Good piece. I'll never forget the time when I was censusing Mexican spotted owls for the BLM, and the supervising biologist flushed an owl from a tree (in the daytime), only to have a golden eagle snatch it. The eagles also wiped out a group of fledgling peregrine falcons that were being hacked (accustomed to to independent living) on nearby national forest land. Nothing to do in either case.
I think you are wise to carefully weigh your decision. Didn' know that swift foxes were so rare in western Wyoming.
Very good story, it is unfortunate but understandable, that you can't share more.
A few years ago, i came across a Kit fox in Wamsutter while checking wells. Pretty little guy.
Good piece. I'll never forget the time when I was censusing Mexican spotted owls for the BLM, and the supervising biologist flushed an owl from a tree (in the daytime), only to have a golden eagle snatch it. The eagles also wiped out a group of fledgling peregrine falcons that were being hacked (accustomed to to independent living) on nearby national forest land. Nothing to do in either case.
I think you are wise to carefully weigh your decision. Didn' know that swift foxes were so rare in western Wyoming.
WOW! That would have been amazing to witness (the golden with a Mexican spotted owl). This is just how nature operates, both beautiful and brutal. Remember the story of the golden eagle that snatched a brown bear cub in Norway? They are amazing predators. (Here's the link: https://bioone.org/journals/ursus/volume-19/issue-2/08SC008.1/Predation-by-a-Golden-Eagle-on-a-Brown-Bear-Cub/10.2192/08SC008.1.short). I would sure love to see swift foxes gain a toehold here.