Bears, Shyla, and Mystery Birds

I can't take my mind away from the bears who I observed on my trip. Like the bears here, they were transitioning from mating season into their "hyperphagia" season, when they eat relentlessly, up to 20,000 Calories per day. This bear was eating...

One of the foods that the bears were eating was wild strawberries. They are ripening here at home now too. Indeed, today during my bike ride, I ate some of them. They are super sweet and delicious but incredibly hard to find, pick, and eat. In five minutes, I ate about five of the berries.

They are tiny, and I'm guessing that they hold maybe one Calorie per berry. Can you imagine how much hard work goes into getting 20,000 Calories from berries? And, in the case of this bear who I observed, she had to forage and spend a good chunk of her day nursing her cubs. It's a tough, hard-working, life.

In the next photo, she wasn't acting aggressive or angry. Rather, she was scenting the air while in the midst of panting. Bears cool themselves primarily by panting, much like our dogs. Look at the size of her nose. She must have a great sniffer!

On these summer days, the only time that our dogs are outdoors and not panting is when the sun is low in the sky or when they are lazing around in the shade. Here was Shyla last night, very curious about the smells wafting up from a canyon at sunset. So many animals explore the world via scent, unlike us humans.

Her eyes seemed to almost pop out of her head. I wished that I could smell what was so interesting.

Bye bye sun! The next photo shows a funny habit of Shyla's as the sun drops below the mountains. She does the same thing when I arrive home and enter via the basement. She sits at the top of the stairs and waves to me as I climb the steps to see her. What a funny and cute girl!

Those photos were from last night's sunset. Alas, Shyla isn't feeling well today, with diarrhea that's left her feeling tired. The Runner took a fecal sample to the vet this morning but they didn't tell us the results before they closed for the weekend. So, now, we're "winging it", trying to help Shyla feel better without the guidance of our vet. Don't worry, if she doesn't perk up, we'll go to the emergency vet. However, I'm not happy with our vet hospital for forgetting about Shyla after how many times we talked with them this morning.

I went on a solo bike ride today, and I need some help identifying some birds. I found them on a small pond that has *never* had waterfowl on it in all the years that I've watched it. They swam around happily, never fishing or eating.

My research about what wild bird species this is suggests that the "Snow Goose" is the only real possibility. However, it's extremely rare around here. Why would three suddenly show up on a small pond in mid-summer? And, these are not a perfect match for the descriptions of a Snow Goose.

As I headed to the shore to get a closer look at the birds, they actually swam toward me like they were unafraid. Then, I stumbled over a bucket of tan granular stuff, with one wormy creature on top of the stuff, on the shore where these birds had obviously hung out earlier (there were feathers all around it). Hmm, the plot thickens...

If that's the case, I hope that they can evade predators, because there are lots and lots of them near that pond. I know that for a fact from my trail cameras in that general vicinity.

Does anyone know what kind of birds these are? I'd be grateful for any hints!