The Bird Whisperer: Snowbowl

On August 10, 2011, I went up to the Snowbowl-Humphrey's Trail parking area to check the wildflowers. I wasn't disappointed, finding tons of flowers covering the large meadow near the parking lot. Off to the west smoke from an ongoing fire was visible. Apparently this fire was lightning-caused, but the Kaibab National Forest is managing it as "wildland fire use", letting it burn within a certain perimeter at a low intensity to help gradually thin out the forest and restore a natural fire regime. The clouds were dark around the area, so I only hiked up 0.5 miles up the Humphrey's Peak trail. Here are photos:

The peak seen way in the distance in the center of the photo is Bill Williams Mountain, which the town of Williams is at the base of:

Fire burning to the southeast of the peaks. The mountain to the right of the smoke is Kendrick Mountain:

A more distant fire burning to the northwest of the peaks (zoomed in view):

larkspur species (Delphinium sp., Family Ranunculaceae):

orange sneezeweed (Hymenoxys hoopesii, Family Asteraceae):

indian paintbrush species (Castilleja spp., Family Scrophulariaceae):

silverleaf lupine (Lupinus argenteus, Family Fabaceae):

daisy species (Erigeron spp., Family Asteraceae):

cinquefoil species (Potentilla sp., Family Rosaceae):

Bill Williams Mountain giant hyssop (Agastache pallidiflora, Family Lamiaceae):

Parry's bellflower, or harebell (Campanula parryi, Family Campanulaceae):

Navajo/Hopi tea, or greenleaf (Thelespermum megapotamicum, Family Asteraceae):

sandwort species (Arenaria sp., Family Caryophyllaceae):

star false-Solomon's seal, or star flower (Maianthemum stellatum, formerly Smilacina stellata, Family Liliaceae):

American vetch (Vicia americana, Family Fabaceae):

western yarrow (Achillea millefolium, Family Asteraceae):

deers ears (Frasera speciosa, Family Gentianaceae):

penstemon species (Penstemon sp., Family Scrophulariaceae):

butterfly species:

golden-mantled ground-squirrel (Spermophilus lateralis):

bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata, Family Pinaceae), which is one of the oldest living organisms on earth. It has short needles in bundles of five. The second photo shows the staminate (male) cones, which produce pollen: