Chukars and cottontails

© 2011 Lydia Hinshaw

Chukars:  Which way shall we go?

Cottontail has it made in the shade

 TONOPAH, NV -- We have landed here for a couple of days of R&R at the home of my brother and sister-in-law.  Food is great here and the beds are comfortable, plus we do not wake up in a van in 33 degree temperatures as we did Wednesday and Thursday nights in the Yosemite High Country.

 Monday we'll begin a nearly two-week junket across the country, visiting a series of relatives who have invited us to stay a day or two before we head back to Florida.

 This weekend I've spent stalking the ever-present and ever-entertaining chukars who hang out here.  Chukars were imported to this country from Europe and Asia to provide another sort of entertainment for hunters.  The chukars of my acquaintance have learned that no one will fire guns at them in town.

 Trying to photograph them is a frustrating business.  Chukars can fly, but prefer power-walking.  Their feet are a blur as they hasten to avoid me, chattering softly to each other as they flee.  Rumor has it that they arrive each day at the next-door neighbors' in time to frolic in the sprinklers.   But the neighbors and their dog have been out in their yard enjoying the beautiful weather, which apparently has discouraged the birds from spending much time there.

 I shot these two through a window as they walked along the wall between the two houses.

 This year they seem to have made some new friends in the local rabbit population.  I've observed rabbits among the chukars a couple of times, but never close enough to get a picture.  I did find this big-eared fellow escaping the bright sunlight Sunday morning.