May 11, 2010

Wetlands in the Desert

Ouray National Wildlife Refuge is on the Green River near an historic Ute Indian community called Ouray, named after a respected Ute leader.
Expansive wetlands were noted here back in 1869 when John Wesley Powell floated down the Green River and explored the area.
Now the refuge is managed as a series of diked ponds that are flooded artificially in spring to provide wetlands for migratory birds.  The Green River has been dammed upstream at Flaming Gorge Reservoir and the area no longer floods naturally.
Desert grasslands and sage, populated by antelope, deer, prairie dogs, and jackrabbits, (and sometimes elk in the winter) surround the refuge marshes.  To the north, you can see the snow-covered Uintas, rising to over 13,000 feet.
In the marshes, waterfowl are abundant.
On a recent walk, we saw Great Blue Heron,
long-billed curlew,

flocks of these little birds, which I think are Wilson's phalarope, and numerous geese and ducks.In my next post, we'll stroll under the big old cottonwoods that grow along the river and see what we can find there.
Many thanks to those who checked on my blog and emailed while we were gone.  We're not quite back in the saddle, literally, but we will be soon.
It's good to be home!

20 comments:

  1. Janie! You're back!! I'm so glad.

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  2. What beautiful pictures, Janie. It is beautiful country out there.

    Have a lovely week.
    TTFN ~ Hugs, Marydon

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  3. Very glad to hear of you!! Look forward to seeing next post.

    thanks sharing beautiful photos!!

    Have a nice day!

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  4. So glad to see you back Janie. The Ouray is beautiful. But would be even better if it weren't for the damn dam. Look forward to more of your adventures in Utah.

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  5. I'm glad you are back! I was just thinking about e-mailing you today!

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  6. Beautiful! It's great to see you come out of hibernation!

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  7. Welcome back Janie. Your pictures are gorgeous.

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  8. Beautiful post. Glad to see you're back. You've been missed!

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  9. Helllooo Janey! Welcome back! I've missed you and sure am glad to see you. Lovely post - wetlands always deliver incredible birdlife, don't they. We need to PRESERVE them. How are you?

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  10. Looks like a great place. I love the shot with the Uintahs in the background.

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  11. Good to see you're back - more or less! Wetlands in the desert - that's a sort of oxymoron:-)Lovely photos - I look forward to seeing more.

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  12. The desert wetlands are so beautiful! You have lots of wild open spaces in Utah. Great shots!

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  13. Well hello there blogger buddy! I like that first picture and also the one of the birds swooping low over the water. Quite the variety of birds.

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  14. Welcome back, Janie.... I have missed you. I always love hearing about life in Utah... What a gorgeous area. Love your photos and explanations.

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  15. That looks a beautiful place and full of life. Welcome back!

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  16. I'm so glad you are home--looking forward to reading about your adventures

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  17. Glad to see you are back. The wetlands are beautiful, as are the mountains in the background.

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  18. Glad to have you back. It is alwasy exciting to see a fovorite blogger back after a hiatus.

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  19. Gotta love that first picture. Welcome back! :-)

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  20. I was wondering about you, Janie - glad you're OK and back to blogging. You were missed. Great heron pics. It looks like spring there.

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