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Ridgeline Open Space
Ridgeline Open Space is a public park located within The Meadows neighborhood in Castle Rock, Colorado along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. It sits at an elevation of and consists of of public land that has been designated for conservation and recreational use. There are over of trails with panoramic views of the Rocky Mountains to the west and Castle Rock below. Wildlife and vegetation * Mammals that can be found in this area include the American badger, American black bear, bobcat, coyote, Colorado chipmunk, gray fox, red fox, mountain cottontail rabbit, mountain lion, mule deer, pocket gopher, porcupine, and skunk. * Birds that can be found in this area include the golden eagle, peregrine falcon, sharp-shinned hawk, black-billed magpie, red-tailed hawk, pinyon jay and western tanager. *Trees that can be found in the area include the Gambel oak, ponderosa pine, and pinyon pine The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in N ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Meadows, Castle Rock, Colorado
The Meadows is a master planned community, located in Castle Rock, Colorado along the Rampart Range The Rampart Range is a mountain range in Douglas, El Paso, and Teller counties, Colorado. It is part of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The range is almost entirely public land within the Pike National Forest The Pike National Forest ... of the Rocky Mountains Front Range. It is approximately south of Denver and north of Colorado Springs. The community is interconnected by of trails and contains of parks and land for public use. Within the community, there are several schools, churches, playgrounds, ball fields, pools, restaurants and a cultural arts center. Education There are several schools located within The Meadows. Elementary schools (K-6) * Clear Sky Elementary School * Meadow View Elementary School * Soaring Hawk Elementary School Middle school (7-8) * Castle Rock Middle School High school (9-12) * Castle View High School * Colorado Early College ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Porcupine
Porcupines are large rodents with coats of sharp spines, or quills, that protect them against predation. The term covers two families of animals: the Old World porcupines of family Hystricidae, and the New World porcupines of family, Erethizontidae. Both families belong to the infraorder Hystricognathi within the profoundly diverse order Rodentia and display superficially similar coats of rigid or semi-rigid quills, which are modified hairs composed of keratin. Despite this, the two groups are distinct from one another and are not closely related to each other within the Hystricognathi. The largest species of porcupine is the third-largest living rodent in the world, after the capybara and beaver. The Old World porcupines (Hystricidae) live in Italy, Asia (western and southern), and most of Africa. They are large, terrestrial, and strictly nocturnal. The New World porcupines (Erethizontidae) are indigenous to North America and northern South America. They live in wooded area ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinyon Pine
The pinyon or piñon pine group grows in southwestern North America, especially in New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah. The trees yield edible nuts, which are a staple food of Native Americans, and widely eaten as a snack and as an ingredient in New Mexican cuisine. The name comes from the Spanish ''pino piñonero'', a name used for both the American varieties and the stone pine common in Spain, which also produces edible nuts typical of Mediterranean cuisine. Harvesting techniques of the prehistoric American Indians are still used today to collect the pinyon seeds for personal use or for commercialization. The pinyon nut or seed is high in fats and calories. Pinyon wood, especially when burned, has a distinctive fragrance, making it a common wood to burn in chimeneas. Pinyon pine trees are also known to influence the soil in which they grow by increasing concentrations of both macronutrients and micronutrients. Some of the species are known to hybridize, the most notable ones being ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ponderosa Pine
''Pinus ponderosa'', commonly known as the ponderosa pine, bull pine, blackjack pine, western yellow-pine, or filipinus pine is a very large pine tree species of variable habitat native to mountainous regions of western North America. It is the most widely distributed pine species in North America.Safford, H.D. 2013. Natural Range of Variation (NRV) for yellow pine and mixed conifer forests in the bioregional assessment area, including the Sierra Nevada, southern Cascades, and Modoc and Inyo National Forests. Unpublished report. USDA Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Region, Vallejo, CA/ref> ''Pinus ponderosa'' grows in various erect forms from British Columbia southward and eastward through 16 western U.S. states and has been successfully introduced in temperate regions of Europe, and in New Zealand. It was first documented in modern science in 1826 in eastern Washington near present-day Spokane (of which it is the official city tree). On that occasion, David Douglas misidenti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gambel Oak
''Quercus gambelii'', with the common name Gambel oak, is a deciduous small tree or large shrub that is widespread in the foothills and lower mountains of western North America. It is also regionally called scrub oak, oak brush, and white oak. The common and scientific names, Gambel oak and ''Quercus gambelii'', were named after the American naturalist William Gambel (1821–1849). Description ''Quercus gambelii'' trees differ in size from one location to another. The average mature height is from , but occasionally reaches heights of in some locations. Dwarf stands of plants under tall are common in marginal areas where heavy browsing occurs. The largest trees are found in the southern range of the species along streams. These trees reach up to 100 feet tall. The champion tree is in Arizona at tall. Although the wood is hard and dense, its branches are irregular and crooked, making them flexible enough to bend without breaking when covered with heavy snow. The bark ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Tanager
