Wildlife Of The Wild Horse Ranges

Last weekend, we were back at Piceance Creek/East Douglas for a quick trip to see the horses. While there, we met up with new friend and fellow wild horse lover, Rachel Reeves (she is too much fun – thanks for joining us Rachel!). Not far into the HMA, we came upon some horses and got out to photograph.

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Bachelor stallions

Hi Rachel! 🙂

While we were out, I kept hearing screams – youngster screams. After the bachelors moved off, I tried to determine where the calls were coming from. And then I spotted them. I asked Rachel if she was game for photographing something other than horses for a minute and of course, she was.

This was a good location for these baby red-tailed hawks. I couldn’t safely climb up from any angle.

Aren’t they amazing? Momma hawk buzzed us a few times, so we didn’t stay long, but finding these guys made me think about some of the other wildlife Tom and I have seen while in search of the wild horses. So, I thought I’d share some of those images with you just for fun. The ranges have so much to offer and the variety of wildlife is part of the appeal. I don’t know exactly what all of these creatures are, so I will give only location if I’m not certain and maybe some of you can fill in the blanks.

In no particular order and certainly not fully representative of what’s out there. 🙂

Close enough to the Piceance Creek HMA to include, a family of bald eagles.

The little eaglet calls out to its parents

Pryor Mountain HMA in Montana

Handheld image taken with a long lens very early morning - so not crystal clear - of a black bear. Pryor Mountains, MT

Lucky dragonfly - Big Horn Canyon - Pryor Mountains, MT

Toad. Not sure what kind. Big Horn Canyon, Pryor Mtns, MT

Turkey vulture - Big Horn Canyon, Pryor Mtns., MT

Horned lark - McCullough Peaks HMA near Cody, WY

Desert cottontail - McCullough Peaks HMA, WY

Pronghorn - Green Mtn HMA, Wyoming

Sage grouse - Green Mtn HMA, WY

Elk - White Mountain HMA near Rock Springs, WY

Meadowlark - White Mountain HMA, WY

Killdeer - Salt Wells HMA, WY

Badger - Salt Wells HMA, WY

Pronghorn - Salt Wells HMA, WY

Mule deer - Adobe Town HMA, WY

I have no idea what these little guys are (Meadow lark?), but they were so well camouflaged that I almost stepped on them! McCullough Peaks HMA, WY

Baby birds - McCullough Peaks HMA, WY

MacGillvray’s warbler - Piceance Creek/East Douglas HMA, CO

Bull snake - McCullough Peaks HMA, WY

Chipmunk - Chippy. They're all chippies to me. 🙂 Red Desert , WY

Bluebird - Fifteen Mile HMA, WY

Grasshopper - Red Desert, WY

Coyote - Fifteen Mile HMA, WY

Dragonfly - Piceance Creek/East Douglas HMA, CO

Duck - Piceance Creek/East Douglas HMA, CO

Shackleford Banks, Outer Banks, NC

A little bird hitchhiking on the back of a Banker pony (which they are sometimes called). Shackleford Banks, Outer Banks, NC

Shackleford Banks, Outer Banks, NC

Shackleford Banks, Outer Banks, NC

Chippy - Piceance Creek/East Douglas HMA, CO

Lizard - Piceance Creek/East Douglas HMA, CO

Horned toad - McCullough Peaks HMA, WY

Corolla, Outer Banks, NC

Corolla - Outer Banks, NC

North Carolina deer - Corolla, Outer Banks, NC

Corolla, Outer Banks, NC

Geese - Corolla, Outer Banks, NC

Carrot Island - Outer Banks, NC

I have no idea what kind of bird, but they sang beautifully and had a mud nest close to the red-tailed hawks. Piceance Creek/East Douglas HMA, CO

At the entrance to the mud nest. Piceance Creek HMA, CO

Proximity of the mud nest to the hawk's nest - Piceance Creek/East Douglas HMA, CO

Location and view of the mud nest. Coyotes were yipping in the valley while I took these pictures. Very eerie since their voices echoed all around me.

Brewer's Blackbird - Fifteen Mile HMA, WY

Some kind of ground squirrel - Piceance Creek/East Douglas HMA, CO

Jerusalem cricket - Salt Wells HMA, WY.

Burrowing owl - Sand Wash Basin HMA, CO

Robins bathing - Pryor Mtn HMA, MT

Golden eagle - Adobe Town HMA, WY

Red-tailed hawk - Adobe Town HMA, WY

Bighorn ram - Little Book Cliffs HMA, CO

Northern Shrike - Fifteen Mile HMA, WY

Rattlesnake - Sand Wash Basin HMA, CO

Prairie falcon - Dishpan Butte HMA, WY

Solitary sandpiper - Great Divide Basin HMA, WY

Marmot - Pryor Mtn HMA, MT

Jackrabbit - McCullough Peaks HMA, WY

Cottontail - Sand Wash Basin HMA, CO

Pronghorn babies - McCullough Peaks HMA, WY

While I love and admire all the wildlife, the only reason I have any of these photos to share with you is because I went out specifically to see the wild horses. They are the main attraction. They are my passion, my inspiration and they are what draws me out to these remote and remarkable locations.

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Photo Of The Week – 3/30/11

A colorful band of bachelor stallions from the Dishpan Butte HMA in Wyoming.

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Photo Of The Week – 02/09/11

A small family band from the Dishpan Butte HMA, Wyoming. (The gray is the stallion).

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Photo Of The Week – 12/1/10

Wild band stallion from the Dishpan Butte HMA in Wyoming.

