets hunting, 9/19.

 Snowy egrets and White-faced ibis feeding, 9/19.

 Greater Yellowlegs, 9/19.

Osprey, alarm calling as another osprey flies by, 9/19.

Southeast New Mexico. September 2017.

 Juv. Western Black-necked garter snake at Sitting Bull Falls S. P., 9/19.

 Hunting in the algae.

 Bitter Lake NWR, near Roswell NM.

White pelicans and ducks, Bitter Lake NWR, 9/19.

Scorpion, snake, Sitting Bull Falls, and Bottomless Lakes, SE New Mexico, Sptember 2017.

 Found under my ground cloth when I woke up! 9/19.

 Mountain patch-nosed snake at Sitting Bull Falls, 9/19.

 Sitting Bull Falls, another beautiful desert oasis.

And a great swimming hole, Bottomless Lakes State Park.