{"id":3197,"date":"2011-10-02T15:18:46","date_gmt":"2011-10-02T21:18:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=3197"},"modified":"2025-12-08T07:05:06","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T13:05:06","slug":"bighorn-sheep-ewes-and-young-flaming-gorge-nationalrecreation-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2011\/10\/02\/bighorn-sheep-ewes-and-young-flaming-gorge-nationalrecreation-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Bighorn Sheep Ewes And Young – Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AlertAlert Bighorn Sheep ewe – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/250, ISO 320, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 110mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I went on my first camping\u00a0trip to Flaming Gorge National Recreation area from the 18th through the 22nd of September and was awe inspired, dumbstruck and thoroughly amazed by the beauty found there.<\/p>\n

The gorgeous vistas, flaming red rocks, mountains, valleys, stunning water views and the abundant wildlife made me dizzy with joy.<\/p>\n

Spending the first two nights high up in the mountains of the Ashley National Forest<\/span><\/a> was wonderful. There were warm temperatures during the day and brisk nights plus it was only a short walk to the edge of the cliffs that overlooked the deep blue water below.<\/p>\n

There were pungent aromas from the sagebrush and pines found there, the sound of the wind blowing through the golden grasses, the sounds of Northern Flickers and Clark’s Nutcrackers, along with Turkey Vultures riding on the warm current of the cliffs.<\/p>\n

Adding to my happiness, Bighorn Sheep often wandered through the camping areas. I’ve only photographed Bighorn Sheep (Mountain Sheep some people call them) a few times and here they were, calmly foraging close to where I was!<\/p>\n

I was thrilled and excited. Okay, I was way beyond that but I was and am trying to be calm about it!<\/p>\n

\"BighornBighorn Sheep\u00a0ewe – Nikon D200, handheld, f9, 1\/250, ISO 320, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 125mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

After wandering around looking for birds while heading back to the campsite we found a small\u00a0flock of ewes and their young eating very close to camp.<\/p>\n

They were so close\u00a0to the road that I had to put down my D300 with the 200-400mm VR attached and use the backup D200 that had the 70-300mm VR on it.<\/p>\n

I carry three DSLR’s for trips like this one, the other D200 has an 18-200mm VR on it for landscapes.<\/p>\n

These Bighorn Sheep weren’t skittish at all, in fact I was concerned a few times at the campsite\u00a0when they would approach me<\/em> too close for my<\/em> comfort.<\/p>\n

When they came into the campsite while I was outside I often moved so that the wooden picnic table was between the sheep and myself.<\/p>\n

\"PortraitPortrait of a Bighorn Sheep ewe – Nikon D200, handheld, \u00a0f8, 1\/125, ISO 320, +0.3 EV, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 300mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I find the eyes of Bighorn Sheep fascinating, they do not have round pupils, what they have is more of an elongated oval-shaped\u00a0pupil that goes\u00a0from side to side, their eyes\u00a0look slightly eerie but yet very interesting.<\/p>\n

There were no rams nearby and the Bighorn Sheep ewes and young seemed to feed peacefully in a group for the most part.<\/p>\n

I did see two of the ewes challenge each other a bit by standing on their back legs, front legs dangling or striking out, and while they did make movement that indicated that they might have a go at butting their heads together though it never came to that.<\/p>\n

\"Back\u00a0Back View of a Bighorn Sheep ewe – Nikon D200, handheld, f9, 1\/500, ISO 320,\u00a0Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 220mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Bighorn Sheep used to number in the millions but by the 1900’s their numbers had dwindled so low from competition by domesticated sheep, hunting and diseases, that the estimated population was just several thousand and at that time there were concerns about their possible extinction.<\/p>\n

In 1936 the Arizona Boy Scouts mounted a state-wide campaign to save the sheep and before long other organizations followed. There is more information on that here<\/a><\/span>.<\/p>\n

\"TaggedRadio-collared and tagged Bighorn Sheep ewe – Nikon D200, handheld, f7.1, 1\/125, ISO 400, Nikkor 18-200mm VR at 200mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

Among the flocks of ewes and lambs that I saw\u00a0in two different locations there were a number of ewes that had been tagged and radio-collared.<\/p>\n

While I don’t find that “jewelry” very appealing in my images I do appreciate the fact that through studying the tagged and collard sheep scientist may be able to help and ensure the survival of these beautiful wild animals.<\/p>\n

