backcountry addicts anonymous

Can you identify the species in these photos from Malheur National Wildlife Refuge? Follow @nprskunkbear and the hashtag #FlockupyMalheur on twitter for fun facts about these birds.

Most of the images come from Flickr user Dan Dzurisin - he has lots of amazing wildlife photography on his page. The landscape comes from Flickr user Mathew Foster.

Other images:

Jon Nelson

Barbara Wheeler Photography, USFWS Volunteer

Roger Baker, USFWS

Ray Bosch, USFWS

We drove 300 miles through the night. The tires crunched on gravel as we pulled in to the hot springs. We made our beds in the back of the truck, and took a soothing dip in the hot water to wash the road off. Back in the truck, a cool breeze blew across our faces as we slept.

In the morning, we soaked more, ran on the playa, and headed onwards. We stopped to fly fish on a new river. It was small and low, but we found deep pools of cold water. We caught fish in the riffles. We found a campground littered with dead birds. We ate lunch.

We slept in our favorite lookout tower. Big winds shook the windows. We watched the blazing orange sunrise from bed. We drank coffee, and watched the fog roll away.