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This stallion is from the White Mountain HMA near Rock Springs, WY. I applied a little bit of texture and adjustment layers, etc. – creative license. πŸ™‚

Photos are for viewing purposes only. Most images are available online at: http://www.NickolesPhotography.com. Images by Pam Nickoles Photography, along with all site content are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. Photos and/or text may not be used, downloaded or reproduced in any form without express written permission from Pam Nickoles Photography. Feel free to share, but please respect my copyright.

El Mariachi is from White Mountain - this mare shares his coloring...

On our way home from vacation, we stopped by the Rock Springs, WY holding facility to view the Mustangs from the recent White Mountain/Little Colorado roundup. I didn’t have the opportunity to take photos from anywhere but the public viewing area so many of the horses can’t even be seen, but I’ve posted an album of some that are available. It’s my hope that folks will share this album which may result in a home for at least one of these beautiful horses.

The link to the Facebook album is: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.2092842237525.2103286.1139356307&l=32b7abf0ab&type=1

Thank you!

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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.

Click on the images for larger/sharper views

Bachelor stallions

Hi Rachel! πŸ™‚

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. πŸ™‚

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. πŸ™‚ 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.

Photos are for viewing purposes only. Images by Pam Nickoles Photography, along with all site content are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. Photos and/or text may not be used, downloaded or reproduced in any form without express written permission from Pam Nickoles Photography. Feel free to share, but please respect my copyright.

The β€œEmail Subscription” link automatically alerts you to new posts. Stay updated and subscribe today!

Wild horse prints, DVDs, totes, cards, apparel and more: www.NickolesPhotography.com

Click on the image for a larger/sharper view

Sand Wash Basin HMA near Craig, Colorado. The wild horses are the jewels in our western landscapes…

Please help our wild ones – oppose the precedent-setting decision for the Little Colorado and White Mountain HMAs to geld all stallions and make this Mustang population “non-reproducing.” Click on the link below to learn more and act: http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/6931/t/0/blastContent.jsp?email_blast_KEY=1168526

Thank you!

Photos are for viewing purposes only. Images by Pam Nickoles Photography, along with all site content are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. Photos and/or text may not be used, downloaded or reproduced in any form without express written permission from Pam Nickoles Photography. Feel free to share, but please respect my copyright.

The β€œEmail Subscription” link automatically alerts you to new posts. Stay updated and subscribe today!

Wild horse prints, DVDs, totes, cards, apparel and more: www.NickolesPhotography.com


Click on the image for a larger/sharper view

An adorable Mustang colt from the White Mountain HMA in Wyoming. If the current Record of Decision stands for the White Mountain and Little Colorado HMA’s, seeing young ones like this on these ranges will be all but a memory.

The BLM has chosen Alternative D. Spay the mares and geld the stallions to create non-producing wild horse herds. I just can’t wrap my head around it. And doing it in the field?! Beyond dangerous and inhumane. Please share the information, make the calls and send the e-mails. This is truly a disastrous plan for our wild ones.

The BLM’s Record of Decision from the Rock Springs, Wyoming field office regarding the White Mountain and Little Colorado HMA’s can be read here:

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/information/NEPA/rsfodocs/whitemtn-wind/rev-ea.Par.54148.File.dat/DR.pdf

Details and contact information (courtesy of Carol Walker) to voice your concerns and/or attend the planned meeting (a statewide hearing on the use of helicopters and motorized vehicles in the management of wild horses on June 21 at 5:30 at the BLM office in Rock Springs):

http://www.blm.gov/wy/st/en/info/news_room/2011/may/18hdd-helicopter.html

Wyoming State Wild Horse Specialist Amy Ruhs, 307-352-0375,

Rock Springs Wild Horse Specialist Jay D’Ewart, 307-352-0331

High Desert District Manager: John Ruhs, 307-352-0256

Wyoming State Director: Don Simpson, 307-775-6256.

And don’t forget about your elected officials! Let them hear from you as well. Contact information below:

https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

The Environmental Assessment (EA) can be read in its entirety here:

http://www.blm.gov/pgdata/etc/medialib/blm/wy/information/NEPA/rsfodocs/whitemtn_littlecolo.Par.10791.File.dat/2011_ea.pdf

Photos are for viewing purposes only. Images by Pam Nickoles Photography, along with all site content are copyright protected and owned solely by Pam Nickoles Photography. Photos and/or text may not be used, downloaded or reproduced in any form without express written permission from Pam Nickoles Photography. Feel free to share the story via the link, but please respect my copyright.

The β€œEmail Subscription” link automatically alerts you to new posts. Stay updated and subscribe today!

Wild horse prints, DVDs, totes, cards, apparel and more: www.NickolesPhotography.com

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