February 28 and March 1 --- The Storm And Its Aftermath

On Friday it was forecast to rain all day here in the Moapa Valley, so I stayed in and around Discovery and cleaned my cameras, binoculars and spotting scope (the last which I have yet to use on the trip) and tidied-up inside Tundra's cab.  Then I called up the Nevada Dept Of Wildlife's "wildlife education director" and discussed with her the possibility of volunteering next winter (I plan to winter once again here in the Overton area starting December 2014 or thereabouts) to do birdwalks at the Overton Wildlife Management Area or perhaps even a photography class on taking bird photos. The rain wimped-out during the day, as it usually does here in the valley, but my friend OP, who had just come back to the area after a few weeks in the Vermillion Cliffs, said it was raining "cats and dogs" where she had parked her RV on a mesa just south of here. We here in Overton finally got hit by it around 8pm, with lightning, thunder, wind and pouring rain, all of which lasted for about an hour. Discovery held up well under the onslaught...On Saturday the 1st I woke up at my customary 2AM  and did computer stuff then had a quick breakfast and as the day dawned with a partly-cloudy sky headed down the street to the wildlife area, where I saw a grain field full of Canada Geese, along with 2 Greater White-fronted Geese, a flock of wild Turkeys (I just learned that a group of domesticated turkeys is called a "rafter"), a couple males of which are seen here --

And 2 small, white geese which, upon checking my National Geographic Guide To Birds, were Ross's Geese; the one with the darkened head is probably a juvenile --

A bit later, while leaving the wildlife area, I saw a small flock of Canada Geese flying along with the 2 Ross's Geese, sort of like 2 fighter planes mixed-in with a group of bombers... ;o) Things were getting muddy on the road due to the storm, so I headed over to the Valley of Fire to check things out. And I was -- astounded. There was more standing water than I'd ever seen there, even along the sides of the main road -- 

Reflections were EVERYwhere. Clouds, water and reflections set in the Technicolor landscape of the Valley of Fire -- just amazing. 

I'd timed my short stay there perfectly, as it was beginning to cloud-up once again starting around 11am, so I headed back to the trailer, and saw a hawk on the utility line across from the silica plant south of town. I turned around and it (of course) flew into a tree on the opposite side, but I pulled off the road and in taking photos saw that it was a Red-shouldered Hawk --

My first Red-shouldered Hawk in this area!   Then I had lunch, processed the VOF photos to put into an album of my Facebook page, took a quick nap, then went back to the wildlife area. The dirt roads were gumbo-y in spots, and the fording of the Muddy River was running high -- 

so I decided to head back to Discovery and process my photos in preparation for the blog.  I was taking a few photos of the Wild Turkeys and Ross's Geese in the grain field where I'd seen them earlier that day when an uncomfortable incident occurred. While my truck was stopped in the road as I was taking photos, a guy walked up to me and said belligerently "How did you get in?" I said, not sarcastically, "By road". He replied "the main gate is closed, don't you read the signs?" Well, the main gate has been closed before, in which case I go through the unlocked gate outside of the wildlife area and enter through it that way. But this time I came in by another dirt road just off the main Moapa Valley road, where the gate was open, and I said so. "Didn't it have a "Do Not Enter" sign? No, not that I saw (though it actually did, a small, faded sign right at the open entrance which I saw when I checked afterwards.) In between our "confrontation" he just stared at me, giving me intimidating looks. "There's a turkey hunt going on; vehicles aren't allowed in." More staring. "I didn't know; there aren't any signs posted. I'll leave down at the outside entrance." He continued to stare at me as I drove away. Apparently you are allowed to WALK in, not DRIVE in. But the way he said it made me uncomfortable, so I got out of there in a hurry. I certainly hope I don't meet HIM again...But I may, as the turkey hunt will probably be going on today (Sunday), too, and my new birding friend Norm will be meeting me this morning at the wildlife area for birding there.We'll just go further south to avoid any further "trouble", perhaps the area where I saw the Vermilion Flycatcher, but the roads may be muddy, so...we'll have to play it by ear. When I got back to Discovery I checked my phone and OP had left a message, inviting up to her spot on the mesa for homemade chicken soup, so the day ended chatting with OP and having delicious soup, a great way to end another event-filled time here in SE Nevada...