January 26 -- I Return To Mormon Mesa, And Nature Red In Tooth And Claw (Warning: Graphic Photos)

But hey, everyone has to eat, and sometimes it's not pretty... But before I witnessed the "dining incident", I went back up to Mormon Mesa, forming the east side of lower Moapa Valley, to view both it and the spectacular surrounding scenery in early morning light. As I mentioned in a previous post, Mormon Mesa was part of the route the Mormon settlers took to come to the only store in the area (hence the name Overton -- "Over To Town"). The Old Spanish Trail, which ran from New Mexico to Los Angeles, crossed the mesa, too. The thinking was the people who used the trail went the 18 miles from the Virgin River to the Muddy River in the Moapa Valley in one day -- the distance from one source of water to another. John C. Fremont, "The Pathfinder", mapped the route in the middle of the 19th century. So this place has seen a lot of history -- and the views are basically unchanged since then.

Mormon Mesa, looking north from the eastern edge of the Moapa Valley.

Looking west from the old Mormon road, the town of Overton and the Moapa Valley, with the Valley of Fire beyond.

A panorama of the lower Moapa Valley, with the towns of Overton and Logandale, and the Valley of Fire and North Muddy Mountains. Flat-topped Overton Mesa is on the left. 

From the east side of Mormon Mesa -- the road down on the right, the Virgin River Valley, and the Virgin Mountains. 

Once down at the Virgin River Valley, I wanted to take the road along the Virgin River, heading south -- but a bullet-ridden sign saying "No Trespassing" convinced me otherwise. So I settled for a sand dune...

Looking back up to the east edge of Mormon Mesa. Imagine traveling along The Old Spanish Trail, or being a Mormon pioneer, and knowing you had to climb to the top of this mesa. 

The road to the top. Rocks large enough to punch a hole in the truck -- or your head -- were on the road, having fallen from the near-vertical wall cut alongside the mesa. 

The Mormon Mesa Road leading to the Moapa Valley and Overton. 

Just north of the Moapa Valley town of Logandale (home of the Pomegranate Festival in late autumn) is Bowman Reservoir. As you can see, it has a spectacular backdrop, as do so many other places here. The reservoir can be good to see waterbirds -- gulls, grebes, ducks, cormorants, etc. And perhaps a Bald Eagle -- but not today. 

However, I did have a Close Encounter Of Another Kind...I saw a female Northern Harrier flying along the west shore of the reservoir. I looked down to the shoreline -- and saw a male Harrier. He seemed to be in the water -- and on top of something... 

It looked like it used to be a Grebe -- an ex-Grebe, it you will. And he was dining on it. He was pretty far away, but luckily I had my 500 f/4 lens with the 1.4x TC with me , so I was able to get close to the  grisly action --

This is a sequential series of shots . He was trying to balance himself on the grebe, eat it -- and not fall into the water, all at the same time...

Uh oh, it's not a good idea to try and stand on one foot...

And pull at the same time...

I watched him for at least a half hour, and took about 300 shots I mean, how often does an opportunity like this happen? He finally had his fill, and took off -- 

Wonderful. I had planned on heading up to a wildlife refuge in upper Moapa Valley, but this was MUCH better -- and quite satisfying for my day of photography. There would be no way I could top this. Like "Seinfeld"'s George Costanza, I wanted to go out on a high note.. :o)