I visited Springerville, Arizona for a high school reunion. I had some free time so I went on a hike on a trail built and maintained by the Arizona Wildlife Department along the Little Colorado River as part of the Becker Wildlife Area. I saw lots of birds who were too active and in too much cover for me to get photographs.
I did capture this fuzzy photo of what might be a swallow of some sort. I got it posted on iNaturalist and they are pretty good about figuring out what the various critters are. Update! The consensus from iNaturalist is that this is a Northern Rough Winged Swallow.
There was some private land adjacent to the trail. I got this far off shot of what might a longhorn cow. It was in a pasture with some angus cows.
This section of the Little Colorado River is managed for trout fishing and they have done a lot of work to stabilize the banks. Here is a weir put up to divert some of the water for irrigation. Downstream of the weir was a deep pool and it seemed a very popular spot for trout fishing.
The river also has several beaver dams so there are pools above the dams and running water below.
Our family lived in this area back in the late 60’s early 70’s. My brother and I liked to go fishing in the river upstream of this area. We didn’t catch any fish but the ice cold water felt good on our feet on hot summer days.
They didn’t have these cool riverside trails and bridges back then.
The trail out and back was only about a mile long but it was an enjoyable walk. A fellow hiker I encountered said that a rattlesnake was seen on the part of the trail I was headed towards. I thanked him for the information and went on my way. This part of Arizona is thick with rattlesnakes. We saw several on our property when we lived here and my brother and I felt duty bound to kill them all. I leave all snakes alone now. This is where they live and they have their role in nature. Anyway, I didn’t see it. I’m sure it saw me!
I’m linking up with Saturday’s Critters.
You have such beautiful spots in which to hike. I’m a bit jealous (even if the hiking aspect of it might often be out of my reach physically, anyway.)
Hello,
It does look like a nice trail, pretty views of the river and bridge.
Your bird does look like a swallow, maybe a juvenile.
Cool shot of the Longhorn.
Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend. Thank you for leaving me a comment.
It is a beautiful place to hike and fun to go back. We have lots of tall grass here and have to be aware of snakes. I love the pretty swallow! Great photos of the river!
I looked at a map. My youngest son and his family are in Flagstaff this week. We all love that part of the country.
Looks like a nice hike. I have no memories of that river at all. I do remember the rattlesnakes there though and recall you and Bob stoning one to death out by the pond. I can’t believe Mom and Dad had no worries about all the time I spent roaming around our pasture.
Beautiful captures all!
Linda vaquita y lindo pajarito. Te mando un beso.
The pretty swallow is delightful! The photos of the river are fantastic, and the trail looks quite pleasant.
…water certainly makes a huge difference!
Nice looking trail. Great shots of the bird and bull. The bull’s horns are pretty impressive. Have a wonderful Sunday.
Great nature walk with you with your wonderful photos ~ all are great ~ partial to the cow and bridge shots ~
Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,
A ShutterBug Explores,
aka (A Creative Harbor)
What a beautiful place to spend some time! I love the bird and beautiful cow, and the water.
hm, it is a strange thing with swallows, I always recognise them from ths shape of their heads. 🙂