Found this little guy holding down a boulder at the edge of a river flat, and he was not impressed by me at all. Grey back, black face, orange tail like he raided somebody's paintbox. He flicked that tail twice and went back to scanning the ground for breakfast.
I've been walking this valley since sunrise. Boots dusty, water bottle half gone, sandwich in the pack that I keep not eating because I keep stopping to look at things. Like this.
Behind him the riverbed runs wide and grey, and the far bank has a rust-colored smear where the light hits the rocks. Everything out here is built for distance. You learn to spot small movements fast, because small movements are usually the good ones.
He hopped once, twice, then held still again. That's the whole technique. Move, stop, look. Move, stop, look. It's how you cover ground when your legs are this short.
I've got a long way to go before dark and I'm walking lighter than I was this morning. Some of that is the sandwich. Most of it is birds like him, pretending not to care that you're watching. #bird #riverbed #hiking #wildlife