The western tanager (''Piranga ludoviciana''), is a medium-sized American songbird. Formerly placed in the tanager family (Thraupidae), other members of its genus and it are classified in the cardinal family (Cardinalidae). The species's plumage and vocalizations are similar to other members of the cardinal family. Taxonomy The western tanager was illustrated and formally described by American ornithologist Alexander Wilson in 1811 under the binomial name ''Tanagra ludoviciana'' from a specimen collected on the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1803-1806). The type locality is Kamiah, Idaho. The specific epithet is from the Late Latin ''ludovicianus'' for "Louis". The name is from Louisiana, the 18th-century French administrative district of New France, rather than the modern state. The western tanager is now placed in the genus ''Piranga'' that was introduced by French ornithologist Louis Jean Pierre Vieillot in 1808. The species is monotypic; no subspecies are recognized. Descr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pinyon Jay
The pinyon jay (''Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus'') is a species of jay, and is the only member of the genus ''Gymnorhinus''. Native to Western North America, the species ranges from central Oregon to northern Baja California, and eastward as far as western Oklahoma, though wanderers are often sighted beyond this range. It is typically found within foothills, especially where pinyon pines (''Pinus edulis'' and ''Pinus monophylla'') occur. Description The pinyon jay is a bluish-grey coloured bird with deeper head colouring and whitish throat with black bill, legs and feet. Roughly intermediate between the blue jay and the Eurasian jay in size, its overall proportions are similar to Clark's nutcracker (''Nucifraga columbiana'') and this can be seen as convergent evolution, as both birds fill similar ecological niches. Taxonomy The pinyon jay was first collected, recorded, and first described as a species from a specimen shot along the Maria River in what is now northern Montana durin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Red-tailed Hawk
The red-tailed hawk (''Buteo jamaicensis'') is a bird of prey that breeds throughout most of North America, from the interior of Alaska and northern Canada to as far south as Panama and the West Indies. It is one of the most common members within the genus of ''Buteo'' in North America or worldwide. The red-tailed hawk is one of three species colloquially known in the United States as the " chickenhawk", though it rarely preys on standard-sized chickens. The bird is sometimes also referred to as the red-tail for short, when the meaning is clear in context. Red-tailed hawks can acclimate to all the biomes within their range, occurring on the edges of non-ideal habitats such as dense forests and sandy deserts.Preston, C. R. (2000). ''Red-tailed Hawk''. Stackpole Books. The red-tailed hawk occupies a wide range of habitats and altitudes, including deserts, grasslands (from small meadows to the treed fringes of more extensive prairies), coniferous and deciduous forests, agricultur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Black-billed Magpie
The black-billed magpie (''Pica hudsonia''), also known as the American magpie, is a bird in the corvid family found in the western half of North America. It is black and white, with black areas on the wings and tail showing iridescent hints of blue or blue-green. It is one of only four North American songbirds whose tail makes up half or more of the total body length (the others being the yellow-billed magpie, the scissor-tailed flycatcher, and the fork-tailed flycatcher). This species prefers generally open habitats with clumps of trees. It can therefore be found in farmlands and suburban areas, where it comes into regular contact with people. Where persecuted it becomes very wary, but otherwise it is fairly tolerant of human presence. Historically associated with bison herds, it now lands on the backs of cattle to glean ticks and insects from them. Large predators such as wolves are commonly followed by black-billed magpies, who scavenge from their kills. The species also w ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sharp-shinned Hawk
The sharp-shinned hawk (''Accipiter striatus'') is a small hawk, with males being the smallest hawks in the United States and Canada, but with the species averaging larger than some Neotropical realm, Neotropical species, such as the tiny hawk. The Taxonomy (biology), taxonomy is far from resolved, with some authorities considering the southern taxon, taxa to represent three separate species: white-breasted hawk (''A. chionogaster''), plain-breasted hawk (''A. ventralis''), and rufous-thighed hawk (''A. erythronemius''). The American Ornithological Society keeps all four variations conspecific. Taxonomy The sharp-shinned hawk is sometimes separated into four species, with the northern group (''see distribution'') retaining both the scientific name and the common name: sharp-shinned hawk (''A. striatus''). In addition to the nominate taxon (''A. s. striatus''), it includes subspecies ''perobscurus'', ''velox'', ''suttoni'', ''madrensis'', ''fringilloides'', and ''venator''. The t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peregrine Falcon
The peregrine falcon (''Falco peregrinus''), also known as the peregrine, and historically as the duck hawk in North America, is a Cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan bird of prey (Bird of prey, raptor) in the family (biology), family Falconidae. A large, Corvus (genus), crow-sized falcon, it has a blue-grey back, barred white underparts, and a black head. The peregrine is renowned for its speed, reaching over during its characteristic hunting stoop (high-speed dive), making it the fastest bird in the world, as well as the Fastest animals, fastest member of the animal kingdom. According to a ''National Geographic (U.S. TV channel), National Geographic'' TV program, the highest measured speed of a peregrine falcon is . As is typical for avivore, bird-eating raptors, peregrine falcons are Sexual dimorphism, sexually dimorphic, with females being considerably larger than males. The peregrine's breeding range includes land regions from the Arctic tundra to the tropics. It can b ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Golden Eagle
The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird of prey, birds of prey in the Northern Hemisphere. These birds are dark brown, with lighter golden-brown plumage on their napes. Immature eagles of this species typically have white on the tail and often have white markings on the wings. Golden eagles use their agility and speed combined with powerful feet and large, sharp talons to hunt a variety of prey, mainly hares, rabbits, and marmots and other ground squirrels. Golden eagles maintain home ranges or territories that may be as large as . They build large bird nest, nests in cliffs and other high places to which they may return for several breeding years. Most breeding activities take place in the spring; they are monogamous and may remain together for several years or possibly for life. Fe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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