The Snake River Birds of Prey National Conservation Area in Southwest Idaho is managed by the BLM. It is supposed to have “one of the world’s densest concentrations of nesting birds of prey”. The World Center of Birds of Prey is located nearby in Boise.
Above, the Snake River near Swan Falls Dam in the conservation area. There is a dirt/gravel road (shown in the picture) that goes 4 miles along the river with pullouts for camping. The dirt/gravel road is pretty good, but the pullouts in the sandy dirt have been damaged by rain. I didn’t see any rv’s, just tents. Also, the road down to the river has one mile of, at the minimum, an 8% grade.
A hawk (not sure which one) with chicks on a telephone pole in the prairie above the river valley. I could see and hear hawks in the cliffs on the right side of the river, but they were so far away and blended in so well with the cliffs, I couldn’t get any pictures.
There are the largest squirrels along the river. When I first saw one, thought it was a beaver. They are really large and lumbering in their movements.
Fellow travel blogger, Lloyd, with a wonderful site at wandrin.us, is probably right that the above rodent is a yellow-bellied marmot.
In the parking lot at the Birds of Prey Center saw the above bird. Came to find out it’s a chukar. When I was at the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge, their refuge map said chukar hunting was allowed at the base of the mountain. Chukar’s are not native to the U.S., they were brought in as a game bird for hunting. Don’t see how anyone could shoot one, they are so cute.
Below, a bald eagle on display at the Birds of Prey Center.
That large rodent looks like a Yellow-bellied Marmot.
Always love your photos…. The photo of the hawk with its fledglings is great.