Gray Day Pics - Part 1

Colorado Weather: Can't decide if it is winter or spring! Today featured a few inches of snow, more inches of rain, and some dark clouds that weren't dumping (much) after I left work this evening. The lakes, creeks and fields...roads and parking lots are all over full, and at one Broomfield pond I stopped to see the waterfowl enjoying it.


The Blue-winged Teal let me get close, but the overcast light favored the American Avocets.

They were just doing what Avocets do.

Cruising the shoreline for tasty goodies!

Sometimes getting the right angle is a bit of a trick!

More pics to come.

A Few More Pics from St. Vrain SP

A few more random pics from my visit to Saint Vrain State Park on Monday afternoon.

Killdeer on the wing:



Savannah Sparrow:




Teal; both Cinnamon and Blue-winged:



Great-tailed Grackle:

The hint of light-blue iridescence on the wing coverts was cool to capture.

Horned Lark:

Great Blue Heron:

Mourning Dove, showing the fainest hint of green iridescence:

Going to look for some spring arrivals around Broomfield this evening, then a late NHL Playoff game will make my plans for an early visit to the nesting owls a long shot, but who knows it may still happen.

Another great morning at Plaster Reservoir

As seems to be the case, once a new bird becomes identifiable they turn up all over the place. I guess that is fitting for a "Common" Yellowthroat. The one I saw this morning was much more visible perched up in a Russian Olive grove.


On the topic of first sightings, I was somewhat surprised to see that I had not yet gotten an Eared Grebe. Well I did this morning. The salad being pulled up from the bottom seemed a bit much for breakfast, but the grebes, pelicans and cormorants were all wearing green at times.



Keeping on the Grebe trend, this Pied-Billed Grebe was out in more open water further along in my walk.

Plaster is a great spot for waterfowl. I had another add for Broomfield, the Blue-Winged Teal below was showing off his distinctive white face in the sunlight.

Nature wasn't all feather this morning though, I caught sight of this guy on the brim of my hat out of the corner of my eye. In the fly tying world it seems like an emerger for a size 10 hook, I think it looks like a flying shrimp with those tails.

Glad I got up close to early this morning, I didn't have time for another shot at Gregory Canyon and the Scarlet Tanager, but an Eared Grebe is a nice consolation.

2009 Count: 160

Lifetime: 172

Spots and Scales

(Yep, there are snake pictures below, so proceed with caution if they give you the willies!)


A Boulder Blue-Winged Teal up close and personal.

I took my lunch at Waneka Lake and Greenlee Preserve this afternoon. Not quite the same experience as January or February. Today it was beautiful, and as such packed with Moms and Kids. I was glad to be out in the open soaking up the sunlight, but it was really a more chaotic and aggravating trip than all those quiet get back to nature walks I enjoyed over the winter.

Despite the crowds, I did catch this Spotted Sandpiper scavenging along the shore.

I also had a long distance view of these Wood Ducks in the wildlife habitat. There were goslings, Avocets, a Pelican that had one biker so excited he locked up his brakes to make sure I had seen it, and of course Yellow-Rumped Warblers all around.

But most exciting for me was this fellow who was slowly crossing the path as I walked up:

A Bullsnake! Snakes excite me because I have a primal, deep seeded, irrational fear of them. I have no issues with spiders, rats, sharks or any of the other typical "yucky" creatures, but snakes get to me. Over the years I have learned to manage this by learning as much as I can, and by seeking out opportunities for "controlled" encounters. For instance if I am at a zoo or someplace where there is an opportunity to touch a snake I will make myself do it, even while I am breaking out in a cold sweat.

On the other hand I am no hero when it comes to snake encounters. When a bullsnake was hanging out around an entrance to our work last summer I went out with a group to track it down. We all spent a good 20 minutes approaching it and retreating as it moved along the building. Then one guy joined us, looked at the snake for less than a minute, walked up to it and calmly pinned its head, grabbed it behind the jaw and walked it to a nearby field where he released it. Not in 1 million years buddy!

I like to respect the snake and observe it from a distance. I will still get within a few feet, and admire their creepy, reptilian beauty and efficiency - but that is plenty for me. The snake doesn't want me touching him or her, and I don't want them touching me, so we have a nice balanced outlook in that respect.

I just keep an eye out when I am hiking, and love to see them as much as any other less common fauna out there.

So soak it up you wild and crazy snake lovers, your moment of zen!

Now I'm off for an evening of feathers not fangs!

2009 Count: 126

Lifetime: 141

All trip counts are in!

I am close to done with pictures and will get some site specific posts with more pictures in the coming days. Unfortunately I downloaded the pics from my cards to my laptop from the first two days and have done post production sorting and cropping on all of the cards since. So I am holding off until I pull the pictures from the first two days to a system with more processing power and a larger screen.

Hopefully during the forecasted rainy weekend I will get those knocked out and then run the rest of the trip posts in order.

Here is a quick by the numbers post trip rundown:

My counts for the three states currently stand at, Colorado 107, Nebraska 63 and Iowa 27. Iowa had two species before this trip, and Nebraska had none. Colorado was at 100 before I left.

I have been enjoying the new feature on Ebird called "Top 100 ebirders in...." It is a fun way to see where other birders have traveled to, and how I compare in various counties and states. Fun, and a good reason to keep your eyes on the telephone poles and tree tops as you drive through various counties on a road trip. If you haven't tried Ebird yet, check it out, and if you have and it has been a while since submitting your last checklist it is a good reason to log back in.

The trip was great. I had some good luck with a few pictures, learned a good deal, and added 26 new species to my lifelist including the Blue-Winged Teal above.

2009 Count: 117

Lifetime: 134