Environment:
Start Time: 8:55 AM Temperature: 63 degrees Sky: Sunshine, clouds and increasing wind.
Even with an above average temperature (and dry shoes) I still ended up cutting today’s outing at Lake Pueblo State Park short. The wind seemed to get stronger with every step I took. There have been windy conditions at the park over the last couple of days which is starting to effect the Autumn leaves in a negative way – by blowing them all off. I’ve been waiting to take out my wide angle equipment to get some nice color because a lot of leaves are still waiting to turn. I hope there is something left on the trees at all later this week. And, of course, the wind kept most of the birds hunkered down. But all was not gloom and doom. I got some pretty nice (considering how distant the subjects) shots of some American Kestrels – one in flight (the bird not me) posted below. I also got a new bird though I’m not real clear on the ID. Posted in the mini-gallery below is a Scoter (not Scooter) duck. It is a female and she is either a Surf Scoter or a White-winged Scoter. I am leaning toward White-winged. Today’s featured image is of some big birds I caught migrating over the park. I can’t identify them at that distance but my guess is that they are some type of Crane. The flight pattern looks too ragged (to me) to be geese.
Sightings:
Birds: Mallards, Blue-winged Teal, White-winged Scoter, Gulls, American Kestrel, Sparrows
Critters: Prairie Dogs, Grasshoppers, Butterflies
Gear: Nikon D5600, 55-300mm
a pair of American Kestrels perching very high up at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado October 19, 2021 
Female Scoter, either a White-winged or a Surf, on the Arkansas River at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado October 19, 2021 
American Kestrel in flight at Lake Pueblo State Park, Colorado October 19, 2021