More waterbirds from the day: Northern pintail, cinnamon and blue-winged teal, great blue heron, mallards. April 28. #wildlife #birds #nature #wetlands #idaho #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges #biodiversity

A hairy woodpecker bopping and knocking around the pollinator garden. April 28. #nature #wildlife #birds #publiclands #idaho #nationalwildliferefuges

Waterbirds reflected in the wetlands essential for their existence but also incredibly rare in the arid high desert of the Intermountain West. April 26. #wildlife #nature #birds #ecology #wetlands #idaho #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges

A ruby-crowned kinglet, one of the earlier migratory songbird species. April 26. #wildlife #birds #nature #migration #idaho #songbird #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges

A white-faced ibis enjoying some “me-time”before breeding season for this colony nesting species begins. April 22. #wildlife #birds #nature #idaho #wetlands #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges

Black-necked stilts. April 22. #nature #birds #wildlife #idaho #wetlands #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges

Happy Earth Day! Swans in front of Tetons. April 22. #nature #birds #landscapes #mountains #idaho #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges #wetlands #earthday

A Wilson’s snipe probes exposed mudflats for dinner. April 21. #wildlife #birds #nature #idaho #publiclands #wetlands

These cinnamon teal were especially obliging for a photo-op, April 21. They are one of the three teal trifecta in the area, with arguably the most dramatic breeding plumage. #wildlife #nature #birds #idaho #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges

Only ~70 trumpeter swans were known to remain in the wild when the species stood on the brink of extinction in the 1930s. During the decades of conservation that followed, it was widely assumed that wild trumpeter swans were very shy and vulnerable to disturbance. Almost a century later, this pair sits preening within thirty feet of an auto-tour. Perhaps they are not all so shy. April 18. #nature #birds #wildlife #idaho #publiclands #wetlands

Mallard drake in breeding plumage. #wildlife #birds #nature #idaho #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges

Mallards and American wigeons lift off from shallowly flooded mudflats near auto-tour. April 19. #wildlife #birds #wetlands #idaho #publiclands #nature #nationalwildliferefuges

A long-billed curlew. April 19. Is it just me or do these guys look perpetually unbalanced? They must have some incredible neck muscles. #wildlife #nature #birds #idaho #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges #biodiversity

A red-winged blackbird contributing to the wetland morning chorus. April 19. #nature #birds #idaho #publiclands #nationalwildliferefuges #wildlife #biodiversity

Shorebird migration arrives. A pair of killdeer and a greater yellowlegs. April 11. #nature #wildlife #birds #idaho #publiclands

Bald eagles. April 7. #nature #birds #wildlife #idaho #publiclands

A pair of Trumpeter swans - North America’s largest native waterfowl - feeding alongside some mallards. April 8. Trumpeter swans can live over 20 years, weigh over 25 lbs, and are the “vegetarians” of the waterfowl world making them an excellent indicator of wetland habitat condition. #birds #wildlife #nature #idaho #publiclands #ecology

Happy International Beaver Day! Celebrated annually on April 7th, dedicated to the incredible contributions of beavers to ecosystems. The day was established in 2009 by Dorothy Richards, & Beavers Wetlands & Wildlife. #nature #wildlife #ecology 🦫🧪#environment #science

Awe-inspiring western skies. April 3. #nature #landscape #idaho #publiclands

The flowers are coming! Each spring the high desert erupts in colorful blooms. In addition to being gorgeous, these native forbs are essential parts of the habitat for lots of wildlife species from bumble bees to sage thrashers to sage grouse. #nature #nativeplants #pollinators #idaho #publiclands
📷 northwest paintbrush (June 2023)
📷 cushion buckwheat, globemallow, shaggy fleabane (June 2023)
📷 pale evening primrose (June 2023)