Antlers are collected on the National Elk Refuge by staff and a troop of boy scouts in the spring and sold at auction in May to benefit the scouts and the Refuge. Last year, however, one old bull died in a pond on the Refuge, its huge rack protruding from the water, barely out of reach. The urge to recover it overwhelmed me!
Miscellaneous
Burro Skull – The Rest of the Story
All summer at Imperial National Wildlife Refuge, the burro skull we’d rescued from a road-kill specimen near Yuma Proving Grounds last spring roasted in the hot Yuma sun. Although most of the tissue had been devoured by fly larvae by the time we returned this fall, dried skin and ligaments adhered to the bone.
New Year’s Eve Desert Moonrise
While many view it as a barren landscape, the desert offers beauty of its own. We enjoyed a dramatic desert moonrise on New Year’s Eve.
Christmas Bird Count
The 110th Christmas Bird Count takes place this year across the country. This morning we joined Henry Detwiler (birding guide), other members of the Southwest Birders, and fellow volunteers to search for and count birds along the ponds and farm fields of Imperial National Wildlife Refuge.
Burro Skull
Some RVers who volunteer at National Wildlife Refuges never return to the same refuge twice. Others, however, return to the refuges they enjoy year after year. We fall into the second category. This season, I am anxious to inspect the condition of the burro skull we left to the maggots last spring.