The Desert Delivers: Claws, Fangs, Flora, and Talons

A birding trip to the West Desert of Utah County this past Saturday was already a success before we found the bird we were seeking. My friend Eric P and I were attempting to locate some Short-eared Owls when we came upon an American Badger that was returning to its den after a night of wandering the desert. Birds and photography prompt our adventures, but we always have our eyes and ears alert for the discovery of the secretive and fascinating mammals and reptiles that also live in the habitats we explore. Saturday's adventure included the badger, a Great Basin Rattlesnake, a beautiful Blazing Star flower, some owls, and a variety of hawks that were learning to fly, hunting, and launching from the tops of power poles.

The sun was still below the horizon when we caught our first glimpse of the badger. It stopped in its path momentarily and stared at us before continuing its stroll toward one of the entrances to a den. We started our observation from within my Tacoma, but we eventually ended up sitting on the high ground above and across from the badger. We watched as it went in and out of the den several times. It went in with a clean muzzle and came out with a dirty one.

American Badger in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

American Badger in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

American Badger in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

American Badger in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

The Short-eared Owls eluded us for quite some time during the early morning hours, but we persisted in our efforts to locate them. Eric and I decided to spend some time on foot so we could venture from the dirt road and course the desert grass which was dotted with sagebrush and other low-profile vegetation. I mentioned to Eric that it was a bit surprising that we'd never accidentally stepped on a rattlesnake during the many forays we'd made into perfect rattlesnake territory . Eric agreed and we continued our search for the owls. I noticed and became briefly distracted from the owl hunt by the beautiful yellow blossoms of Smoothstem Blazing Stars. The yellow blossoms were a bright touch of color to the otherwise dull landscape. The Blazing Star is appropriately named with its five yellow petals and burst of numerous stamens. These blossoms open at dusk and remain open until the morning hours when they close for the day.  They are capable of self pollinating when pollinators are unavailable, but the plant I observed was being pollinated by a honey bee.

Smoothstem Blazing Star in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

The bee landed on and clung to several of the stamens as they slowly gave in to the weight of its body. The pollen grains building up on the sides of the bee's hind legs are visible in the image below. These clumps of pollen are sometimes referred to as pollen baskets. Some of the pollen grains will fall from the basket and be transferred to the stigma of flowers to enable the pollination process. I rejoined Eric in the owl search after wrapping up my brief fascination with the Blazing Star and the Honey Bee.

Honey Bee on Smoothstem Blazing Star in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

A decision to check one unlikely location ended up flushing our first Short-eared Owl. Soon we discovered a second owl. We knew that approaching them in the truck (essentially a mobile blind) was better than on foot, but the owls ended up moving farther from the road. We began another search on foot and put some space between us to better cover the ground. We hadn't gone far when Eric happened upon a Great Basin Rattlesnake that was sunning itself. The snake began to take cover in a sagebrush as I made my way toward Eric's location, but I was able to see the tail end of the snake as it slithered beneath a sagebrush. We didn't have a snake hook with us so we improvised by extending one leg of a tripod I retrieved from the truck. We pulled the snake from beneath the sagebrush to allow brief (and safe) examination and photography. The snake turned out to be about three feet long with a diameter of about two inches.

Great Basin Rattlesnake in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

Great Basin Rattlesnake in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

Great Basin Rattlesnake in the West Desert of Utah County, UT

We made another brief effort to track down some Short-eared Owls after spending time with the rattlesnake before deciding to turn our focus toward the hawks in the desert. We had seen a family of Swainson's Hawks where the dirt road connected to the highway so we made our way in that direction. The family of hawks was still there when we arrived at the location so we captured a few images of the parents and juveniles. One of the parents was a light-morph showing the typical dark bib on the chest and the white under wing coverts contrasting with darker flight feathers. 

Adult Light-morph Swainson's Hawk Above the West Desert of Utah County, UT

The juvenile captured in flight below appears to be an intermediate or dark-morph. The markings on the chest would be fewer for a light morph and possibly heavier for a dark morph.

Juvenile Intermediate-morph Swainson's Hawk Above the West Desert of Utah County, UT

After getting back on the highway and beginning our ride home we came across a Red-tailed Hawk perched on a power line. It reminded me of finding a Swainson's Hawk perched on a wire several months earlier. I'm not sure why, but I had never really noticed large hawks perching on wires before. Saturday we saw both a Red-tailed and a Swainson's Hawk perched on wires before getting home Saturday. The Red-tailed Hawk below chose the wire over the top of the pole.

Red-tailed Hawk Near Fairfield, UT

A second Red-tailed Hawk was perched in a more common position on the top of a pole. We pulled over to photograph the hawk and captured several images just as it launched from its perch.

Red-tailed Hawk Near Fairfield, UT

Red-tailed Hawk Near Fairfield, UT

Red-tailed Hawk Near Fairfield, UT

Yet another Red-tailed Hawk launched from it's perch as we pulled over to observe it momentarily.

Red-tailed Hawk Near Fairfield, UT

Red-tailed Hawk Near Fairfield, UT

Just as we arrived at the edge of town we discovered yet another family of Swainson's Hawks. Both parents and at least two juveniles were present. One of the juveniles flew from and returned to a perch on a power line.

Juvenile Intermediate-morph Swainson's Hawk in Lehi, UT

We had just one more stop to make on our way home. I had tentatively planned to drop by and check on a Swainson's Hawk nest site I had been watching for the past couple of months. I knew that the single chick from the nest had recently fledged so I was curious to see how it was doing. The image below is from a previous visit to the nest site. It was windy that day so mom and dad were leaning into the wind to maintain their perches. Dad is an intermediate morph (on the left) and mom is a less common dark morph. Dad is showing the gray cheeks often displayed by adult males.

Adult Intermediate-morph Male (left) and Dark-morph Female Swainson's Hawks in Lehi, UT

The image below was captured when the single chick was covered primarily in white downy feathers. It was a very curious bird when I observed it for the first time.

Swainson's Hawk Chick in Nest in Lehi, UT

The nest appeared to have been used beyond its capacity when we arrived Saturday. I think the chick had tromped around it so much that it had no choice but to branch out and then fledge.

Remains of a Swainson's Hawk Nest in Lehi, UT

The young bird was perched on a power line about thirty feet from the vacated nest. Mom was still present, but dad was absent during our brief visit. I was impressed by the transition that had taken place between the time I saw the fluffy white chick and the juvenile hawk we observed Saturday morning. 

Recently Fledged Swainson's Hawk in Lehi, UT

Mom did a few flyovers and gave some calls to alert her youngster to our presence. She was such a beautiful dark-morph. Very few that I've seen are as dark, nearly black, as this mother hawk.  

Dark-morph Swainson's Hawk in Lehi, UT

Dark-morph Swainson's Hawk in Lehi, UT

It was approaching 11 AM and Eric and I both had other commitments to keep. We acknowledged we'd had a great morning and made our way home. I can't wait to see what we discover during our next tag team adventure in Utah's amazing outdoors.