Rabbit Valley (Arizona 2025, Part 10)

After driving north through Arizona and Utah, I arrived at the Rabbit Valley Campgrounds near the western edge of Colorado. The area was extremely quiet. I saw maybe four sites occupied throughout the area I drove and hiked. I figured my chances for a good night's sleep were okay. I set up my tent and walked around a bit. It was a beautiful area. I saw lots of pronghorns--I think the first wild ones for me!

When it started getting dark, I headed back to my campsite and settled in for an early bedtime. I slept for a few hours right away but woke up sometime around midnight. In hindsight, I'm glad I did, because I was able to record some audio of a Common Poorwill (lifer!) and also get a nice look of the night.

After that, I wouldn't sleep much. A single Northern Mockingbird perched in a nearby tree seemed determined to keep me up as it sang the night away, rarely stopping its impressive repertoire. I laid in my sleeping bag until the tent began to glow with the first rays of sun, at which point I dressed and hit the trails around the campground.

I walked about 90 minutes and recorded a mostly modest checklist which included a few firsts of the trip (Mountain Bluebird, Bewick's Wren, Horned Lark) and a lifer! Until just now, I actually thought I had two lifers, but a closer look at the bird I first pegged as my first Pinyon Jay was actually the aforementioned bluebird. But the other lifer held up under scrutiny.

My first ever Prairie Falcon swooped past and away before I could get a decent shot