Fire and Fall Friends

Last things first. As I was returning to work from my lunch I looked up towards the Flatirons, trying to compose a shot that would show off the yellowing shrubs, when I saw this view:



I have seen one other fire in my life in forest land that was about the same size, I was in Junior High School, hiking to a lake high on the Grand Teton with a church group. Walking back down we saw a plume of smoke about that size and watched it grow as we descended. It became the giant fire that devastated a good portion of Yellowstone National Park. Needless to say I did a quick double take. I quickly noticed the shape of the fire though. Note how it has a wide base, fairly parallel to the flat ground. That is a good indication of a prescribed burn. In a normal fire without significant wind a fire will burn uphill. In that case I would expect a single low point, and an inverted funnel shape going upslope.
Even so, I checked the Boulder County OSMP closure page when I got back and confirmed that it had been planned for today and intentionally set.

Now for the birds, I took my time with these first two species and am as confident as I can be about the IDs, but if I am wrong please let me know. Above and below is an Orange-crowned Warbler. Unfortunately the branch was in the way, but oh well. Even without a clear look at the face profile the dark legs and presence of yellow under the bill seem to rule out a MacGillivray's Warbler.

Then, the ever challenging flycatcher species. I am thinking Willow Flycatcher after some back and forth.

The closer I look at Flycatchers the less certain I become, but this one seems to meet the Willow field marks, was hanging around in willows, and is in the same location where I have spotted Willow Flycatchers in the past. Seems like a compelling case to me, but if I have missed the obvious feel free to comment.

These two were both a part of a fairly large loose group of birds that I saw as I arrived, and then passed again as I returned up the trail and they moved south along the creek. The group included eight Black-capped Chickadees, one each of the Orange-crowned Warbler and Willow Flycatcher, and the White-breasted Nuthatch below that was just oozing personality and very intrigued by my "pishing".

Another great day to embrace the arrival of fall. I hope you all are doing the same!