Nov 1, 2017 | Hunting, wildlife
Pronghorn season on the Miller Ranch ran from September 30 through October 8 this year. Overall, the Miller Ranch has had a successful summer and fall. We had fairly good spring rains. Then the rains stopped for several months, the grasses dried up and turned brown. For the first time we left the cows up in the mountains because it was still green up there with water in the headers and tenajas. In July it finally started raining again, the country greened up and we made grass.
The Pronghorn herd adjusted by scattering out and moving between pastures. Many Pronghorn does successfully raised their young. We had some nice bucks guarding their group of does and battling for breeding rights. The Miller Ranch donated one hunt to the Houston Safari Club, and Kevin Chestnut from Washington had bought that hunt. Our other hunter, Geoff Murphy, had booked a hunt through Jim Breck Bean’s guide service, High West Outfitters. Both hunters left with nice bucks, and now we’re looking forward to a good quail season.
May 21, 2015 | wildlife
Desert Oasis at the CE Miller Ranch
With the recent rains, 2015 is starting out wonderfully! As one friend stated, “Everything is blooming except the rocks!” In April, a botanist/plant ecologist from Texas Parks and Wildlife and a land snail researcher from the University of New Mexico were here for several days, and it was exciting to see two men so enthusiastic about their jobs and what they were finding on the ranch.
The cattle are fat and happy, with lots of little Hereford and Angus calves making us laugh with their antics. With the return of the mice, kangaroo rats, rabbits and other small mammals, the owls, hawks, and eagles have come back to enjoy the pickings on the ground and the skies above the ranch. This week we have also seen Short-eared Owls and Burrowing Owls out in the flats. Even though there are many plants blooming everywhere, the Black-chinned Hummingbirds are still coming to the feeders. Orchard Orioles and Blue Grosbeaks have joined all the other little birds in the yard. Jody has made sure over the years that this yard is an oasis for the birds!