Fall Friday at Marshall Mesa

Last Friday was a beautiful, warm but windy day here on the front range of the southern Rockies. Migration has been competing with football and friends for my attention, so Friday was a nice chance to get out on a fast walk and see what I would come across without many stops. The sun really caught the Spotted Towhee's eye as it watched me from a bush.

The Mountain Bluebirds were flocking, the group I saw contained just over 20 individuals. They are now sporting a worn and drab look, as opposed to the more prominent blue they displayed when they arrived back in March.

Now as they perch, the blue is hard to see at all from a distance, but when they flare their wings in flight the blue pops back out in all its brilliance. Of course, those action shots all failed miserably - so please settle for the perching shots, and imagine flying bluebirds!

There were some flight shots that I was able to capture to some degree of satisfaction. This Red-tail came over the bluebirds low and slow, after calling a few times to get my attention. "Next time, Red-tail, please angle yourself so the sun hits your face"! Actually I was quite pleased with the flyby and will take them however they come.

Just a few minutes before I had enjoyed watching this Red-tail, with what I believe to have been more heavy streaking. It was a part of a new birding experience for me that I will share in more detail in my next post.