Faranuf From The Madding Crowd: Adventures Living In The Chiricahua Mtns And On The Road: November 8 -- A Hike Up Valley of Fire's North Fork Wash

Birds, butterflies, lizards, and redrock scenery -- it just doesn't get any better. AND a few mysteries in the bargain -- but I'm ahead of myself. After doing laundry at the RV park here in Overton where I'm staying the next 3 months, I head out to the Valley of Fire State Park for a day hike. I'm not quite sure where I'll be going -- then I cross the North Fork Wash on the main road through the park and say "YES!" I take along my usual hiking gear of fanny pack, binoculars, the Canon 40D and 17-55 f/2.8 IS lens for landscapes, and the Canon 7D and 500 f/4 for any wildlife -- and telephoto scenics, which I find does come in handy...The weather around 9:30 is warm with very little wind, and with the sun at my back I head up the wash, sandy so it's more of a trudge than a walk. Here's the beginning of the walk, with the signature redrock of the Valley of Fire --

As I proceed up the wash it narrows, and there is an amazing amount of greenery everywhere, and flowering plants. THIS is November? Apparently all that rain that was dumped on the Moapa Valley, and that washed-out Interstate 15 in late September, hit this area, too. The cottonwoods -- this wash is the only place in the VOF that has cottonwoods -- are still a fairly-lush green --

Plants in bloom...amazing. At one of the cottonwoods I see my first birds -- a Chipping Sparrow --

and an Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warbler --

These bird images show why I carry the heavy 500 f/4 lens with me on my hikes; you just can't get the same image quality out of a smaller lens. Well worth the weight, I say... Further on up the wash I hear the "mewing" of Gnatcatchers, and see 2 Black-taileds --

One of them even sings for me...A little further up, in the mesquite, I hear my first Phainopepla, but before I take a photo of one, I see what looks to be a flycatcher of the Empid genus on a branch above the mesquite --

It's fuzzy, and I don't know why..Frustrating, as this turns out to be what I believe to be (with the help of my friend and naturalist Ali Sheehey) a Gray Flycatcher -- long bill, long tail, with the tail in a downward "bobbing" position; Grays are the only Empids that bob their tail up and down. As there was no wind at the time, this one's tail is not in a natural, "at rest" position. (I later submit the finding to E-bird, through my BirdsEye Birdlog app on my iPad Mini; it's "uncommon" for that area.) Alas, the Empid is only up for a few seconds, then dives into the mesquite, not to reappear. But a little further up the wash, I get my first good look at a beautiful male Phainopepla --

The name "Phainopepla" comes from the Greek for "shiny robe" -- and this fellow's sheen is brilliant in the morning sun, set off by the redrock background. I then see my first lizard of the day -- a Side-blotched lizard, a denizen of the North American deserts; his coloring and patterns help to keep him camouflage him from any predators --

I come across another Side-blotched lizard a little later --

Brilliant color scheme to match its surroundings, don't you think? I also come across my first butterfly, a Monarch that is a bit tattered --

I look behind me, and the scenery is classic redrock --

There are "holes in the rock" all along the route, but most of them are in the distance, so I use my 500 f/4 to "bring 'em in" --

There are various points in the wash where rocks create an impediment; you have to go around on the sides. Here's one such, which I found out has a surprise --

See that oval-shaped hole in the bottom of the photo? I take a look through it, and see --

A beautiful water hole, with the water about 6 inches deep. There are small arches on the wash --

Green plants are everywhere in the wash; here's one healthy specimen, with an arch in the background --

And more, as my hike continues up the wash --

There are 2 more butterflies, attracted by the flowering plants and shrubs --

I finally stop to have lunch in a narrows area --

All along the way I've been noticing animal tracks; I recognize some of them -- Greater Roadrunner, Desert Bighorn Sheep --

And when I start walking back, I see something half-buried in the sand. I dig it out -- and it's a bighorn sheep horn --

What happened HERE? In that same area I also see animal droppings, mixed with a lot of hair --

One of the many fascinating mysteries you can encounter here...Here's another, some kind of bugs coming out of a pod --

I spy another hole in the rock way off the wash. Here's a photo of it taken with the 17-55 lens --

And this is it looking thru the 500 f/4 lens --

There are a lot of jet contrails in the sky today; I see a jet above me, and take a photo of a Big Bird with the Big Boy...

Here are some more contrails; I like the way they are almost at the same angle as the redrock --

As I near the area of cottonwoods I see a Loggerhead Shrike; perhaps a coincidence, but I saw a Shrike at the exact same location -- and took photos -- a few years back. The same bird? Possibly...