Monday had been wonderful for scenery but poor for birds. On Tuesday we headed for Kolob Canyons, a part of Zion NP that is supposed to be rich in both scenery and birds.
We started off by walking a trail by a creek near the foot of the main canyon.
Apart from a Western Wood-Pewee and some Mountain Chickadees, we didn't see any birds on the trail. However, we had a beautiful walk.
On the drive up the to the higher reaches of the canyon, the views were spectacular.
Near the top the road ended and we set off on a ridge walk to lookout point.
From the lookout point we could see the Pine Valley Wilderness off to the west.
At the latter ground squirrels were drinking from water that had collected in holes in the rock.
Birds were again very scarce: All we saw were several White-throated Swifts and a couple of Western Scrub-Jays.
We drove down in a rainstorm, which really brought out the colors of the vegetation and the rocks.
Leaving Kolob Canyons behind, we drove to Cedar City, where we were going to spend the next five days with family in a cabin perched at 7500 feet on a mountainside overlooking the city.
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2 comments:
Stunning scenery Jeff, pity the birding wasnt complimentry to the walk.
Wonderful images throughout!
I'm always surprised by how much harder birding is in the mountains than down here around Houston.
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