I love a good close-up or portrait as much as the next wildlife lover, but in this post, I just
thought I'd take a step back and show some wildlife in my area, in their natural environments.

A common sight on the Snake River Plains is the Townsend Ground Squirrel, pictured above on an outcropping of rocks. Many gulls fly around in the backdrop of this image, but what I wanted to show was this marmot.  I haven't seen a marmot in a field like this before.  

More Townsend Ground Squirrels, by their home.

The Curlew are just recently back in the area, the one above just kept flying around and didn't land while we were watching.

The Curlew above is one of several we saw on this particular day.  It's good to see them back.

Above is a Horned Lark, kind of huddled down.

I suppose this is actually a wild hare or something, but as we were driving I yelled, "A bunny!"  lol  I just think they're so cute!  They are much harder to find before the grass starts to green up.

More Curlew, a couple this time.

The Killdeer amaze me!  The camo God gave them, and so many other animals, is incredible!  You can see from this picture how well they blend in, even its legs blend in with the pattern of twigs sticking up out of the ground.  WOW!  

A final image from our relaxing drive looking for wildlife is of this Ring-necked Pheasant out in a farmers field, with fresh greens sprouting up.

What animals live in your "backyard"? Let me know in the comments!