Thanks for your help Red #22!<\/p>\n

\"YoungYoung Bighorn Sheep\u00a0 – Nikon D200, handheld, f8, 1\/250, ISO 320, Nikkor 70-300mm VR at 240mm, natural light, not baited<\/span><\/p>\n

I’m not sure at what age we should stop calling baby Bighorn Sheep “lambs” and start calling them “young”, but since this is late in the year I have been calling this a young Bighorn Sheep.<\/p>\n

They are the future of this species and I hope they will be able to overcome the obstacles that nature presents them with and the ones that we; as humans, have caused or introduced. I can not imagine North America without Bighorn Sheep!<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Bighorn Sheep photos.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ve only photographed Bighorn Sheep (Mountain Sheep some people call them) a few times and here they were, calmly foraging close to where I was! I was thrilled and excited.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":165494,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[980,3464,981,26],"tags":[4004,4242,988,984,4245,985,983,4069,519,982,990,2494,989,102,4032,4193],"class_list":["post-3197","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bighorn-sheep","category-daggett-county","category-flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-bighorn-sheep","tag-conservation","tag-ewes","tag-flocks","tag-lambs","tag-mountain-sheep","tag-mountains","tag-nature","tag-ovis-canadensis","tag-radio-collared","tag-sheep","tag-tagged","tag-wildlife","tag-wildlife-photography","tag-young"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/bighorn-sheep-dam-mia-mcpherson-utah-0628.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-Pz","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4348,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/02\/09\/flaming-gorge-national-recreation-a\/","url_meta":{"origin":3197,"position":0},"title":"Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 9, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Last September I visited Flaming Gorge National Recreation area for the first time. Wow, nature never ceases to delight and amaze me.","rel":"","context":"In "Bighorn Sheep"","block_context":{"text":"Bighorn Sheep","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/wildlife\/bighorn-sheep\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"View of Flaming Gorge from the Dowd Mountain Overlook, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-5748.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":9532,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/09\/22\/my-first-visit-flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area-two-years-ago\/","url_meta":{"origin":3197,"position":1},"title":"My first visit to Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area two years ago","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 22, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Two years ago I made my first journey to Flaming Gorge National Recreation are in Utah and it was an eye opening experience. Gorgeous scenery, bountiful animal life and to be there during an Indian Summer was divine.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Flat"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Flat","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-flat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Another view of Flaming Gorge Reservoir, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Antelope Flat, Daggett County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area-mia-mcpherson-6057.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area-mia-mcpherson-6057.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area-mia-mcpherson-6057.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-national-recreation-area-mia-mcpherson-6057.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15479,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/07\/26\/posts-from-the-past-some-of-my-favorite-locations\/","url_meta":{"origin":3197,"position":2},"title":"Posts from the Past – Some of My Favorite Locations","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"July 26, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Today I am focusing on older posts that have some of my favorite locations in them starting with Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Flat"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Flat","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-flat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Short-eared Owl with prey for his young, Red Rock Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, Centennial Valley, Beaverhead County, Montana","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/short-eared-owl-mia-mcpherson-8724-200x143.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5031,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/05\/20\/yeah-utah-rocks\/","url_meta":{"origin":3197,"position":3},"title":"Yeah… Utah Rocks!","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 20, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes a picture says more than words so I'll just say Flaming Gorge is awesome at sunrise with storm clouds moving in.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Flat"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Flat","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-flat\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Flaming Gorge at sunrise under stormy skies, Flaming Gorge National Recreation Area, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-8101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-8101.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-8101.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/flaming-gorge-mia-mcpherson-8101.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":48321,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/09\/01\/welcome-september-autumn-pronghorns\/","url_meta":{"origin":3197,"position":4},"title":"Welcome September – Autumn Pronghorns","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"September 1, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The first of September means the start of Autumn to me. 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Hunt? Watch wildlife? Recreate on public lands? Then think real hard at what the reduction of existing national monuments mean and the precedent that might be set.","rel":"","context":"In "Beaverhead County"","block_context":{"text":"Beaverhead County","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/montana\/beaverhead-county-montana\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Morning light on Flaming Gorge","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4891.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4891.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/flaming-gorge-reservoir-mia-mcpherson-4891.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3197","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3197"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3197\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/165494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3197"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3197"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3197"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}