Salt River Wild Horses

There is a herd of horses that live in the desert and can often be seen down by the Salt River.  On Jan 20 our Photo group took a drive to the river in search of the wild horses.  They are apparently doing well and are quite prolific as we have seen reports on the news where the wildlife officers track the horses and shoot the mares with darts loaded with birth control medication.

We searched two different spots on the river and were fortunate to spot 4 horses on a sand bar in the river as we were driving by on the highway.  We made a quick turn into a picnic area parking lot and traversed the rocky beach down to the waters edge to get some shots.  While they may be termed "Wild" they are certainly comfortable with gawking tourists with cameras in hand.  

The river is fairly wide however no more than 1-2 feet deep at any point.
Lots of high water marks well up the banks.

Either a Great or Snowy Egret looking for lunch in the shallows. 

Algae was plentiful in some of the areas sheltered from the current.
Not sure what this plant is but it seems to be doing quite well.

Four horses across the river with some of our group pulling up boulders for chairs.

We waited for them to do something but for the most part they just stood around. 

This guy got up and shook off all the sand.

Nice reflection in the water. 

Looks like these two had something to say. 

Another shot of the river with lots of colours.
You can just make out a white Egret in the river. 

It was a nice days shoot with other like minded individuals.  We even scouted out the nesting trees of the herons.  They weren't there yet but you could see plenty of last years nests in the trees.  We will go back in March and hopefully catch some nesting activity.