A quick update from the 3 Creek Ranch Nature Center, and a friendly reminder that if you are here or passing through this spring, please stop by the Nature Center to say hello. Better yet, given the mild winter this year the snow is quickly coming off the valley floor and the valley hiking and biking is very pleasant...

We seem to be entering the heart of winter in Jackson, with a fresh covering of snow from intermittent flurries last week. Regardless of the season, we are always capable of seeing magnificent wildlife in and around our community...

The majestic Great blue heron can be found on 3 Creek Ranch just about any time our lakes and ponds are free of ice. I particularly enjoy watching them from the covered bridge as I arrive on those early summer mornings, the heron standing motionless in shallow water, that intensive stare, and if I wait long enough, I'm lucky to see the heron extend its neck back then strike at an unassuming prey with near-lightning speed. With several gulps, the prey is down the hatch and the process starts all over again...

Earlier this week, as I was walking along lower Spring Creek, I was delighted to watch for several minutes a small bird wading in the water. It perched on emergent rocks and then altogether disappeared under the water for what seemed like minutes-only to resurface with a nice-sized mayfly nymph in its bill...

Earlier this week, as I walked down the wooden deck toward the Nature Center, I stopped and looked out upon the Tetons cloaked in a beautiful early morning light. Standing there, I started thinking about the wonderful day hikes that many of us enjoyed this past summer season. And as I reminisced about our hikes to glorious places like Goodwin Lake, Ski Lake or Jackson Peak, I remembered the hillsides of spectacular wildflowers that left us nearly speechless, the blue skies and the wonderful conversations friends have when exploring wild places in the outdoors...

Mr. Doug Ayers, one of our distinguished 3 Creek Ranch homeowners and lifelong naturalist brought to my attention the interesting work being done in Teton Park with a unique population of bighorn sheep. And why is this population so unique to warrant our interest...

On September 6th, a team of four 3 Creek Ranch road cyclists, including Geanie Young, Glenn Sturm, John Gussenhoven and (yours truly) Resident Naturalist Roger Smith raced in the 1-day, 206-mile event from Logan, Utah to Teton Village...

For the past four years, I, along with many families and friends of 3 Creek Ranch residents have enjoyed the unique experience of handling and banding songbirds on 3 Creek Ranch as a part of our MAPS program. The Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship (MAPS) Program was created by The Institute for Bird Populations in 1989 to assess and monitor the vital rates and population...

I'd like to take a minute and share a few insights into an annual ritual that our local Red-tailed Hawks perform each summer.We have a nesting pair of Red-tailed Hawks on the northern part of Blue Crane Creek, on 3 Creek Ranch. This pair has two beautiful chicks, easily seen in the nest, about 20 days old at this time...

As I approached the Nature Center, walking along our winding deck to the front door, I stopped suddenly, as if to avoid a puddle, my eye caught a beautiful set of animal tracks which I followed directly to the front door, then along the back of the Center and veering off into the sagebrush along Spring Creek. A night visitor with mud on its boots...

There is more to meet the eye than one might expect in the late winter and early spring seasons in the Tetons. Birds, among other natural wonders, provide some interesting perspectives for the naturalist within us. While we see plenty of snow and winter, consider that resident bald eagles are already sitting on eggs and golden eagles, while fewer in numbers, are in the midst of aerial courtship displays...

We have been enjoying an exceptional winter season in Jackson Hole. With near-record snowfall, the skiing, snowshoeing and other winter activities have been fantastic. This time of year also provides a good opportunity to reflect on how our wildlife populations might experience our winter. To the long-tailed weasels, mice, voles, or insects, our deep insulating layer of snow provides a safe and warm subnivean space to thrive...

Click in to this article to find links for checklists of mammals and birds that make their homes in the Jackson Hole area.

I am always enthralled by the familiar sight of a set of small animal tracks in the snow around the Nature Center, a perfect pattern of two-by-two footprints, the prints slightly off-set and as consistent a pattern as if machine-made to exactness...

Is that a horn or an antler on that elk? Visitors to the 3 Creek Ranch Nature Center often comment on the impressive ‘horns’ of the bull elk wandering the National Elk Refuge or around our own Ranch. They are actually referring to antlers. Horns are very different. True horns, like those found on bighorn sheep, mountain goats, bison and pronghorn, grow continuously throughout an animal’s life, and cannot be replaced if damaged or broken off...

Lenticular Clouds: a beautiful cloud type common in our winter sky that results from strong wind flow over rugged terrain. In Jackson, prevailing winds whipping over the Tetons from the southwest produce up-and-down wavelike patterns on the lee (valley) side of the Range. Lenticular clouds, which can occur at many levels of the troposphere (up to 20,000 feet above sea level), form at the peaks of these waves...

As snow is starting to accumulate in the high Tetons, and the Trumpeter Swans are settling back on our ponds, I want to offer a warm thanks to everyone who participated in our nature center programs this past summer. Our songbird banding program was again a highlight for many residents who enjoyed learning about our local birds in a hands-on way...

On May 23rd, I received a call about an injured Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) found along the shore of Palisades reservoir, located about 45 miles south of Jackson. A man's kind and concerned voice on the phone said there were two adult eagles standing on the ground side by side. He knew they were adult eagles because of their all-white feathers on their head and tail...

Living in Jackson Hole throughout the winter season, we are constantly either removing snow from where we do not want it or searching for soft snow to recreate in. One thing is certain, however, we have seen dramatic changes in the overall condition of our snow this season. This scenario includes human inhabitants as well as thousands of small mammals that inhabit our winter world all season. More specifically, what might be the perspective of a long-tailed weasel on the changing snow conditions? I thought about this recently after cross-country skiing with a small group of friends...

7:20 AM, December 27, 2006: Through a soft mist rising off of the pond, I watch 9 trumpeter swans, 6 adults and 3 cygnets, feeding and slowly swimming in a tight group. They appear undisturbed and content. The swans are accompanied by a group of 21 golden eye ducks, lazily moving about skimming small insects off of the water's surface. A new set of coyote, or possibly fox tracks can be seen in the new skiff of snow...