arrival

It was nice to find the animals on the ditch acting as they were predicted, including the humans

This muskrat finally appeared in the clear ditch. They seem much more active as the temperatures rise and the duckweed starts growing.

I would expect that the songdogs would be very interested in muskrat migrations which could explain why this young coyote is out in plain daylight between a horse and a dog walker and looking befuddled

Food looks like the main motivation for most animal behaviours, but I suspect that is really a human centric view. For ducks, being in a flock seems to be primarily important. Notice how there is always one (usually male) guard watching while the others dabble.

The cranes still look very uncomfortable in the heat  and are in the shade as often as they can be. Bird behaviours can be fascinating.

This large red tailed hawk is looking very serious. It is likely watching the cranes closely.

She is on a bough next to this very spiffy looking nest, but I don't know if she is connected to it, many raptor nests are reused each year, added to by each pair that uses it.

This little male coopers hawk (look closely you can see the stripes on the long, thin tail) is a little nervous about being in proximity of the female red tail, he called out continously from a conspicious perch before hunting in this territory, announcing his presence.

Coopers prefer doves, so these little bluebirds were not too worried, but they were keeping an eye out anyway from the denser branches

Many of the trees a coopers prefers are the tall open canopies of mature trees. Unfortunately the base of most of those trees shows the rot that is going to eventually topple the towers of wood. However, these large trunks are excellent habitat for an entire ecosystem of insects and associated animals.

These mature stands are not accidental, but a result of a land management strategy put in place by humans by canalizing the water into ditches and acequias and minimizing the growing places for the new trees. We live in a managed park essentially. This picture shows the fishermen lining up their cars. Now the water is ice free, there is a short window for trout fishing before the water temperatures becomes too hot. Already there is a strong uptick in debris and abandoned fishing line in the area.