Susan and Hap Ridgway have been back living in Sunlight for four years. Memories, especially at our ages, are not to be much trusted, but for what it is worth they do not remember seeing Canada Geese in the Valley until this spring when this pair visited. They checked out several venues along Elk Creek apparently looking for a safe nesting place.

The Sand Hill Cranes are winged chatterboxes. We hear them at great distances whether they are on the ground or in the air. We watched a dozen cranes in a marshy area on Elk Creek make so much noise they actually scared a herd of deer grazing in a pasture that abuts the marsh. During the spring we will have visits from small groups, pairs, and singles. This crane was checking out the area by the ranch barrel field.

The population of bald and golden eagles waned for many years. The causes for the decline include the use of herbicides (related to the Agent Orange used in Vietnam), and their more recent regulation has led to the return of healthy eagle populations. One pair of Bald Eagles nests in a small cave in a sandstone cliff along the Sunlight Road, and people annually set up with telescopes, binoculars, and cameras to watch a new avian family take shape. 

The hawk population has also rebounded, with the Red Tails leading the way. They keep close watch over the Elk Creek fields waiting for the unwary picket pen, the local name for the ground squirrels. As the picket pens dig holes in our irrigation ditches and the horse pasture, we are rooting for the hawks and hoping for even greater numbers.