The Other Stewards of our Resource . . .

Everyone knows fishing is about far more than fishing. One of my favorite things is seeing other wildlife on the water, especially some critters that are a little less well known! Some of these species are keystones to the ecology of the rivers and seeing them is a sign of a healthy resource. Others are just freaking cool! Here are a few favorites from my adventures over the years:

This feisty Western Small-Footed Myotis bat was scooped up floating down the middle of the lower Gunnison. It was released safely at a distance. If I identified him wrong and you know better, please message me!

Another bat on the Gunnison at Black Forest campground. Likely a Big Brown or another Small-Footed Myotis. We scooted him off the beach and into the willows to avoid additional human interaction.

Great Basin Spadefoot Toads abound at Middle Camp in the Gunnison Gorge, aka “Battletoad Beach.” These guys love to eat the large Ten-Lined June beetles that emerge from their sandy nests in the evenings. The beach can look like a used kitty litter box some days!

Smaller than their great blue cousins, Black-Crowned Night Herons are just as adept at fishing!

Spotted these two Eastern Collared Lizards engaged in a courtship display just below Buttermilk Rapid in the Gunnison Gorge. The male is the more brightly colored one at the top. The female was . . . receptive to his advances shortly after this!

Several campsites in the Gunnison Gorge have populations of Ringtails that cause mischief in the kitchen at night!

Spot the troublemaker!

This little stoat or ermine (he said he doesn’t care) was a helpful mouser at Dark Timber Lodge during elk hunting season last year!

Tough to get a good photo of a Black Bear as he climbs a near vertical cliff at speed while driving, but here you go!

A large Mottled Sculpin in really shallow water, showing her ability to blend into her surroundings perfectly!

We don’t have a large cicada hatch out here, but when this Cactus Dodger ended up in the water shortly after this photo, it was immediately gobbled up! The fish definitely know they’re food!

Speaking of food, this Robber Fly stopped on a client’s sleeve with its liquefied lunch just long enough for me to get this shot. Ferocious aerial predators, he snagged this housefly out of midair right in front of me!

A family of Double-crested Cormorants in a large snag overlooking the Colorado River.

A Rocky Mountain Bighorn Sheep and her kid made their way down the Gorge walls to get a drink. She’s still losing some of her winter coat, even in late June!

A mass migration of these jumping spiders floating on strands of silk came through on a windy September day — millions of flying spiders? Sounds like an arachnophobe’s worst day!

Slow down and look around carefully — you might find tiny magic moments like this Black-Chinned Hummingbird incubating her eggs!

We’re rarely the only ones looking for fish out there!

The Long-Jawed Orb Weaver keeps all the nasty bugs off the rafts down in the Gunnison Gorge overnight. In the mornings, they relocate as we rig up rafts, waiting in the willows for the next bunch of blue boats to pull in.

Colorado’s only native salamander and our state amphibian, the Western Tiger Salamander, preparing to overwinter on the Uncompahgre Plateau.