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Dishpan Butte Wild Horses

Backtracking a bit to September (after the roundup). When we left the Pryor’s, we decided to head towards a herd area we’d never been to before – part of the North Lander Complex in Wyoming. I had heard a roundup was going to be conducted there, so I hoped to see the horses before that occurred.

Upon entering the Dishpan Butte HMA, we came upon this band. The first wild horses I’ve seen with blankets. I was pretty excited…and they were pretty nervous.

After the spotted band of horses left, Tom and I drove around for quite a while. We didn’t see any more horses, so we went across the highway to another HMA; Conant Creek (or it could’ve possibly been Rock Creek Mountain). Over there, we never saw a single horse (and very little sign), but we did come across many cattle and the usual range wildlife of sage grouse and antelope.

We hadn’t made it in too far when we were stopped by a very muddy creek that looked like it could swallow up the Jeep, so we turned around and went back to Dishpan Butte. Our luck improved by late afternoon.

Mare and foal

They moved so beautifully and effortlessly through the sagebrush

The stallion in the group

The entire family

Again, these horses were nervous and did not hang around

The grey stallion and his mare

The mare and foal from a more comfortable distance for them

I walked a ways and finally spotted horses over a hill. They were a little less uneasy with me and as I got closer, I realized why. It was a small group of bachelor stallions. The bachelors are always easier to approach and usually less cautious. Most of the time, they’re very curious. I really enjoy spending time with the bachelor bands.

A curious bachelor band

The grey boy is trying to catch my scent, but the breeze is not in his favor

They're distracted by something off in the distance

They start to move off

What is it that they see?

Aha, it's the grey band stallion. Apparently, he thinks these bachelors are a bit too close to his family and is on a mission to chase them away

They start to leave and the grey band stallion calls off the chase

But, like I mentioned, the bachelors are curious and as soon as the grey stallion was out of sight, they stopped and started towards me again. Love these guys.

My Halloween photo from a previous post - the grey stallion is spooked by something in the sagebrush

We finally say our good-byes to each other

I am always grateful that the horses allow me these glimpses into their lives. It’s such a privilege.

On our way back, on the same 2-track we’d come in on, we came upon a scene that had unfolded while I’d been off taking pictures. Wildlife drama. A prairie falcon had just killed a sage grouse.

We decided to call it a night and find a place to camp. We headed down the highway until we found a forest service road. We took a little 2-track road off the main dirt road until it dead-ended at a fenceline. We were shocked to find a perfect little parking pad at the end of the road in the middle of no where. No where. Well Tom, he was pretty happy about the find as it meant it would be a lot easier to level the Jeep (for sleeping without a head rush) and unload the gear onto a cleaner surface. It felt like “cheating” to me. We were supposed to be roughing it, but I suppose we’d been directed to this slab of concrete for a purpose. So there we were, somewhere in rugged, remote Wyoming, watching the day come to a colorful close…on a parking lot.

The next morning, we loaded up (Tom was right – with the exception of some moths that moved in overnight, our gear stayed really clean) and drove back to Dishpan Butte.

The spotted band had moved back to the area where we had first found them. I felt bad that they appeared so troubled by my presence. I stayed way back and stood very still hoping they’d relax a little.

Running to regroup with the rest of the band

They trot off to find a place devoid of humans

The next family of horses I spotted made me work for their photos. They were a long ways off, but it was early, I was still fresh and willing to make the effort.

The band stallion

This was a very nervous bunch too

This mare had quite a mane

I didn’t want to push these guys, so I hiked back to the Jeep and we continued to drive through the herd area in search of more horses.

Out of the corner of my eye (I’m blessed with wonderful peripheral vision) I caught a glimpse of something white in the distance between hills. Tom saw nothing, but I convinced him to try to find a 2-track that went west where I think I’ve seen something. He locates a road and we’re on it for a while before I start to doubt that I saw anything. We both decide to go over “one more hill” before turning around. And there they were, just over that next hill. A large group of mostly white (grey) horses. Even I wondered how I managed to see these guys. Cool!

They must have felt threatened in the valley where we spotted them and they head towards more open ground

Some colored horses in the group too

They have to pass by me to get to open ground - I leave them plenty of room in hopes they won't just keep running

All the pretty horses - never seen so many greys in one band together

They settle briefly to look at me

But they're taking no chances and off they go

Tom and I were at Dishpan Butte for almost 2 full days. We counted just over 30 horses. I began to wonder about the timing of the roundup. Had it already taken place? It would sure explain the low count and just how uneasy the horses were. When we got home, I e-mailed the Lander BLM office and got my answer. The gather had taken place in July.

“We gathered 1053 horses and removed 804 from the 4 (four) different HMA’s. We returned 245 horses to the various HMA’s in which they were rounded up. We returned 50 horses to the Dishpan Butte HMA and missed 10-20 horses in the roundup..so there is probably 60 – 70 horses in the Dishpan Butte HMA.”

The North Lander Complex is approximately 375,000 acres for the small number of wild horses that are left. Heartbreaking. What I failed to ask, and what the BLM range specialist failed to mention when I e-mailed was the number of fatalities that occurred during this roundup. I was extremely saddened by the staggering number of horses taken off the ranges, but devastated to learn that 17 horses died and 7 of those were foals (the full story can be read HERE). I just can’t understand the continued annihilation of the herds. When will it stop? When will people become so enraged that they come together to do something to save our wonderous herds of wild horses? I choose to think that most people are just unaware – if they fully understood what the mustangs were going through, surely they’d be much more proactive.

Through these posts and photographs, that is the story I’m trying to tell, along with so many other wild horse advocates. Please, share, share and share our information with whoever will listen…before it’s too late.

(Wild Horse News, Information and Links)